Re: Re: OA VS RA Kristi

[Guest guest]

Kristi:

I have both OA and RA, and the OA does not give me as

much problem as the RA, simply because the RA causes

my joints to become warm and painful, sometimes

swollen. My OA is in my knees mainly, and I have some

heberden's on the tips of my fingers which is part of

OA, but they are not painful. My knees become painful

when I overdo, such as when I ride, but the pain does

not last that long. I mostly have OA in my knees, yet

my most painful joints are my elbows and feet/ankles

where there is no sign of OA, just RA symptoms. RA

also causes fatigue and a generalized feeling of a flu

like feeling when it is flaring - there are no flares

with OA.

OA is wear and tear on the joints - most people get it

at some point -some worse than others - and I am not

saying that OA is not painful, but RA is just

different. RA is an autoimmune disease, a disease

that affects not just our joints, but our entire

bodies, including sometimes our eyes, hearts, and

lungs. RA pain ebbs and wanes, flares up and then dies

down. My OA does not do this. My RA causes much more

problem in a lifestyle way too, and affects everything

that I do. It interfers with daily activities in a

way that OA does not for me.

Well, that is just my 2 cents worth - take care

Kathe in CA

--- Kristi <venuslove106@...> wrote:

> I have a question- What is the difference,

> symptom-wise, between Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid

> Arthritis? I had a family member argue with me that

> OA was just as " bad " as RA, just that RA could be in

> more places. I haven't read up that much on OA.

> Thanks, Kristi

>

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