Rheumatoid Arthritis: Living With a Chronic Disease

First of all, any given individual affected by a chronic, progressive disease such as rheumatoid arthritis, with all of its known complexities, will react to encountering the illness in his/her own way. This is expected, and this is normal.

The response of an individual to developing rheumatoid disease will be based to some degree on their past experiences, their background medical knowledge, their educational abilities, the intensity and location of their disease, and many other factors, including their occupation and personal support systems.

The health-care professional will recognize each of these factors when reviewing the rheumatoid disease with the patient. It has been my policy to make it clear to my patients that I do not want them to "accept" their disease, but I also do not want them to "deny" it.

I fully recognize that my patients with rheumatoid arthritis did not "dial in" their conditions -- they didn't ask for the problem. And I do not want them to be complacent about accepting symptoms or signs of the condition. In this way, we can work together to optimally monitor the condition and its response to treatments. Simultaneously, I do not want my patients to deny their illness. This could lead to devastating permanent consequences to the joints that are avoidable. Modern-day rheumatoid treatments can be very effective at stopping the progression and consequences of this disease.

Eventually, what we want to achieve is a system whereby the doctor and the patient can prudently address symptoms and signs of rheumatoid arthritis while optimally monitoring for both the effects and side effects of treatments. Medical research has clearly shown that the greater this prudence the better the outcome for patients.