Melissa Has RA
My name is Melissa and I am 30-years-old. I am married, have a full-time job and have a good life.
I also have Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Let me first begin by explaining what Rheumatoid Arthritis is. It is not the same as “regular” Arthritis, called Osteoarthritis (OA), in fact, there are over 100 different types of arthritis. OA is more common than RA; it usually begins after the age of 40 and is caused by wear and tear on the joints.
RA is (typically) more severe than OA and is caused by the immune system attacking the body. It can affect anyone of any age, even children, although it does affect more women than men. It is also “systemic”, meaning it can affect any part of the body from the joints to the eyes to the organs.
For me, some days aren’t too bad. I can get out of bed with little-to-no trouble. I can brush my teeth with no pain and I can put my socks on without any issues.
Some days are not as good.
Some mornings I need help from my husband to get out of bed. Brushing my teeth makes my fingers and wrist hurt. Pulling a shirt over my head hurts my shoulders and every step I take causes immense pain in my ankles, knees and hips (this is especially true for stairs).
I often need help opening things because my fingers hurt so bad they feel like they’re sprained or broken. Sore fingers can make work challenging at times. My job occasionally requires a lot of typing, and because I fix computers for a living, I have to pick them up and move them which can cause a lot of pain in my elbows. As well, I work inside them removing and replacing parts. I have had to use pliers to remove things that before, I could do with my hands.
I also have bursitis in my hips (bursitis is also a type of arthritis), so finding a comfortable position to sleep can be difficult.
Treatment for this disease includes chemo drugs that can cause nausea, dizziness, headache, infertility, sensitivity to sunlight, liver damage, hair loss (which I am experiencing), and lowered resistance to infection (also experiencing). I currently take 10 pills a day, 14 on Friday & Saturday. All but one are because of the RA.
I also have issues with dry eyes because of the RA. I can no longer wear contacts and have to use drops in the morning and throughout the day. So far, this is as bad as it has gotten but one of my medications can cause issues with my eyes as well so I have to see an Ophthalmologist every six months to make sure everything is OK.
I can’t be out in the sun for long periods of time. I am sun sensitive anyway, but with my medication added on top of that, I can burn very easily and it also can cause me to get skin cancer more easily than the average person.
On top of the pain from the disease and the side-effects from the medications, one of the worst things about having RA is the fatigue. This is not the same as just being “tired”.
When you feel fatigued, you have no energy. A good way to describe it would be that I sometimes feel like I’ve run a marathon while having the flu. Absolutely no energy at all. There are times when just walking takes all my energy.
Of course not every day is my energy level that low. Some days I can walk up the stairs at work and home with very little issues. I can go for a walk at lunch without it taking twice as long. I can work all day and then still have energy to go run errands in the evening.
I ask that you help support The Arthritis Society so that research can be done for better treatments and eventually a cure for this awful - and sometimes deadly - disease.