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RA doesn’t affect typing? That’s just infuriating. I’d like to see the person who wrote the article try to type with swollen fingers! :curse:
I agree!! I’d like to see the person who wrote the article try to type for a three hour straight law exam (upon which their entire grade depends) with swollen fingers and painful wrists. That’s a ridiculous claim!!
Also, Kelly, just FYI: your link to Wiley InterScience didn’t work for me. But probably just as well. I’m riled up enough without reading the study at all. ~;o)
Sorry, they must have changed the link. No worry: that study is ALL OVER the internet, I got one from Science Daily to replace it. Thanks for the heads up! 😎
Doesn’t affect typing, huh? BS, pardon my language. If my fingers hurt, typing is the last thing I want to do. Or how about sitting for long periods of time in an office chair? That can be murderous to me even if I am having a good day.
Part of me has this dream of getting a remission and becoming a crusader for changing the paradigm of health care in this country, shifting the focus off of acute problems and onto chronic problems. A world where you don’t have to argue for x-rays or blood tests, a world where pain management, nutrition, physical therapy, and counseling are considered a part of the complete picture of patient health, where more than one person’s opinion of your pain level matters, where empathy plays a part in continuing patient care. Part of me says that this is possible especially because RA is not the only misperceived illness out there. Further, many people with heart disease, etc. don’t get the full complement of healthcare that they need. Doctors and the system seem to have turned into a healthcare McDonald’s, get ’em through the drive through in x amount of minutes from the time they place their order. Things need to change. Who’s with me?
I’m with you.
Well said Robin!
I’m in!
Count me in, too!
Me! Include me in, please!
If More People like you speak up we have a fighting chance.
I personally know for a fact that RA affects typing skills. I use to type approx. 55 words per min without typos! Now I am lucky if I can type 20-25 words per min.; and that’s only on a good day after taking meds and they have kicked in.
Yes there is a way to get the word out, but how is another problem. First of all we are shelling out just about every dime we have on meds and drs visits that it’s impossible for us to hold a type of “convention”. Which is what we really need, all of us together! With a prominent Rheumatologist to hear us out.
RA should be changed to another name!!!!! People are not going to disassocaite RA with OA until the name is formally changed. People have to realize how auto-immune diseases affect the entire body. So basically some of the pain, fatigue and over all well being can not be seen. Yet discuss another auto-immune disease like Chron’s and people relate. Rheumatoid Disease is what I feel is appropiate. You say Fibromyalgia and people relate. Rheumatoid Arthritis and they do NOT relate. Arthritis is an automatic response, as in “I have that in my knee”. That is the way the brain is triggered to respond. It hears the word arthritis. Plus you have the fact that RA affects everyone differently. No two people are similiar. There are mild cases, moderate cases and severe cases. You add in the fact how the person with the disease is handling it.
I agree. It seems to me like a lot of people think of “rheumatoid arthritis” as “just a little joint pain” when it is so much more than that!
When my hands were flaring, I couldn’t hold a pen to write, but I could still type, so great, I wasn’t completely useless. Of course typing still hurt and was super slow.
I guess you can spin any situation to reflect your chosen perception. If you can still type with RA it must not affect your typing! The logic would not pass any academic scrutiny. People walk on two legs, therefore walking on two legs makes something a person. Okay, would all the bird people please stand up and walk away!
Spin indeed. “Logic”? I’m beginning to wonder whether this is a logic-free zone. Sad thing is: although no one here has requested it as I dared, I’m starting to realize that the majority out there probably do actually need it explained to them how & why RA affects typing. 😯
Ack! RA affects keyboarding abilities. The mo-mo who would say that is the same sort of mo-mo who would say we are too young to have arthritis. RA doesn’t affect my keyboarding abilities some days but other days I can barely hold my arms up. This is the best time to have RA??? The best time to have RA is never!
Perfectly stated.
What a joke to say it doesn’t affect typing. Heck it even hurts to use the remote control and change channels on the tv sometimes. I too have a problem with sitting all day. I work as a Graphic Designer and am in front of a computer all day and it can be so painful and uncomfortable. I have to get up and walk around about every 20-30 minutes.
I have also learned to say auto-immune disease before saying rheumatoid arthritis to people. I still get a blank stare and a lot of people don’t even know what auto-immune diseases are. It is frustrating.
Well have to go now, my hands are starting to hurt and swell from typing, but oh yeah I forgot, that doesn’t effect us so it must be my imagination. 😉
I got the Dragon program which helps, as I pretty much have been AMA online secondary to finger pain, swelling. By the way, I was an ultrasound tech. For 12 yrs. Still amazed at the ignorance, and intolerance of not only fellow medical staff, but family as well! I agree the name should be changed to RAD – it’s a little more desciptive!
You got me going again ~;o)
http://fromthispoint-forward.blogspot.com/2010/02/pain-in-keyboard.html
I am a technical writer, so my job requires a TON of typing. The issue is just not just the pain and swelling in my fingers, it is also the pain and swelling in my wrists, not to mention my back and neck pain. Can I do my job, yes, most of the time. But, I need special keyboards, ergonomic mouse, a special chair, and so on. I was diagnosed over 10 years ago. I think if the newer meds had not come on the market, I would have been on disability. So, I am thankful that I live in a time where my RA mostly manageable… but the meds are NOT a cure. By taking them, I trade in for liver damage, cancer, a multitude of infectious diseases and so much more. In addition, I still live, forever, in pain.
My job (this site) does too. Some days I can do it. Some days I can’t. So take extra NSAIDs & pick away 2 words a minute with 1 or 2 working fingers. Every other key is “backspace” 😕
It’s not just my fingers that cannot reach certain keys at all any more: p, o, m, z, x, q. I stop typing & look down & hunt them out slowly w/ whichever finger hurts least. But it’s also my wrists, my shoulders, and elbows which make it slow, tedious, painful…
Your last sentence is perfect.
I think for me the most frustrating part about the study is that they used people that type an average of 18 hrs per week. I can do that in 2 days some days!!! That is a little over 2hrs per day average. You can do that amount with casual internet usage. I think the study was very poorly thought out about what direction to take the study. I’m betting they didn’t use people with active flares or that have had corrective surgeries. When I’m not having a flare, I can still type great too, however when I’m having a flare, it varies as to what I can or can’t do based on which joints I’m having the problem with. Needless to say, with poor studies like this, I can understand sometimes why rheumys think the internet makes their jobs harder, especially for those people who take everything on the internet for gospel. Whether it is non-RAers wanting to know about it because of people they know having it or new drs who don’t have the experience to know that the studies or opinions are flawed, these studies do a real disservice to those of us dealing with this disease every day.
Good point about the study Becky. I see several ways I’d like to pick the study apart. Maybe I will. (fyi: I backspace about once every 3 letters. I used to type fast, furious, and fantastic…) 😎
great blog today….but I have to tell you how much I like this photo. they’re in “perfect feather”!
The ads for the biologics make it look like one has only to take their drugs; and your life will be more than normal-it’ll be FABULOUS! They add to the wall of ignorance with false advertising in my opinion. I’ve been disappointed in my responses to the 3 biologics I’ve been on-haven’t found one that works for me yet.
Note—-typing this with a wrist brace on the right (dominant) hand, due to RA pain and such stuff…
Yeah. Back in the day, I probably could type close to 100 wpm with no errors. On a TYPEWRITER, not a keyboard. An electric typewriter, granted, but still….the touch was so much “harder” than an electronically powered keyboard.
Now. Ummmmm, not so much.
Even without the pain, stiffness and rigidity from the disease, how about the issue of the dreaded “RA Brain Fog” from the meds, the fatigue and the disease itself.
I’m TIRED from dealing with the pain, stiffness and rigidity of the disease.
I’m TIRED from the side effects of the meds I’m on to control the disease.
I’m TIRED from the previously discussed sleep issues.
I’m TIRED from the fatigue of being chronically ill.
I’m TIRED from the fatigue that comes, hand-in-glove, as the happy partner of RA.
And so, I sit here, at the keyboard, with my curly, gnarly fingers poised above the keys that take so little effort to push, and….
I push the wrong key. And I hit “backspace” and hit the same, damn wrong key again. And again. And again, even though I KNOW it’s the wrong key, my brain doesn’t tell my hands to not go there.
So yeah. From 100 wpm to about 30 wpm, if you count backspace as a keystroke. Don’t freakin’ tell me it doesn’t affect “typing”.
And more importantly, why is TYPING so freaking important??? Is it because *women* are *clericals* who *type*???? Don’t get me started.
I *was* an upper-level manager. Even though I could type. Again, now, not so much. Thank once more, RA.
Yes, and why even do a study trying to prove RA is not a bother to our job skills? What is their motive? I know the result is wrong, but what is the point?
Im just started college and I have to take a keyboarding class and Im starting to get the “RA don’t affect typing skills/timing” thing. They don’t get it that even with the ortho… arthritis that is hurts to do it. Im falling behind in that class cause I can’t keep up. It makes me mad! I don’t like to spend money on somthing that isn’t working for/with me.
And YES I do belivie that the name needs to be changed. Tired of the funny looks when Im having a bad day. Im only 23. and its already old and it has been one year sense RA showed its ugly head.
Let me know what else I can do the change the name of RA and to stop this bad uprising of the wrong information! Its far to wide spread already and it needs to be stoped!!!!
Good luck with your class. Can you inform the professor of your illness and perhaps do something different like get more time for tests/trials?
I don’t know exactly how we will change it, but I believe we will. There are millions of us… and we are right. So, God will be on our side. I have hope.
I am very new to all of this. This is day 8 since my diagnosis. Reading this particular post makes one who does not quite understand all the ends and outs of rheumatoid arthritis quite disgruntled.
I am a secretary. I type 85 words a minute. When my boss asked me to take on an extra booklet project on Friday, I thought, well…I HAVE been on prednisone this last week, it should be better….okay I told him. By page three I felt I couldn’t finish this project. There were only 15 pages in the booklet, and being stubborn and wanting “my old life back” I drudged through it with painful fingers and wrist. After I was gratefully done, I realized things had to change. I would not be fired for saying no to an extra project, but there is a part of me that “wants to pull my part like others” and it is a strong feeling.
My desk is very ergonomically designed; I am very blessed in that aspect. But the more I typed, just my ring fingers and pinkies pushing the key down shot pain down my finger into my joints. And even though I am blessed to have a split key board with great wrist guard, my wrist were definitely talking to me to stop!
Saying that typing does not affect RA is like saying heroine does not affect an addict. I am very glad I have found your site. I spend much time reading old post. I must say I get upset with how people think about RA. I have already have had friends say “yeah I have that in my knee” thing, but I am glad I found you so I can stand up and tell them it is nothing like their knee. I would not have even known what to say before I read your blog or even know that people can be so ignorant and to forgive them for their ignorant insincerities.
Oh my gooodness, Jacqueline. Day 8? I am sorry for your diangosis. It must be difficult with that job. Hopefully, you will respond to disease treatment & get most of “your old life back.” The prednisone does make you feel like you can do more, but there can still be consequences to overdoing it. Take care of yourself.
well, when my hands are too.. much painful then writing in the school exams becomes a problem.. especially when there is too much to write …forefingers and wrists hurt..n sometimes hands r more as a caus of worry than preparations for exams….lol. cause u cant write even after knowing if ur wrist will hurt too badly…..
I love it when people say “now is the best time to have RA” really people?! REALLY?!?! Because I’m pretty sure the BEST time to have RA is NEVER 😛 stupid people who came up with that phrase. I do understand we have different “newer” maybe “better” treatments but it is NEVER a good time to have RA not in the 1800’s not 1990’s and not today.
I tell myself that these misguided articles with mention of the word RA are usually only read by people who actually have it – and they know better. Maybe I’m just lucky. If I tell people that I can’t do this right now (usually a.m.) or if I tell them I can’t do it today, they usually believe me. If they don’t, then its their problem, not mine. I do get frustrated by speed which makes people think I’m totally disabled. More and more often, I find myself saying “I CAN do it. It will just take me a little longer than normal”. Of course, it took me a while to get the patience to accept my slowness, so it might take others longer.
Irene,
I have thought about who reads these too. I am beginning to think that all these articles do contribute to the actual conception of RA in our world. Having doctors & the public confused about RA is making it more difficult for us on several fronts. For one, where is the push for a “cure” for just a few aches & pains?
Your patience lesson is so true. Hard to learn & accept, but correct. I wrote on another post: Not practice makes perfect. But, patience makes perfect. (Sometimes we can do it – it just takes a long time.)
Dear Kelly,
This is a perfect example of the Physician- Patient divide & the fact that text book RA is differet from real life RA. That is why I pointed out the study to you.
Whatever the study tried to prove; I’m sure that not a single RAer/ anybody who has experienced the pain of a RAer would ever accept the findings.
We need more Physician- patient combined initiatives to understand RA better.
Thanks for coming to read the post. Now that you’ve read the whole post, I guess you can see why we reacted strongly when you brought up the typing study – we called it junk. It has taken me several minutes to type this comment error free.
I appreciate what you say. I don’t see how this disease can be properly treated otherwise.
Typing – Not affected>>>> LOL someone trying to joke????
I may have mentioned on here before that my job is answering emails for a Fortune 50 Company. Before RA I typed 100 wpm with very few, if any, errors. Now not only is the speed nowhere near the 100wpm mark, the errors make me crazy!!! Yes there is ‘spellcheck’ however when you type “you” and men “your” it will not catch it………….and many other words are the same.
The only thing worse than living with RA is seeing/hearing/readin/feeling the lack of understanding from people who really should do better research. Every single part of my body and everything I do is affected by my RA – EVERYTHING………………..(can you tell I am not having one of my better days?)
Today I am REALLY REALLY tired and I don’t know if I have the energy to do any more than this.
It will get better and I know it will it’s just the waiting that makes me crazy!!
Be well Warriors – Cherish the good days!
A decent/ more practical/ useful article in the same series.
“The Association Between Rheumatoid Arthritis Related Structural Changes in Hands and Computer Keyboard Operation” link
I’m curious as to the duration of the typing exercises.
Most days, I do pretty well with my typing still, though it is definitely painful. I used to be extremely accurate, and now I have more errors, but not an excessive amount. My speed is still better than average. However, I can’t type for nearly the duration I used to maintain. And the longer I type, the worse the typing gets.
A series of brief typing exercises, especially if there were short breaks in between, would show my keyboard skills as “unaffected” also–but I cannot maintain that level of performance, or do work that requires me to type all day.
I also take issue with the fact that the test subjects used a computer for an average of 18 hours a week. Anyone doing clerical work is typing MUCH more than that.
No where in that study do I see any reference to an assessment of pain. Maybe the RAers were able to perform all the exercises, but were they painful? To what degree? how many times would they be able to perform that exercise before the pain inhibited or prevented it?
In my college classes, I got special permission to type essay tests because writing them by hand in the time allotted was impossible. But an hour or two of non-stop typing left my hands pretty much useless for the rest of the day. So I’d like to see a study that tested whether or not RA patients could type for a realistic amount of time for a desk job, then go home and cook dinner, wash dishes, take care of kids, etc. If you have to choose between working and doing the basic tasks of everyday life, you are still not able to work, regardless of how fast you can type.
Good point Avery. That is what I call the Usage Principle. This job requires a lot of typing too. Every day is not the same, but my fingers are usually in a lot of pain with a couple of them swollen up. They do feel a lot better when I take rare days off. Also, my speed is a fraction of what it once was.
The ugly and miss-understood pain of Rheumatoid Arthritis Why is this disease ignored by our employers, family and friends until someone gets so sick that they cannot work or
perform the daily activities that others take for granted.
I think that understanding pain itself is part of the reason, it cannot easily be described, and people tend to ignore those things that cannot be easily measured or seen.
I worked in a auto parts plant for 10 years and many times could not perform the work because of pain, it was put off as well he is just old, they didnt understand this disease affects old and young. At the time I did not know my pain was being caused by RA even though I saw the companys triage
, they said I have arthritis and gave me asprin and sent me on my way, my choice was to limp through the night or go home without pay.
I am a nurse and I have RA. For about 10 years, hospitals have migrated to computer charting. When I first started having symptoms of RA, I was a night shift nursing supervisor at a hospital. Part of my responsibilities were to go to the pharmacy during the “off hours”, when they were closed to get medications for the newly admitted patients, or new physician orders. This required the use of keys to open the door to the pharmacy. I cringed every time my phone rang for a request because it was incredibly painful to turn a key. I was also responsible for computing the man hours per patient day and entering this information in the computer in an excel program, requiring much mouse usage and typing the numbers. I remember typing with pencils because my fingers were so painful that I would cry. Luckily, I had my own office and could cry in private. Today, I work in intensive care. I am grateful for the use of computers in my profession, as I can remember writing my narrative nursing notes, and wonder if I could do that any more. The computer is still difficult at times, especially with certain programs that won’t allow you to open a full page and so require a lot of scrolling, typing, more scrolling… this requires a lot of lateral movement with the wrists, sometimes the tapping on keys jars the joints in my fingers, no matter how gently you tap the keys. The wrists resting on the keyboard places pressure on the radial nerve area increasing the painful numbness that goes with the wrist inflammation. Another condition that affects me is Thoracic outlet syndrome. This is caused by inflammation from RA that narrows the channel that allows the nerves, veins and arteries to pass from the neck into the shoulder and down into the arms and hands. With thoracic outlet syndrome, it becomes unbearable to have my arms out in front of me for more than just a few minutes at a time (I can’t even eat a whole ear of corn without experiencing the pain and numbness. That is how little time it takes for the compression of these structures to cause excruciating pain.) When performing things such as driving a car, typing on the computer, performing bandage changes, sometimes even eating, my hands become discolored and mottled, painfully numb; both hot and cold, throbbing as if someone was hitting my funny bone repeatedly with a tire iron. Typing on the computer has become challenging for me at times. I deal with it by considering that I am grateful that I rarely have to grasp a pen with fingers that won’t curl around the pen. When you have RA, you become an expert in finding ways to achieve the essential tasks. Sometimes I look absolutely ridiculous with some of the “inventions” that I have come up with to assist me with ADLs. RA sufferers are very creative in finding solutions, and we are met with very high standards of others. They are glad that you found a way to accomplish the task, but they criticize that they have to watch you “suffer”. Sorry it’s so difficult for them.
Wow! How are you still working? My hospital pushed me out on disability because I couldn’t tolerate working my mandatory 72 hr call schedule every month, on top of my 40hr work week doing ultrasounds! After getting cellulitis about 3 times in hand wounds from massive doses of steroids to stay functioning, I gave up. I really miss my chosen career, and still hoping I can get help! I seem to be one of the “special” cases who don’t respond to trx well without lots of nasty side-effects! Good luck!
I wish your case were rare. There are at least a third of patients in this boat with you as far as treatment. And disability percentages are high. BUT, don’t give up hope of a remission or a new treatment that helps you! Sounds like your job was very hard – maybe there will be something less difficult physically that you’ll be able to do eventually.
I am amazed that anyone could say Rheumatoid Disease does not affect typing. I just cannot believe anyone could look at my hands and even imagine that. I have had to change my passwords so that they are easy for me to type. My handwriting is so badly affected that my checks are almost illegible. I just don’t get why this disease has SO MANY misconceptions. Pain, stiffness, fatigue, cognitive changes – you name it, and someone out there is trying to tell me I’m either making it up or catastrophyzing. Why would I? One day I was fine, the next I was badly ill. This disease can happen to anyone and if it does, you will not believe all the ways you are affected. Thank goodness for others who really do understand.
Regarding the typing. Whoever said that RA doesn’t affect typing skills obviously does not have RA and type for a living. I was diagnosed w/unspecified inflammatory arthritis because I tested negative for the rheumatoid factor but everything else matches up & the treatment I’m on is what it would be if I tested positive. On the days I’m really hurting I can only type a few minutes before I have to stop & do something else. A Good Day I can probably type 20 – 30 minutes before having to take a break. My speed is way down.
I agree that this is utter bologna! I am a 24 year old woman and actually had to take temporary leave because of the problems it caused in my hands. I can still type quickly and accurately but then my hand swell up even more and hurt to no end. I am actually fighting with the insurance company right now because the woman in charge of my case looked over my file and decided she knows more than a medical doctor (probably read the above mentioned article) and that I should be able to go back to work three months earlier than the doctor said I could.
It really frustrated that she stood there (I am assuming, it was a phone call) and spent 20 minutes explaining to me that she knows more about my illness than myself or my doctor, and that it basically “isn’t that bad”. Ugh!