the name WorkshopWiddow comes from many years of my VERY ACTIVE husband being in his motor vehicle workshop 24/7, Ironicaly I came close to loosing him to Primary Hyperparathyroidism in May 2008, due to ignorance of the condition by the ER staff, it;s not something we see much of overhere, but like many people worldwide a major system trauma starts off the Autoimmune condtion of RA.

to the outsider they see RA patients as wasters and social drain on the benefits system, as many people cant work or cant find emplyers willing to take them on with the condition, requiring ad hoc time off work due to fatigue, swelling and side effects of the Toxic Meds that keep RA patients going.

line the doubters up fill them up with MTX & cocodamol, give them sleep deprivation, hot night sweats, the embarresment of not making it to the toilet in time, causing them to soil themselves and see how they like it.

Keep up the good work of spreading the word stateside & worldwide.

Ali & Kev

Then I say it's RA, which cuts down mightily on the 'my old nan had dodgy knees from 5 decades of being a maid' comments (not that I don't feel for hypothetical-her of course). It certainly allows people to ask increasingly intelligent questions.

I usually follow up with a lightening guide to auto-immune diseases they may well of heard of and say how glad I am I've 'only' got RA and auto-immune hypothroiditis and an inflammed gut. And not type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis,lupus etc. I find mentioning these other somewhat better known issues helps people get in the RA ball-park.

We have talked quite a bit about education on this page. May I recommend folks also check out So glad your RA is cured and Transparency and the Wall and several comments attached.

It did take me a few years of being "demoralized" as you say to come to this point. At this point I am ready to "fight" so that people will get earlier treatment and whatever help that they need.

I cannot speak for others, but if I am asked,I say that I have "RA".
ANYBODY ELSE?

I'm not so surprised people don't know much about RA – most people who have RA just say
'I have arthritis' so others dont know which type – and then again most are just happy to take the pills the doctor prescribes and leave it at that. I guess the average RA patient just wants to get on with life without finding the little tasks too difficult – that's the demoralizing bit.

Cheers!