What does the future hold???

wendygrocott

It's very interesting to read all your items on this site I have written a few myself the question I would like to ask is "What are the long term prospects of arthritis in all the joints" I know arthritis doesn't get better and the need for pain killers increases mobility becomes more restricted and life in general becomes a circle of Diet, Doctors,Hospitals, Exercise have I missed anything out oh yes state of mind I keep expecting to wake up one morning and feel normal be able to get out of bed quickly and walk naturally to the bathroom and down the stairs, Oh joy and when I see that the skirting boards need wiping down I can just do it this is a pipe dream could it ever become reality I don't think so So come on all you Arthurs enlighten me!!! :!:

page35

I think oneday they will find a cure for arthur it may not be in time to help me but i think it will be cureable
i am newish to RA and the future does worry me so i try not to think about it, if i am having a good day i enjoy it and if its a bad one i look forward to the next good one
Page

dachshund

I Was born with cerebral palsy so i got use to that from an early age it as never stopped me doing what i've wanted to do like horse riding
walking as far as i want like to town and back about 3 miles i know as we get older we can get slower.
but since i got arther i cannot walk very far i cannot stand and i ache all the time.
it changes your life like nothing be fore
i aways think there is someone worst off.
joan xx

englishrose

wendygrocott wrote:

It's very interesting to read all your items on this site I have written a few myself the question I would like to ask is "What are the long term prospects of arthritis in all the joints" I know arthritis doesn't get better and the need for pain killers increases mobility becomes more restricted and life in general becomes a circle of Diet, Doctors,Hospitals, Exercise have I missed anything out oh yes state of mind I keep expecting to wake up one morning and feel normal be able to get out of bed quickly and walk naturally to the bathroom and down the stairs, Oh joy and when I see that the skirting boards need wiping down I can just do it this is a pipe dream could it ever become reality I don't think so So come on all you Arthurs enlighten me!!! :!:

I think you have to hope for the best - unless you are very unfortunate you are unlikely to have problems in all joints. Thats why they give us MTX or similar. The hope being that it will slow down the progress of the disease.
They may even find a cure. They certainly will continue to bring forward much improved drugs. Twenty years ago there was very little available compared to today. I am 72 yrs of age and have had RA for 8 yrs. Of course I am fighting the slowdown that comes with age as well as the problems of RA itself. Even then I am a long way from giving up and being "old". Just keep positive.
Jane

lindalegs

Hi Wendy,

Having had RA since I was 27 till now at the age of 51 I can honestly say that it's not all doom and gloom. My most terrible pain days were in the beginning and from the two flares I've had since but it always, for me, settles down again. In the latter years with the improvement in the use of Dmards I think things are much better now than they used to be.

The hardest thing is accepting you have it and then learning to live within the parameters of your disease - but I'm not an unhappy person because of it. We all, on some days, mourn for the person we once were but, I, like Page, take each day as it comes and that's the only way to deal with it - don't worry about what may happen, we often cope better than we think we might.

I think I'm a better person for having RA, less selfish, more accepting, more understanding and I glean joy from the smallest of things.

Arthritis isn't the end of the world it just a life that offers more challenges for us than it does for most.

These are just my thoughts.

Luv Legs

karinak

Hello,
I am wondering on that same question, but come to the conclusion that we are all different and meds work for some and not others, arthritis effects us in varied ways and forms. I think postive attitude of the mind, keeping mobile and good diet helps with our future.............and you never know it could go as quick as it came
Karina x

jaspercat

Hi Wendy, having had RA for 13/14 years I have come to the conclusion that you can only do what it allows you too, the thing is to try and find a way to cope, there are so many varied types of RA some people are lucky and have it mild, while other people are really unwell with it.

It is really important to try and stay positive, although we all have bad days too love Jaspercatxx

joyful164

lindalegs wrote:

Hi Wendy,

Having had RA since I was 27 till now at the age of 51 I can honestly say that it's not all doom and gloom. My most terrible pain days were in the beginning and from the two flares I've had since but it always, for me, settles down again. In the latter years with the improvement in the use of Dmards I think things are much better now than they used to be.

The hardest thing is accepting you have it and then learning to live within the parameters of your disease - but I'm not an unhappy person because of it. We all, on some days, mourn for the person we once were but, I, like Page, take each day as it comes and that's the only way to deal with it - don't worry about what may happen, we often cope better than we think we might.

I think I'm a better person for having RA, less selfish, more accepting, more understanding and I glean joy from the smallest of things.

Arthritis isn't the end of the world it just a life that offers more challenges for us than it does for most.

These are just my thoughts.

Luv Legs

Hi Luv Legs.
You have made me feel very emotional and weepy. I think I am having a slow down day today. but there are so many things I need to do around he house and garden. I agree with everything you have written. Culdn't have put it better myself.
luv
joy

lindalegs

joyful164 wrote:

......Hi Luv Legs.
You have made me feel very emotional and weepy. I think I am having a slow down day today. but there are so many things I need to do around he house and garden. I agree with everything you have written. Culdn't have put it better myself.
luv
joy

Hi Joy-Luv,

Didn't mean to make anyone feel weepy but glad you think the same as I do.

Love, LuvLegs XX

elnafinn

Hi Wendy

I agree with Linda legs on this. It is definitely not all and gloom. I see people with other illnesses and I think if I had to get something, thank goodness it is OA. It is not lifethreatening. I am a positive person and that helps a great deal and I have a super nucleus of a loving family and extended family on all side and a few very good friends. I agree with Linda, I too, am a better person for it all. I am not at all unhappy, either. I get my moments and blips but that is all they are. I do not think too far ahead, what is the point? Why ponder about what is going to happen, whatever will be, will be.

I hope you will come back to us Wendy, with what you make of our thoughts on your thread, because I notice when you start a thread, we rarely hear from you at the end or during it.

I hope today is a fairly good day for you.

Luv
Elna x

woodbon

Hi, I agree with Elna, but I'd just like to say, for all of us, we can only live one day at a time. Thats the only time we can be sure of is now, so we have to try and live it as best we can. I don't mean that in some silly 'Pollyanna' sort of way. We may feel like S////t but we keep holding on and hoping for a tiny spark of light, on a really bad day. I have OA , which isn't a systemic disease like RA and I feel lucky. Also today the medications are better than any time in history and research is breaking the ground all sorts of fields, with new ideas and treatments, it is possible that some of the younger ones here will see a time when these problems can be put right easily. Maybe some of us to-quite-so-young ones too may see massive improvements. But I can't really think in such huge terms realistically, so take one day at a time, and hold tight. :shock:
Love Sue

hazelsmum

woodbon wrote:

Hi, I agree with Elna, but I'd just like to say, for all of us, we can only live one day at a time. Thats the only time we can be sure of is now, so we have to try and live it as best we can. I don't mean that in some silly 'Pollyanna' sort of way. We may feel like S////t but we keep holding on and hoping for a tiny spark of light, on a really bad day. I have OA , which isn't a systemic disease like RA and I feel lucky. Also today the medications are better than any time in history and research is breaking the ground all sorts of fields, with new ideas and treatments, it is possible that some of the younger ones here will see a time when these problems can be put right easily. Maybe some of us to-quite-so-young ones too may see massive improvements. But I can't really think in such huge terms realistically, so take one day at a time, and hold tight. :shock:
Love Sue

Having seen my Grandmother go through RA/OA in her hips, nothing ever got her down. She used to teach craft at an orphanage to the children just up the road from her until she was well into her 80's. She died 20years ago May. The advances in medicine and treatment gives me hope. She missed all that, but still always said that she would find it harder if she had problems with her hands as she could make hats, baskets, crochet, knit, embroider.........the list goes on, even when she went blind in one eye she was still knitting!!!! She is an inspiration to me, and as kids we always had fun when we went to visit. I still miss her now.

When life throws you a few lemons, shove some in the freezer for later, and make lemonade with the rest! Life will come up and bite you in the bum occassionally, it's how you deal with it that makes us who we are and sometimes we can bite it back.

Kaye

elnafinn

Well, Wendy what do you think about our replies to your question? Be nice to have some feedback from you.

Luv
Elna x