Are you diseased?

LignumVitae

This is something I can't quite get my head around after 15 years...am I diseased? I take disease modifying drugs. Most literature talks about 'your diease' or 'arthritis is a disease'. In my head though 'disease' is linked to medieval imagery of boils and pus and warty eyes and fingers dropping off so I don't make the link back to little old me. So what is arthritis? Obviously it can be named lots of words that would earn me a life time ban from the forum but is it an illness? a condition? is it actually a disease after all? How do you see yours? It's all a bit meaninglessly philosophical I know but this classification is something I really struggle with in terms of how to identify it and how it sits on me. A big pain and not just in the bum is as close as I've managed over the last 15 years.

lulubell69

Your post did make me smile. I too conjure up images of boils, puss and spreadable ailments when talking of disease. I don't feel like I have 'The lurgy' lol. It's certainly not catching... An illness? Not sure. A condition, probably. Lots of other words..... definitely.

barbara12

Very interesting LV, I have only had one person call it a disease,and that was my nuero man ..his words this disease is not going away..I was more shock to hear the word :shock: , and not the thought that I was stuck with it..

stickywicket

I am definitely diseased 8)

'an illness as a state where the person has feelings of pain or discomfort that does not have an identifiable reason.'
'A disease refers to a condition where the body or the parts of the body of a person does not work properly. There is usually a pathological reason behind the condition.'

'It is important to note that both illness and disease result in more or less the same symptoms. However, an illness can be cured in most cases.'

http://tinyurl.com/prrmbcu

I have a plethora of body parts that don't 'work properly' :roll:

Diseased but not disheartened

dreamdaisy

I'm riddled with disease and have been for some years now. It isn't going to clear up, it isn't going to get better or go away, I am diseased but I never think of myself in that way. I have two kinds of arthritis plus fibro - so what? I am still me, albeit a somewhat reduced version of what I might have been. DD

mamasmurf

I have the lurgy !
mamasmurf

bubbadog

I don't like the word diseased, like you LV it conjures up images of nasty things. I use the word illness when I talk about what's wrong with me. It's properly the wrong word but I prefer it to disease!!

dreamdaisy

The word disease does indeed conjure up nasties - look at what we're living with on a daily basis. DD

LignumVitae

See, I've pondered that for years, SW gave me the technical correct answer, the rest of you proved I'm not alone in finding it a frightening word and DD quite rightly pointed out that this is one nasty ugly disease even if the pus, boils and other crone features are largely absent...I can stop pondering now and just settle into being a diseased old hag

theresak

I don't like the word either - it always conjures up images of things like leprosy and all manner of infections things. In my head I know RA is a disease, but in my heart I think of it as a condition, albeit a chronic one.

LignumVitae

I like the head and heart distinction Tezz, I think you probably have the perfect approach there although I might have to miss out 'chronic' it's another buzz word that makes me think of chronic 70 a day smokers with a hacking cough and lurid spittle...yes I do have an over active imagination as well as immune system.

theresak

I don`t really much like the word chronic either, LV, but there is a nurse at my GP practice who has responsibility for "chronic illnesses," and I am on that list!

Also, when my GP has a student, he always wants a "chronic" illness person to meet he/she as part of their training - and I`ve been "it" a couple of times. I do get free tea and biccies for my trouble!

Starburst

I struggle with these words. I used to say 'illness' but a close family member got upset and said they don't think of me as ill. :? A condition makes me think of pregnancy. Disease is used most frequently in clinics; disease activity, disease modifiers. If you break it down, dis-ease. Well, yes I am in a permanent state of non ease! Then again, I feel dramatic saying 'disease' especially as I often get "oh you have rheumatoid arthritis? I have a bit of that in my knee".

So, I conclude in this; I don't know what I am except I AM SOPHIE!

stickywicket

To me, words are just words. I have a chronic disease. That's what it is and euphemisms only confuse the issue. I am also very unarticulated.

daffy2

To me disease brings to mind infection and contagion(regardless of the true definition), illness implies something possibly curable, whereas 'degenerative condition' seems to sum up the combination of scoliosis, OP and OA that I have. As it sounds so gloomy though I try and avoid thinking about it at all.

m4r14j

sorry this post is dead - but i feel the need to add my two pence as it was a really good read!

I agree with daffy on the degenerative condition - it does sum up the daily grind getting harder over time - but i'm sure LV like me now pictures older ideas of the word usage (or abus-age) being anywhere between a person with mental health problems, to those with learning difficulties or in a homosexual relationship all of whom would have ended up in an insane asylum in ye olde times.

i can't speak for all of your arthritis' i know it definitely does not apply to OA, but i take my PsA as an immune disorder, since my body is attacking parts of my body and now with images in my mind of some religious zealot self flagellating i do see the resemblance of my body punishing... my mind i guess in this instance?

and so i guess i have an immune disorder(ly) chronic degenerative dis-ease, in scientific labelling.

and i now have 2 things to moan profusely about regarding the nature of bias in english language :x - the negative labelling of anyone not 100% healthy in all areas at all times and the 50% of the populace not in possession of Y chromosomes. (to see what i mean about that one just ask yourself what the gender opposites are to "player" "ladies man" "romeo" "don jaun" etc)

and the artist in me will now relabel that to be negative on the "normals" as i would describe a piece of ceramic or glasswork. :idea:

they are mass produced factory model vessels lacking definition and character....

i am a handmade vessel with natural flaws in the production process that show individual characteristics and unique charms :balloon:

FYI as a double XX'er i like to counter the Y bias by pointing out Y is a wonky X that lost a leg which is far more fun than pointing out 2 Y's don't make a life

ok ranting over