What are your biggest daily challenges while living with RA?

EVERYDAY LIFE WITH RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

Rheumatoid arthritis causes joint pain and swelling, reduced mobility and physical weakness. General tiredness, trouble sleeping and exhaustion are other common symptoms. All of these symptoms can greatly affect your everyday life and overall wellbeing.

Living with rheumatoid arthritis isn't always easy. One reason is because it's often difficult to predict the symptoms: They may get better or worse the next day – it's hard to know in advance. Having a "bad" day can be very difficult and make some people feel like they have fallen down into a deep dark hole. This can be made worse by worries about the future because it's so difficult to predict how the condition might develop in each person. But various treatments can stop the condition from getting worse or slow it down.

It's common to have stiff and painful joints in the morning, making it difficult to get up and start the day. Everyday chores like cooking, laundry, cleaning, garden work and recreational activities can become a challenge as the disease progresses.

But many people develop strategies to better manage daily activities over time. One example: When you do laundry, you don't necessarily need to hang up the entire load all at once. You could start with only some of the wet, heavy clothes and then finish the rest later on. There are a number of different devices and aids that can help make it easier.

Most people who have rheumatoid arthritis still want to mainly manage on their own in everyday life despite having the condition. Support from family and friends is then especially important. It's also important for them to have a good understanding of the condition and the associated limitations it can cause.

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