“It isn’t the strongest of the species which survives, neither the most intelligent, but rather that which adapts best to change.”  Charles Darwin

He must have been talking about rheumatoid arthritis. The most difficult aspect of RA is its unpredictable nature. RA may be simmering.  Suddenly, without warning, a severe fatigue, an exhaustion so bad its immobilizing,  arrives to totally disrupt your day. New severe pain in your right foot makes walking impossible. The simmering pain becomes more than simmering and the constant hurting becomes discouraging. A drug that has worked so well stops working. A very short list of RA’s unpredictable nature.

What to do?

Adapt and survive. The number  one consideration is your attitude. You will need to come to the understanding that you have a chronic, progressive  illness. It is not going away.

And YOU are in charge.

You have the balancing act between controlling symptoms of RA and the side effects of medication. You know the importance of RA medication is to avoid crippling disability, which is guaranteed without proper medication. Consider your health care team: rheumatologist, pharmacist, physical therapist, exercise specialist, nutritionist,  psychologist, social worker, other supportive members.

You are in charge of your team. You call the shots while getting expert advice from your team. The first thing you will need is to understand your illness. Know that it is a chronic disease and it’s not going away. Some drugs work better for some people. Some drugs will not work for you even though they seem to work for many people. I find low dose cannabis and Medrol help me. Since very little works for me, steroids are an acceptable reluctant choice by my rheumatologist