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Learn About RA

Here are some great resources that I stumbled across when I was diagnosed with RA.

American College of Rheumatology - A website for rheumatologists, but has some great patient education resources.

Rheumatology News - Also for rheumatologists, a great site to subscribe to for new RA research and current issues docs are discussing.

Rheumatoid Arthritis website by Genentech - Genentech is a research company owned by Roche. While Roche is a pharma giant, this site is geared more towards understanding the science of RA and RA treatments. It has a page that shows the difference between RA and OA. Another page offers help on preparing to visit a rheumatologist.

RA Warrior Kelly Young - Kelly has made it her mission to be a patient advocate and has started the Rheumatoid Patient Foundation. She is probably the single most known person in the RA community and she does a great job advocating for patients who don't present with "classic" RA signs and symptoms. Her website gave me several tools for helping explain RA to family and friends, such as the RA Info Button and her video about why RA isn't your grandma's arthritis.

Here's a great article about why Pain Management is a Human Right! The same person wrote another article about Being Your Own Self-Advocate.

The Spoon Theory by Christine Miserandino - A very helpful, illustrative way to explain to others what living with an autoimmune disease is like. 

When I was looking for a way to explain myself to others while addressing several hot button issues that were constantly coming up, I found this post in the MD Junction RA Support Group - What RA is Like: A Letter for Family and Friends. I also found this Letter to People Without Chronic Pain.

If you're a bit of a biology nerd like me, then you also want to read more in-depth info about RA treatments, like this article: Mechanism of Action, Indications, and Adverse Effects of Enbrel, Remicade, and Humira.

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