How I Cope with Mortality Risks of Rheumatoid Arthritis

My new post for Mango Health is about coping with the mortality risks of RA:


"The first time I heard the term ‘mortality risks’ associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), I wanted to stick my head in the sand like the proverbial ostrich. If I can’t see it, it isn’t happening. Right?

Although repression is my favorite coping strategy, it does absolutely nothing to deal with a very real phenomenon. When you live with rheumatoid arthritis, you have an increased risk of death. It’s called the ‘mortality gap’, and it refers to the lower life expectancy that historically has affected people who have RA.

That’s a really scary thing to read. Much of RA is already unnerving — inflammation, fatigue, pain, and the possibility of deformities in your joints. After living with this disease since I was four years old, I’d gotten used to that, though. But potentially dying because of it, and early? That would severely interfere with my plan to live to at least 100 years old."

You can read the rest of the post here.
  

Comments

Rick Phillips said…
What a terrific post. It is awesome that the on average the longer we take biologic's the lower our complication risk. You taught me something Lene.

10:02 PM
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