Many eons ago, not long after my diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis, I went to the library to learn all I could about it. Ever since I’d taken Lamaze training so that I could give birth to my daughter ...

A community member shares his experience with RA and unpredictable bone degeneration and joint problems, including knee and back issues.

Essentially, he was asking what makes RA different from the type of arthritis that you usually hear about: osteoarthritis. I know my friend meant well when saying this, but it caused me to have some ...

I have lived in the midwest my whole life, growing up in Illinois and attending college in Iowa. I am used to the saying, "If you don’t like the weather, wait an hour and it’ll change" — which is ...

I’ve spent my whole life with joint pain, swelling, and stiffness. In my younger years, it was chalked up to growing pains or injuries from being athletic. It wasn’t until I was 30 years old and ...

The morning after I had injured my knee, I woke up -- unable to get out of bed. I felt sharp pain throughout my body - like pieces of glass, or knives. With help, I got out of bed, and a friend sent ...

When you explore Dr. Google for general information about rheumatoid arthritis, you will often see references to the term "flare." Many general information websites discuss flares as if patients with ...

I wake up with yellow crusties on my eyelids and a sticky residue. It’s not too different from pink eye, but less severe and harder to treat. Other than regularly washing the eyelids with warm water ...

How is genetic risk for RA determined? Results from genetic studies, including twin studies, family studies, and genome-wide linkage studies, have shown that heritability (or the genetic material that ...

Yet I can blame the evil prednisone for some of it. For making me bloated and screwing with my metabolism (do I still have a metabolism?) and for making me want to devour loaves of white bread and ...

RheumatoidArthritis.net is a Health Union community. Health Union reaches millions of people through condition-specific online health communities and a Social Health Network of patient leaders across ...

We depend on our hands for daily activities, ranging from typing on a computer keyboard and opening a door to threading a sewing needle and opening a can of soup. When rheumatoid arthritis (RA) ...