Rheumatoid Arthritis Disease May Be the Scarlet RA
The Infamy of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)
I’ve answered several questions lately about Rheumatoid Arthritis and secrecy. Is there something embarrassing about RA? Can we just talk about it with anybody?
Lucille Ball was one of the most famous people with Rheumatoid Arthritis. However, when she died, I did not hear about her RA battle. It was not until I did some RA research that I realized Lucille Ball had Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Why was that? I was a huge Lucy fan; she was a funny girl’s idol. She made it cool for a woman to be goofy instead of just glamorous.
Lucille Ball scrupulously hid her Rheumatoid Arthritis from her adoring fans as well as from others in her industry. I’ve read that she did not tell people that she was in pain or why she required rest. When you read about how, as a celebrity, Lucy hid RA, it seems like she felt some kind of humiliation about the disease.
Lucy’s not the only one. There’s Kathleen Turner, who was willing to let people think she was an addict instead of let on that she had Rheumatoid Arthritis. It reminds me of a post by Sara a while back in which she called RA the Loser Disease.
As I discussed with IrishBookFairy recently, most RA’ers do become private about their Rheumatoid Arthritis symptoms. Before I started a Rheumatoid Arthritis blog, I had to practically pry information from a couple of people with RA who were corresponding with me. I’ve been trying to figure this out for a while.
Early in the last century, people hid cancer. But that was due to the likelihood of impending death. Fortunately, both of those are much reduced today.
I’ve read that people with psoriasis or shingles often hide their illness due to embarrassing symptoms. Are RA’ers doing the same thing? What humiliation is there in having an illness that you cannot have caused?
Does Rheumatoid Arthritis disability make us feel humiliated? Is it caused by the reactions of others to our pain? Or potent Rheumatoid Arthritis medicines? What do people with Rheumatoid Arthritis symptoms have to be embarrassed about? Is it the Scarlet Letter A of diseases? What for?
Recommended reading:
- Celebrities and Rheumatoid Arthritis
- “Dealing with RA Is So Much Easier than Lupus” –Kathy Lubbers
- Some Answers for Rheumatoid Arthritis Just Bring More Questions
- The Birth of the Rheumatoid Arthritis Warrior Blog
I’m exhausted even talking to my doctors about it. I recently was in pain in multiple joints and my dr did a Vectra blood test and it came back high disease activity. The sad part is I was glad because most days I don’t feel like anyone believes me. I have never had much swelling or high ESR or CRP levels. During a recent prep for a procedure I was having, I heard a nurse say “she’ll be easy she only has joint pain”. We have to educate healthcare workers too! I was diagnosed 5 years ago and it has changed my life so much. For me it has been the fatigue. It’s relentless! How many times have you heard…you look good, you must be feeling better? Most days, I just don’t have the energy and respond that everything is great.
You are so right, Leslie. I’ve heard these comments from docs and nurses too. I wish that nurse would read my upcoming book on rheumatoid disease.