Readers Respond: What Are Your Pet Peeves About Arthritis?

What are yours? Healthy people who park in handicapped parking spots? Healthy people who use handicapped stalls in public restrooms? People who stare when you have trouble getting up, limp, or walk with your cane? TV commercials that make arthritis look like a walk in the park? People who ask how you're doing but don't really want to hear it? People who don't understand?

What bugs you? Tell us your pet peeves about arthritis. Tell Us What Bugs You

Stop at the sink

Wet wipes and anti-bacterial gel I will accept! It's those that come out of toilets and walk straight past the sinks and out the door! Yuck!!

—Guest RcJcdUFjARZv

OA v RA

I have OA and boy does it hurt so what it must be like for RA sufferers I hate to think. My heart goes to you all.

—Guest Annie England

Frustrated

First, may I say thank you for this site as it makes me realize I am not alone. I am saddened by the fact that my working career is over. I am a hairstylist who loved her work and got so much satisfaction in making people feel good. Now my hands don't work and simple things like trying to open a jar reduce me to tears. I am 56 and have been made aware that it's going to get progressively worse. I am frustrated by the prescription meds which just eat away at the stomach so I am trying some natural methods. I guess I should be thankful when I read about people like Jackie who at only 24 is suffering, at least I made it to 56 before it completely disrupted my life. Lots of gentle hugs for us all.

—Guest Sheila

Pet peeves about arthritis

I have arthritis in my neck, so one of my pet peeves is not being able to turn my neck as far as I need to, in the car when I back up.

—Guest Stan Witham

Pet Peeves

When healthy people whine all day about mosquito bites or a cold, and you are suffering in silence. You want to say, "At least yours goes away!"

—sooz5555

Faking

RA struck when I was 26 and had 3 little ones. My ex's grandfather said I was faking. Within a year my wrists and ankles were fused. I have had three surgeries one was a knee replacement. I miss working as a office manager because my hands are so bad. I even had to have my wedding ring cut off due to deformation. RA has taken away who I really am, and made me into a disabled person. I know 2 other women with RA who are on the potent drugs. One died of cancer at 42 and the other is severely crippled. Has the medication worked for anyone? Dr's want to give methotrexate which has not worked for me. I have gone with supplements and diet and feel better. My prayer is that they find the cause and a cure. Both my grandfather and mother suffered severely with RA. Could be a genetic link.

—Guest Linda Miles

Knees

Fran I loved your poem. Laughter is the best medicine! There are so many different pains and issues with RA, that I am not sure what is RA or something else going on. Sometimes my knees feel as though they are going to let me drop although there is not a lot of pain there. Would that be connected to RA??

—Guest beany

What annoys me

When people, especially family, thinks you are faking the pain, some even comment on the fact that 'you look good how could you be sick all the time, it's in your mind and you just want to be sick'. Yet still they do not know what is RA. I'm 31 and worked a great job but the pain from Fibro and RA is too much. I had to choose between my family and work, my 2 boys and hussie need me more. Now ppl think I'm lazy.

—Guest r lall

Jane in pain

My heart goes out to the potter. I have been a pianist for 60 years and now I can no longer use my hands to produce the music in my soul. I have had bilatteral hip and knee replacements and am possibly looking at having C spine surgery. I broke my femur in 4 places but rehabbing from that was much easier than living with this chronic pain and daily disappointment. Thanks for giving us a forum to hear from others with OA or RA.

—Guest msjaneb@sbcglobal.com

How People Act

People just blow you off, it's just a little pain.

—Guest jj

Pitiful

I have tried for years now to get a "doctor" to try alternate ways to ease my RA. These so called medicines are poisoning. How can they give you these things knowing they could cause cancer and other nasty things. Yet, they do so. All they want is money, not caring about anyone. People suffer and they get rich. I think it's horrible and they all should try living in pain the way we do. It might make them think about what they are pushing down our throats. Shame on all of them.

—Guest Pat

Frustration

My biggest pet peeve is not being able to be active with my grand kids. I fake it pretty well but at 5 and 2, they're beginning to catch on to the fact that gramma hurts.. All the time.

—Guest Glo

Anger

It's so difficult to understand and accept the fact that I'm only 47 and unable to move my hands. The worst part of all in fact is, it affected my job and my passion, because I'm a potter. How can u sit on the wheel and have ur hands on the water for hours? How can I have strength back to my hands to work the clay on the wheel? Or to make or produce any work? It is just not fair... I love what I do... and now I can not do it anymore because I'm different and my hands do not respond to commands the way they used to...after over a decade of practicing to perfect the skills...I lost it all because of RA. I am trying to retrain and adapt to the new me... trying to adjust, trying to cope by relearning to use my hands again... but still... THEY ARE NOT THE SAME.... I feel frustrated, sad, angry and wish people around me would understand how bad it is....

—Guest eunicelondon

RA

wanting to talk on a chat room with people who have RA as I do. To see how they are dealing with it

—Guest Pam

Responsible for me

The way people act and the comment "I don't want to be responsible for your care."

—Guest Mary Bowman