RAa stages.

[juneann]

Hi all, suffered severe RA for fourteen years and only just read about the stages of RA, what is everyone else's nderstanding of this? Although it's a progressive disease I imagined modern drugs are dealing with it pretty well. I have always understood that RA/auto immune disease tends to shorten life by upto fifteen years whilst fairly well managed, however I wasn't aware of the three stages just as other well known diseases the to have. I always thought ignorance was bless, I'm not a fan of the crystal ball. Any thoughts/knowledge?

[helixhelix]

I view these as much more of a description of the impact of the disease rather than a pathway that everyone follows. Yes, some people are unlucky enough to have an aggressive RA that doesn't respond well to any treatment and results in severe damage. But for most of us the disease can be controlled so you only ever get mild or moderate damage.

And everything I've read says that these days, as long as you take care of yourself re comorbidities, there is no big impact on lifespan from the disease itself. So look after your cardiovascular system!

[juneann in reply to helixhelix]

Thanks HelixHelix, That's quite reassuring. X

[juneann]

Hi you can certainly take Paracetamol. A localised joint injection is usually ok, as for a I tramuscular or oral steroid I would be very careful as you could risk bleeding. Call a pharmacist...hight street/Tesco etc. I'm on just a month's worth of oral steroid starting at 20mg weaning through 5mg and I can't add Ibuprofen even though the steroid isn't getting completely on top of things.

[Junebee]

I would be interested to know the three stages of ra as I never get this question answered at the hospital!

[Hidden in reply to Junebee]

Had RA for 31 years and have never heard of 'stages' of the disease. But just found this from rheumatoidarthritis.net Understanding RA Stages and Progression

How RA progresses and expresses itself varies widely from patient to patient. This variability can be seen in patterns of joint involvement, as well as the degree of disease involvement outside of the joints, including development of rheumatoid nodules, lung involvement, and other RA-related complications. One patient may experience RA symptoms that affect only small joints, while another may have symptoms that affect only large joints. Still other patients will experience more generalized disease that affects a range of joints, regardless of size. There is also wide variation among patients in how active the disease is and how quickly structural damage in the joints develops.

rheumatoidarthritis.net/wha...

[juneann]

Reading the reply from Helix Helix I think maybe we should accept that we have a chronic disease, put faith in the specialists, trust that the meds do their thing and go out there and grab life by the balls. Seize the day!

[wishbone]

Can't say I've ever heard of the three stages with RA, and seeing as I have fairly aggressive RA, which has been difficult to control, then I don't think I want to hear about them. Sometimes it's best to stick one's head in the sand, especially if you're a coward like me.

[juneann]

I must admit wishbone I do think we can spend our quality time and good days worrying about what and how we should be doing something for optimum health.