Living with Rheumatiod Arthritis (RA)

It is now estimated 1 in 3 adults in America live with the chronic daily pain of arthritis. That is a high number by any estimate and in the past ten years, the rate of afflicted adults has doubled.

Arthritis was once thought to be an old age disease but for some of us, arthritis begins in childhood while for others it develops into adulthood. I know this pain as I have had Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis since I was a child and I remember plenty of nights after playing as children do having hours of pain. Pain that would leave me screaming and my patient mother rubbing my legs endlessly. It seemed for hours she would rub my legs trying so hard to get the knots out of them.

Even into adulthood the chronic pain persists, now it has a new name attached to it Rheumatoid Arthritis. It affects every joint in my body that it possibly can, ankles, hips, wrists, shoulders to everything in between. RA as it is commonly know as usually sets in after the age of 25, and depending on the severity symptoms can come and go.

On damp rainy days if any one were to ask, I would say I say that I hurt from the shoulders down, most of the time that is exactly where my body hurts as well. What do I do to help curb the pain that I feel? That depends on the day; usually it involves lots of pain medication, a blanket, a hot soaking bath, and movement as tolerated.

Some days I just grab a hot rice bag and head to bed. I used to enjoy walking in a light rain but as the year quickly go by I find myself staying in out of the dampness. When you have any form of arthritis rain is not your friend.

There are some very good medicines on the market to combat the pain of rheumatoid arthritis but I am one of those people who hate the side effects that come with some of them. Celebrex kept the pain away but I got sick on it, Vioxx worked great but it was taken off the market. Naproxen sodium, Advil, and prescription Ibuprofen did not quite do the job of handling the pain.

Rheumatoid Arthritis is like a bad friend that will not go away, it is always there lurking behind every rain cloud, snowflake, or fun day where too much exercise it going on. It is always is going to be there ready to rear its ugly head should I do too much or too little. That is right if I am too lazy, the pain and stiffness associated with arthritis will seep in and grab a hold of me. The right mix of exercise is the right way to manage my rheumatoid arthritis.

Sources:

http://www.arthritis.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juvenile_idiopathic_arthritis

http://www.arthritis.org/exercise-intro.php

http://www.arthritis.com/rheumatoid_arthritis.asp