by Ruthie Spoonemore

Created on: September 03, 2010

Rheumatoid Arthritis, A Life Changing Disease

Imagine being a seventeen-year-old girl. Suddenly you begin experiencing pain in your hands every morning. Your fingers are stiff and swollen; they look like little, fat sausages. When you walk across the room, it feels like sharp rocks under your feet. The constant pain puts a damper on your appetite and you begin to lose weight. Now imagine being told you have a crippling disease that will change your life.

Thirty-five years ago, I was that young girl. The disease was rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Constant pain and the loss of twenty pounds in three months told us I was experiencing more then “growing pains.” Even after an examination and several blood tests, my doctor wasn't sure what was wrong. She suspected rheumatoid arthritis, but at that time, a diagnosis of RA was rare for someone my age. Our small town didn't have a rheumatologist, a doctor who specialized in RA, so I was referred to a doctor in a nearby city. A week later, I was admitted to the hospital where further testing confirmed it. I had rheumatoid arthritis.

Doctors visits to monitor my pain, hospital stays to build up my appetite so I would gain weight, and physical therapy sessions began to take up much of my free time. My life had changed. I had a schedule to follow.

An inflammatory disease, rheumatoid arthritis alters the immune system, causing it to attack healthy cells in the body. Mainly, it strikes the joints, but other parts of the body could also become affected. Redness and swelling of the joints occur. There is also pain and stiffness, primarily in the morning. Sometimes, damage and bone loss occurs, eventually requiring surgery.

Early treatment can often slow or stop the progression of RA. Treatment varies with each person, but some basic steps are common. A regimen of medication to relieve pain and inflammation, over-the-counter or prescription starts immediately. When I was diagnosed, the treatment involved several doses of aspirin a day. The plethora of medications we have today was not available, and initial treatment wasn't as aggressive.

I took up to fifteen aspirin tablets every day, five doses of three pills each. Keeping this schedule was a lesson in creativity. When I was in class, I learned to chew my pills with a piece of Dentyne gum. The teacher didn’t want me to “interrupt the class” by leaving the room to get a drink of water. To this day, Dentyne gum doesn’t taste right unless I chew

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