Re: anything good?

[Guest guest]

Yes, there is some good news. Although RA and PA are not curable,

they are treatable and most people respond well to some combination of

drugs - both for pain and for slowing the progress of the disease.

I don't think there is any particular causal relationship between

athletics and arthritis. For the most part, these autoimmune diseases

have a genetic basis, although a particular infection or injury may

trigger them or may trigger a flare. That's my understanding,

anyway. If it's incorrect, I hope someone will jump in and correct it

quickly.

As for remissions, I think I've had at least one, maybe more, long-

term remission. Although I was only diagnosed 4 months ago, I'm sure

that a problem I had with my left foot about 10 years ago was a big

flare of PA. It lasted several months, but went away on its own and I

had no major problems until just recently. I've had unexplained and

pretty bad but not incapacitating joint pain every 3-5 years since my

early 20s, always in a single joint at a time. They would last a

couple of weeks to a couple of months. I'm pretty sure those also

were PA - each went away without treatment. If I'm right in my

suspicion that this has been going on for a long time undiagnosed

(because I had no P until recently), then I've had lots of remissions

lasting from a few years to 10 years. I'm hoping for another!

regards, and keep your chin up!

sherry z

>

> Hi I am 29 and I have recently learned I have rheumatoid arthritis.

I

> cant help but think years of athletics did this to me. What I need

to

> know is their anyone out there who is not having bone problems? Is

> this always working against you? What about remission? I need to know

> these things because I dont want to believe that at my age I am

pretty

> much doomed in a few years. Is their anyone out there who had done

> pretty well living with this? or is everyone being damaged big time

by

> this disease? Just trying to keep a positive outlook but everyhitng I

> read and hear goes against that.

[Guest guest]

Ah.....well put dear Kathy...Kierot, keep on trying to stay

postive. If you want to, you can. If you can't, you may need

medication for depression for a bit. It comes with most diseases and

is not an indicator of how strong you are. I wish you all the best

in your journey. Read the posts and see a Rheumatologist that you

trust and are comfortable with. Keep learning...keep believing. Glad

you are here but so sorry that you needed to find us. -Betz

>

> Hi I am 29 and I have recently learned I have rheumatoid

arthritis. I

> cant help but think years of athletics did this to me. What I

need to

> know is their anyone out there who is not having bone problems? Is

> this always working against you? What about remission? I need to

know

> these things because I dont want to believe that at my age I am

pretty

> much doomed in a few years. Is their anyone out there who had done

> pretty well living with this? or is everyone being damaged big

time by

> this disease? Just trying to keep a positive outlook but

everyhitng I

> read and hear goes against that.

>

> [Editor's Note: I'm 57 and was diagnosed with RA at 16. My life

has been filled with the love of a wonderful partner, a successful

career, the support and companionship of great friends and many

moments of joy and laughter. Arthritis has nothing to do with

finding joy because joy is all around us if we choose to focus on

what we can do rather than fixate on the things we can't. One of

the keys to coping with any disease, is to maintain a positive

outlook and to remember that you while you can't control having the

disease, you CAN control how you deal with it. PA is but one aspect

of my life. So, yes, it is very possible to live a happy life with

PA and I'm sure there are many others here who will echo that

sentiment. One of the other keys is to be as informed as possible

about the disease and what the choices are for treating it. There

are many people on this list of over 2800 people, who have had good

results with medications on the market today. Some people bash

medications, but the fact is that RA and PA are PROGRESSIVE

diseases. There are NO cures and anyone claiming to have one is

lying. There are some medications that help slow the progression of

the disease and while these meds come with some potential risks,

many of us feel that the risks of not taking the medications are far

greater than anything we face by taking them. Some people do so

well on medications, that they are able to lead lives that are

pretty close to pre-diagnosis levels. You may be one of them.

>

> By the way, RA is NOT a bone disease, nor does it necessarily lead

to bone problems. Why is that a major concern for you? Do you

already have bone damage? The main problem with RA and PA is joint

damage, not bone damage and joint damage can be considerable if left

untreated. Some of us, myself included, are unlucky enough to ALSO

be diagnosed with osteoarthritis or osteoporosis. There are

medications for this as well, and since I've been taking medication

for my osteoporosis, I have actually GAINED critical bone mass and

have not had another broken bone. This is something to bear in mind

for those who dismiss medications.

>

> In any case, the main point is that while we didn't choose our

disease, we can choose to be happy people or miserable people.

Arthritis doesn't make those choices for us. Kathy F.]

>