Isn't it amazing how many people WANT RA? I tell them only 1-2% of people in the US actually have it so fear not

they can take my RA and be the statistic....cos I sure hate it...will gladly give it away LOL

That's what I tell them! YOu don't want this for any reason! It just amazes me how some people can be so inconsiderate and some are over considerate! There are very few that are in the middle....

Ummm yup, anyone can have my RA - it SUCKS!!! and pred - oh yes , I hate it too!!! but it helps so much - damn!!!

But my MTX and Orencia aren't working :( majorly, but I'm still holding out hope they might!!!

I think my husband would love to have it. it doesnt help when you look perfectly normal. I would give it up anytime i could but would not wish it on my worst enemy.

When finding out I tested Pos for R.A and Lupus the friends and family on F.B all seem to have it. lol They started telling me their probs, like I didn't have enough of my own. Also the things they tell you to do. lol I've been told rub Bengay on my R.A, and take a Fish Oil Tab it will make it go all away, don't we all wish. lol I tell you I've learned fast that a lot of the friends I had I thought were smart guys, but when it comes to this they are dumb as rocks. lol

Ah yes, there's the lady in the drug store that asks me what supplements I'm on , and tells me that she just drinks carnation breakfast in the morning. I'll just have to tell my rheumy that I don't need my mxt and enbrel, only some vitamins and carnation. Sorry, cranky in the morning:) God Bless, hang in there!

I just love it when someone sees me limping and says, "It's hard getting old isn't it." I'm 44, and I don't look it,(not bragging I promise just lucky). I told the nurse at my Rheumy's office yesterday that I wish I could walk as fast as she does. She's in her 60's.

I don't even have an official dx yet. My RF was elevated, my SED rate and CRP were high, but ANA was neg (yay).
I'm scared, but hopeful.
I'm tired of being tired and not being able to move. I'm 32 and I feel so OLD.
The only time I've felt great in the last 5 years was after I finished shock doses of pred (60mg orally for 5 days). I felt young again.

We've been looking for an answer for years. As much of a pain as any of these diseases are, an answer is what I yearn for.
Thanks for listening. Just signed up today!

We all have experienced the "oh I have arthritis too" that people are quick to compare to RA. It isn't worth getting pissed about because you will continue to run into this from here on in. I have friends who think my RA is no big deal, so I stay quiet it with them. Then there are those who ask me how I am because they understand the magnitude of the illness and how it is capable of turning our lives upside down. This is a good place to vent because WE ALL have people like the ones that bug you in our lives.

Well here is a good one for you..BF is always complaining that I am always in pain and can't do things..Today I came back with..Well I am in really good shape compared to those on the board that are in their early 30's and younger that have a hard time getting out of bed.. I wish you could have seen the stunned look I got... absolute shock... and then OMG are you kidding me...? Ah nooooooooooo... I am in darn good shape compared to a lot of you on this board..I do have bad days and have lots of problems but I can still get around and do everything for myself at this point. Bf can't understand how I can put up with the pain all the time...I just do..I can't control it. I live with it.. some days are much worse than others..but I have been doing it for a long time.. Maybe some day all of these friends will finally get it...
Cass

My hubby complains that I don't get "anything" done (getting two loads of laundry is a big feat, as I have to carry them up & down a set and a half of steps; I try to multi-task while I'm downstairs to save energy), but is grateful for EVERYTHING that I do for his/our son [my stepson, whom I've been raising for 8 years and is going to be 10 in July] and says he couldn't do that without me. He just doesn't understand why I can't get more done around the house. Why I'm hesitant about physical intimacy, why I'm tired all of the time, etc. etc.

And on good days, I'm really hesitant to overdo it . . . vicious cycle.

He did seem heartened when our allergist told him how far RA treatments have come in recent years. That since I'm young (32) I have a good outlook.

From what I'm reading I have a moderate case. And like you Cassie2u, I am in pain, all the time. I just deal with it.
I've been in pain every day since August 10, 2005; when my car got hit by what might as well have been a tank.

It's not that I don't want to do those things.

It's that, until I see a rheumatologist and get on proper treatment, I'm stuck in a holding pattern of fatigue and pain.

I hate it when people say ever one has a touch of Arthritis ...

I have to tell them I DON'T HAVE ARTHRITIS I HAVE RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS its not the same thing and I wish I just have a touch of arthritis..

OMG...I could go into a full rant about this.

I don't want peoples pity at all, but dam who named this terrible disease? They got it ALL wrong. Did they realize it was gonna lump us in with someones old broken arm? Or with someones wore out joint? Feeling like your hands have been run over by a car and having an achy joint every once in a while is NOT the same.

We realy do need another name for it.
Something really SCARY sounding...LOL.

One that's even worse when you tell people it's an auto immune disease, some idiots think that means some sort of contagious thing like aids. GEEZ...seriously?

I finaly just stop telling people unless they ask.
Most of the time, unless people know, I just say I sprained something.

Hugs,
Missy

Last guy that mistakenly confused my RA with the arthritis in his thumb lost a deal on a car. So did his boss.

I don't get mad... I get even. (Got a better deal after all was said and done)