Hi all.  I have been talking about my RA but never really went into detail about what it really is.  It is an autoimmune disease which affects your immune system.

Here is a little bit more about what I’ve learned about RA for myself.  It tears down your joints, it makes your joints hurts and this includes most joints if not all. It starts mostly in smaller joints and move to larger joints but keep in mind, each person is different so my case is different than others.  It affects your vision, your lungs, almost everything and most of all it can affect your heart. There are serious deformities for some, some not so much, some wheelchair bound….just to get a picture of the point I will make.  That’s the reality of what we live with.

There is medication that we are given to help with these symptoms and that in itself is another thing that I will discuss at a later time. But this road even with help from meds has its complications.

“I have rheumatoid arthritis, ooh I have that too” is the statement I made because a lot of people confuse RA with regular arthritis or arthritis that is known for people when they get older. Some think that you can take an aspirin or an advil and feel just fine. Some think if you rub with ointment (smile), you will feel better.  Some think if you rest a while, just loosen up those joints you will feel better.  The problem is, it’s not the same thing and it’s definite not that simple.  My thought is, the word arthritis is the mistake.  What we have is more than arthritis and it should be known as such, it is an inflammatory disease.

So you see, when we hear, I have that too and why can’t you get better or why are you always sick, why are you always aching, it’s because they really don’t understand the difference. I hope I have helped a little with the understanding just from MY point of view.

Be Blessed