THIS WEEK, THE annual campaign to raise awareness about arthritis will happen. World Arthritis Day is tomorrow, and even though we may be tired of ‘this world day’ and ‘that world day’, events like these do at least serve to highlight that the number of people who are suffering with this condition is not marginal.

Around 20% (one in five) of the population in Ireland is affected by arthritic diseases. The majority of those people have osteoarthritis, which is mainly caused by wear and tear. A small percentage have an inflammatory type, like rheumatoid or psoriatic arthritis. These are different to osteo in the sense that they are autoimmune diseases.

With autoimmune, the body’s own immune system attacks healthy tissues, which are then inflamed, swollen and painful and can lead to joint deformity and destruction. Both osteo and inflammatory arthritis are very debilitating. Other diseases like e.g. lupus, fibromyalgia, Sjögrens (a condition that brings dry eyes and dry mouth) or Raynaud’s (numbness in fingers and toes) also fall in this group.

The solution for osteoarthritis is exercise and weight control and sometimes joint replacement. For the inflammatory kind it’s not so simple. These are incurable progressive diseases. They are also known to cause a lot of complications (known as co-morbidities). And it doesn’t limit itself to joints alone. Very often other organs are involved as the inflammation is a body-wide issue.

Living with arthritis is an emotional and psychological rollercoaster ride. Ups and downs, twists and turns.

I’m not here to give you the sanitised version I have often heard from medical professionals. I was told, when I was diagnosed with arthritis, that if I took a particular medication my life would be back........

© TheJournal