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RA AND THE FAMILY FIT

LIFE WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

Month

November 2015

RA – The Impact It Has On Our Lives

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Rheumatoid Arthritis and the impact it has on our lives that we’ve talked about and talked about but have we been heard.  Can you hear our words; words of pain, sacrifice, destruction, loneliness and sadness.  All of these because of what is called Rheumatoid Arthritis but to us it’s the disease that takes all.  Is this a blog written for pity or a cry out for sorrow for ourselves?  No it is not, it is the plain, simple and down to earth telling it like it is truth.  Our truth.

So people may wonder about the impact this disease has on our lives, it is heavy.  Not by terms of weight but by the burdens we bear and carry.  Otherwise, the impact is on our lives as soon as day begins and as we lay down at night.  Yes, day in and day out and through the night for a lot of us.  The impact has no one particular place to be as our bodies deal with the constant pain that brings on our emotional pain which all in all it’s effecting who we really are as it’s slowly taking away the old us while we watch ourselves changing as do our families.  It’s out of our control but all the time we’re praying for some relief from this struggle that’s never ending for us.

This is not an exaggeration or fictional story written to be made to sound far better or more serious than it is to capture the hearts of others but a testimony of our lives and it is written exactly as it is and as it happens to each of us that wears the badge of Rheumatoid Arthritis known to us as our disease; Rheumatoid Disease.  Are we all Blessed to have the understanding and support while suffering from this disease! Unfortunately no, there are those that have to go down this long journey alone which is by all means a shame on the words of our disease.  No one, none of us should have to walk this journey alone.  This is not what we wanted for our lives so we should not have to suffer any additional consequences for something that we never in our life time wished for ourselves or anyone.

So the impact it has on our lives are too numerous to say but one thing we will say is change.  What caused change: pain the ultimate; with pain came the inability to do and from that came the emotions.  Emotional because we found with pain our limits were cut short and for that we began our roller coaster ride of emotions.   So as the impact of these changes take on a life of their own, we are forced to live with them.  We can’t walk away, we can’t run away because we are unable to leave ourselves from this dreaded disease.

So for anyone who wonders what the impact of this disease is on our lives, think about being in a battle day in and day out wondering  when peace will come.  Until you have walked at minimum an hour in our shoes, you won’t really understand what we have to go through everyday.  For those that do understand, we are eternally grateful because all that we ask of those we love and need, is understanding and support because with that it will lessen the impact of what Rheumatoid Arthritis keep on bringing.

Be Blessed

photo credit:  gribouille/pixabay.com

RA – Why Do We Have To Fight To Be Right

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We work if we have to or if we can.  We keep going if we have to or if we can.  So why when we find it’s hard to carry on, there are those who just don’t understand how hard it is to keep going and to carry on.  Why do we also have to work hard to prove that our pain is real and Rheumatoid Arthritis is really all that we’ve said it is and more. Why Do We Have To Fight To Be Right?  To prove that all that’s said by us is the truth, from those that live the proof, US. Continue reading “RA – Why Do We Have To Fight To Be Right”

RA – Rheumatoid Arthritis The Financial Burden – The Other Side Of This Disease – Fighting To Be Free

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Having Rheumatoid Arthritis we know is devastating but the financial burden of it can also be devastating.  The quiet truth of how so many suffer through the financial burden of trying to reach a bearable goal of living without pain and it’s no fault of our own.

As I blogged before, we are forever going through changes, constantly changing medications trying to get the right fix for ourselves.  The fix that will allow us to live a life that is as bearable as possible is what we are aiming for BUT at what cost.  A cost medically we can’t afford to ignore.

Medications we know we need.  Our lives are filled with doctor appointments, to your rheumatologist or primary care physician but then there maybe physical therapy that is needed or a specialist or two.  With those visits comes the co-pays and maybe co-pays for medications that you may need.  You see sometimes we have more than we can keep up with.  Should I also mention the special supplies we may need along the way to help with our care, to help with relief from pain or maybe with straightening of our joints or just to get around at all.  These are all part of what makes our lives possible. These are the things needed to combat this disease.  This is why we may suffer the financial consequences for our abilities to do more for ourselves.

Still the list goes on. Now there’s the unexpected financial burden that hits us all.  It may hit some some harder than others. For some there is a need for special services i.e. mri, cat scans to name a couple which can lead to surgery.  Unplanned surgeries on our hips, shoulders, feet, knees or hands.  The out-of-pocket expenses that comes with hospital stays and surgeries can be astronomical. It can be really difficult and stressful just knowing this but when you have no insurance, limited insurance and even when you are fully insured it still takes its toll. So much to undertake and too much to deal with as we watch those expected and unexpected expenses grow all while fighting this terrible disease.  All while fighting to make our lives better through this whole process.

The unfortunate thing is so many are forced to forfeit proper care or care at all because of limited finances which is more than just saying it’s unfair.  With this disease, no one can afford not to get care due to the terrible effects of being left untreated.  Everyone deserves the best, so as it stands, we also bear the burden of coping with this dreadful disease while dealing with the financial responsibility of this dreadful disease.

We should not have to put aside our health because we cannot afford to take care of it nor should we have to worry about what the cost of being pain-free will be either. It is what we work so hard for and that is being pain-free.  But being financially free for some of us is a goal that’s almost as unreachable as being forever pain-free.

Are you worried about and thinking about the debt this disease is causing you and leaving you in?  Just one more awful part of Rheumatoid Arthritis, a part that isn’t seen by most (like our disease in some instances) but is still very much a part of who we are.

Be Blessed

photo credit: petelinforth/pixabay

                     diamondmack

RA – Dealing With Rheumatoid Arthritis – Our Cry, Our Reality Fighting For Ourselves

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We wake up each day to our lives with Rheumatoid Arthritis which is a life of uncertainty and so much more.  We only wake up to it if we were lucky enough to go to sleep that night since so many of us suffer with not being able to get any sleep at all due to the pain we endure. Yes, we are so happy to be alive and for that we are all so grateful.  This is not a cry of selfishness or one of pity, this is our cry, a cry of reality in our walk with this disease. Continue reading “RA – Dealing With Rheumatoid Arthritis – Our Cry, Our Reality Fighting For Ourselves”

RA – Your Medications For Rheumatoid Arthritis – Are The Side Effects Taking Its Toll On You

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Having Rheumatoid Arthritis means we have a chronic disease that will never leave us or ever give us a break from its unrelenting effects that it’s releases on us. So for us to be able to make an attempt at a reasonable life, we are forced to take medications, try medications and deal with medications in hopes of getting a hold on this devastating disease. Continue reading “RA – Your Medications For Rheumatoid Arthritis – Are The Side Effects Taking Its Toll On You”

RA – Rheumatoid Arthritis – Putting A Face On Our Chronic Disease

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Rheumatoid Arthritis is a chronic disease which is a long lasting disease that can be controlled but not cured.  Controlled in our case is not as often as we hope for.  Arthritis is painful inflammation and stiffness of the joints; sounds familiar but not what we have.  Rheumatoid Disease, that is  an auto immune disease, that is what we have but it’s better known to most as Rheumatoid Arthritis!!!!!  Confusing to many, yes it is.  Hopefully I can put a face on it. Continue reading “RA – Rheumatoid Arthritis – Putting A Face On Our Chronic Disease”

RA – Having Rheumatoid Arthritis – Coming To Terms With This Disease

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Rheumatoid Arthritis or for those of us who has it, it’s known as Rheumatoid Disease.  To those that don’t know or don’t understand this is a brutal disease.  No I’m not exaggerating, it’s a Disease without a Cause.  Something that keeps going and changing on a daily basis, something that can’t ever be said when describing it “oh it’s okay”. Continue reading “RA – Having Rheumatoid Arthritis – Coming To Terms With This Disease”

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