Rheumatoid Arthritis Support Group
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, inflammatory, multisystem, autoimmune disorder. It is a disabling and painful condition which can lead to substantial loss of mobility due to pain and joint destruction. The disease is also systemic in that it often also affects many extra-articular tissues throughout the body including the skin, blood vessels, heart, lungs, and...
My friend has RA - has been in a wheelchair since she was 23, she is now 54. We have known each other all this time. Her husband died ten years ago now and she has no family at all, and has elected for a care package that 'buys' her carers. There is always trouble, though, and she has IBS, does voluntary work, goes to classes. Fills her days so full because she has no family near, in U.K. family in America. She is profoundly disabled and can do nothing for herself, though has a beautiful voice and works for a crisis telephone line, which she is brilliant at. She has had bad flareups lately, through stress I believe, all the doctors think she is such a high achiever they dont see the pain and stress she is under. She has said sometimes lately she is not sure what the point of her is.......am just so concerned for her - is anyone else here in this position? She is unable to use a computer as her hands are so bad.....she is such a wonderful person and good friend....would love to find ideas or ways to help her through this bad time....
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I have been here before, a long long time ago and now I am back.Forgive me for not just saying what I want to say,even under a triple dose of antidepressants it is still raw and seeping and I am hesitant at revealing it as at least under the bandages around my heart I don,t have to look at how raw and wounded.My child was cleaved from my heart by his own actions. my child of ten,turning eleven...
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theatre and I are there already. I'm having a very berry tea with crackers, cheese and cherry tomatoes and she's having a joint with some beer and we're both on really comfy recliners on thick pile carpet. we need some help with the decor if anyone is around??
But it became clear very quickly that he didn't want me to observe the niceties, he wanted me to tell him truly how I was doing. I think we all get so used to trying to put a good face on our illnesses and pains, that we begin to fool ourselves!
So first and formost is to tell the doc exactly how she is feeling, every little pain and difficulty. Tell her not to worry that she will be seen as a complainer, but that the doctors need to know everything.
About the computer, Windows office 2003 or 2007 and Vistas all have a voice recognition program in them that allows you to talk and the computer prints what you speak. It helps me a lot when my fingers hurt too much to type. Hope this helps
She can be very intractible about new innovations for some reasons, which sort of go against the rest of her personality in a way, dont know why that is - probably that life is such a struggle anyway, that more struggle with something new is way too much?