The Arthritis Foundation will be able to direct you to local resources. They are excellent to work with. While you are in touch with them, would carry this message?

CHANGE THE NAME!

Please tell them that the confusion between OA and RD makes people with RHEUMATOID DISEASE the target of senseless inappropriate/incorrect typecasting. Our pain and our DISEASE are belittled because others believe that they “have arthritis, too” and they aren’t dealing with pain, exhaustion, inability to focus, depression, anxiety, inability to stick to plans and commitments, related physical ailments or morbidities and the resultant frustrations.
How can others understand that we don’t have what they have, that we have a chronic, destructive, progressive DISEASE that has no cure?

Please,

CHANGE THE NAME!

I really don’t think there is a biological out there that helps 100 percent our body’s are attacking us and they still don’t know why

I read the other day that there are over a 100 different types of arthritis. But until you have RA no one will truly understand the pain, fatigue, depression ect. I think that I had it probably 4 years ago... they called it PolyRhemautoid (sorry I didn't spell it correctly) One morning I woke up to extreme pain, couldn't hardly walk down the stairs, there wasn't one part of my body that didn't hurt. Couldn't cook, do laundry, dishes or anything. That was the beginning of all this wonderful stuff we are going through. Even my husband doesn't really understand. Oh well, we just need to vent to each other & hope for the best.