A Diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis - Why, and How?

Twenty or thirty years ago a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis was even more worrying than it is today. Having said that, you can't make light of a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. This form of arthritis is a chronic progressive auto-immune disease which can cause severe pain and disability. Rheumatoid Arthritis is still incurable. Much more is known now about pain management. This indicates that rheumatoid arthritis can be manageable and people with this type of arthritis can go on to have quality of life.

What is Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Rheumatoid Arthritis differs from the more common osteo type of arthritis due to its inflammatory and systemic nature. Rheumatoid arthritis is not just a disease of the joints, but can affect internal organs. Those recently diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis may take heart though. The progression is variable, and this does not happen in all cases of rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis can eventually lead to secondary osteoarthritis in its later stages. This is because the weakness caused by the joint inflammation leads to the deterioration of the cartilage and bone itself.

Why Rheumatoid Arthritis? Why Me?

If a person is unlucky enough to be diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, it would be natural to ask why he or she has contracted this disease. The rheumatoid form of arthritis does tend to run in families. There can also be environmental or lifestyle choices which affect the likelihood of becoming a rheumatoid arthritis sufferer. One of these is smoking. The risk of rheumatoid arthritis is considerably higher in smokers. The ironic thing about this is that cigarette smoking can have a pain-killing effect upon the joints of a rheumatoid arthritis sufferer. This would obviously predispose the smoking rheumatoid arthritis patient to carry on with the habit. Unfortunately this can cause extra-articular disease and also lung cancer. Lung cancer risk is higher in people with rheumatoid arthritis, and this is most probably because of the propensity of many of them to smoke.

Are There other Risk Factors for Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Rheumatoid arthritis is more common in women than in men, indicating that there may be hormonal factors at work here. In women rheumatoid arthritis tends to regress during pregnancy and resume in the few weeks after giving birth. The contraceptive pill (which mimics pregnancy in many ways) has given many women protection from rheumatoid arthritis. This can continue long after the woman has ceased taking the pill.

Rheumatoid arthritis begins within a few weeks of having an infection of some kind in a considerable number of cases.

How is Rheumatoid Arthritis Treated?

Conventional treatments for rheumatoid arthritis include exercise, as it is so important with rheumatoid arthritis to keep the muscles strong to support the joints. Deterioration or wasting in the muscles causes extra strain on the joints and can lead to the development of the secondary osteo form of arthritis, joint damage. This can be hard for the rheumatoid arthritis sufferer because the inflamed rheumatoid joints produce inflammatory chemicals which in turn cause fatigue and sometimes depression in rheumatoid arthritis patients. Some modern antidepressants can help the pain of rheumatoid arthritis whilst also lifting the mood.

Surgical joint replacement is an option in cases of rheumatoid arthritis. Drug options include Paracetamol, NSAIDs, opoid analgesics (codeine, fentanyl) and disease-modifying drugs are used, sometimes enabling the pain of rheumatoid arthritis to be successfully managed. Of course many of these are not without side-effects. It's not surprising that so many people turn to alternative and nutritional healing methods to help with the pain of rheumatoid arthritis.