RA AND THE FAMILY FIT

Being a woman with Rheumatoid Arthritis, I can tell you it is very difficult to say the least. There is so much more for us to deal with than one can image. Let me tell you a little bit about a woman’s struggle with this disease.

As women, we are already above average in getting this disease, imagine what pressure that can put on you. Our hormones are often out our control even when we don’t want them to be but that is the anatomy of being who we are. The hormones that makes us who we are is a part of what puts us more at risk for RA. Along with this comes our guilt of wanting to deal with the pain and suffering of this disease but opting to keep it all to ourselves instead. Often this causes bouts of depression and anxiety which takes its toll. When this happens, there is this overwhelming sense of aloneness because no one understands exactly what you’re going through. You’re fighting RA while being on an emotional roller coaster seeking balance to cope.

It is said women are three time more likely to get RA than men, imagine that. This alone makes us stand out. It is suggested that females have stronger immune system responses than males however a heightened immune responses may also mean females immune systems are more likely to attack healthy tissues, putting them at risk of developing autoimmune conditions such as RA. We are 75% of the patients with this disease. We may have stronger immune systems but it does not make us a lone warrior but adds to our plight. How do women cope!!

Being a mom, wife or a single woman with RA you find that your life doesn’t stop when you are in pain. Women find they have to be strong for themselves and those in her family. She still has to carry on with taking care of so much of everything. There is the neverending pace of making everything right for everyone while hoping to fit yourself in at some point. You find that you are tired, worn out and racked with pain but you don’t stop because that is the nature of the woman.

The psychological aspect is hard because we often give up our self care to keep going for the sake of others. The toll Rheumatoid Arthritis takes on the body weighs heavy on the mind. Guilt is one of our worst enemies because we don’t want to feel like a failure even though our bodies may be failing us in the process. At the end of each day and in the quiet of each night, we maybe suffering in silence from the overload we’ve put in all day. Our work it seems with the pain is never done.

When we find time for ourselves, we sit with the realization of what this disease does to us, what it takes from us and how it dictates our lives. But as women we find strength when there is none and we give in only when we truly have to, yet we still struggle on. This is how it is being a woman with Rheumatoid Arthritis, a true Warrior in the midst of the Odds.

Be Blessed.

With RA we suffer from fatigue, some with depression and a host of other things along with our disease.  It is in these circumstances that we find ourselves struggling to do the many things we have to in a day’s work.

While doing the many things in our daily lives, we are faced with the daunting task of fighting through some of our biggest challenges.  Take a moment, think about it, which is your biggest challenge. 1. pain,  2. fatigue,  3. depression,  4. additional illnesses,  5. loneliness,  6. forgetfulness,  7. sadness,  or 8. all of the above and then some.  We do face many challenges, some we can fight through quickly, some that takes a little bit longer and some that takes quite a while but we face those challenges the best we can.  This is what makes us warriors and makes us strong.

Even though we struggle with Rheumatoid Arthritis, we strive to remain strong even at our weakest. We have conditioned ourselves to believe we have to take care of everyone and everything out of guilt. You see guilt is an emotion that permeate our lives and takes its toll on us making us less than 100% to anyone including ourselves.

Rheumatoid Arthritis, what do you have to say about it. So much it overwhelms your mind. It is a disease of the body that affects your mind. There is no easy way to make people understand just how it is to live with a debilitating disease like RA. One of the many autoimmune diseases that affect so many of us, more women than men by the way.

This isn’t a blog about pity, it is a blog about reality and the reality is, Rheumatoid Arthritis is a disease that changes the lives of people slowly sometimes other times in a more aggressive fashion. Are you prepared either way, No! It moves in and changes everything about your life. Your normalcy is gone forever and what you’re about to learn things many may not even imagine.

You will leave behind what you were accustomed to in life and prepare for the new life RA has in store for you. Life as you knew it will slowly slip away day by day bringing with it an emotional ride you won’t be prepared for. You will learn just how much strength you will need and how much you will come to rely on that strength when your body and mind goes through more than you could imagine. Pain throughout leading you to sadness and emotions that will also change you forever. Being sick and the guilt of being sick from a disease you cannot control is something that others won’t fully understand.

Suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis takes its toll on us. It is a defining factor in all that we do from the moment we get up until we go to bed. It dictates our days determining whether or not it will be one that we can tolerate or one that puts us into bed. Dealing with the also uncertainty takes its toll and the ups and downs we face cannot be explained fully to those who don’t experience it. It is difficult to explain to anyone how you may be okay one moment and the next at your worst. As unbelievable as that may seem, it is the reality of having an autoimmune disease. We are sick, limited, sad and guilt ridden because we are unable to be the person we were before RA.

Rheumatoid Arthritis is a controlling disease. It controls our pain, emotions, days and dynamics but we continue our fight in this battle. We want everyone to understand we are working against this disease and it dictates what we can and cannot do. Though it doesn’t appear this way, it is our truth. Trying to control RA is an ongoing struggle, one we deal with each and every day. We should not have to defend having a disease we neither want or asked for!!

Be Blessed.