"It's Only Psoriatic Arthritis."
A lot of people have the notion that some kinds of arthritis are 'better' than others. Some people argue it's worst to have an autoimmune arthritis than an osteoarthritis, and it goes farther to which kind of autoimmune arthritis is the worst. I think what we don't understand is that it isn't which kind of arthritis is the worst, it's how each individual's disease progresses that judges how severe it is.
Let's take a conversation from about a year ago. It was between my mum and the parents of a friend of mine. My friend's parents had run into my mum and they began to chat. My Friend's parents knew about my arthritis and asked about it. At that point I was not doing well in any sense: Not only were my joints a mess, my kidneys weren't so hot From the medication. Anyway, before my mum brought up that my Friend's dad asked what kind of arthritis it was. My mum told them juvenile psoriatic arthritis, to which he replied "Thank God it's not rheumatoid!" That's when my mum explained what had been going on with me, and my friend's father quickly learned its not the name that judges how bad the arthritis is.
I don't know what it's like to have any other type of arthritis, or autoimmune pain disease in general. What I do know is how much one disease can differ between two people. I have heard of people who have rheumatoid arthritis of one joint and are barely bothered and I know people who have osteoarthritis and can barely move. There are many other cases and examples. But the main point is we can't judge a disease by its name the same way we can't judge a book by it's cover.
Written by the person who wants to stop hearing "Thank God it's only psoriatic and not rheumatoid": Me.
Let's take a conversation from about a year ago. It was between my mum and the parents of a friend of mine. My friend's parents had run into my mum and they began to chat. My Friend's parents knew about my arthritis and asked about it. At that point I was not doing well in any sense: Not only were my joints a mess, my kidneys weren't so hot From the medication. Anyway, before my mum brought up that my Friend's dad asked what kind of arthritis it was. My mum told them juvenile psoriatic arthritis, to which he replied "Thank God it's not rheumatoid!" That's when my mum explained what had been going on with me, and my friend's father quickly learned its not the name that judges how bad the arthritis is.
I don't know what it's like to have any other type of arthritis, or autoimmune pain disease in general. What I do know is how much one disease can differ between two people. I have heard of people who have rheumatoid arthritis of one joint and are barely bothered and I know people who have osteoarthritis and can barely move. There are many other cases and examples. But the main point is we can't judge a disease by its name the same way we can't judge a book by it's cover.
Written by the person who wants to stop hearing "Thank God it's only psoriatic and not rheumatoid": Me.
I don't blame you a bit, Elizabeth. It makes no sense to compare one type of arthritis with another--they all cause pain and disability, and each of us reacts differently to them.
ReplyDeleteI think people try categorize things as "better" or "worse" as a way to make the kind you have sound a little less serious--for your sake, to help you not worry so much. But they don't know as much as you do about your arthritis. I'm glad your Mum informed them.
I agree: they really do think they're helping in a lot of the cases, which is nice. Sometimes I do forget I am more informed, but the judgement before the facts are known are a bit annoying.
DeleteBy the way, I really liked your new post: It's amazing what goes on in a single morning! :)