What you can do about RA – be active in planning your rheumatoid arthritis treatment
Because RA is a progressive disease, it's important to do what you can to manage it – no matter what stage of RA you're in. Be as actively involved in planning your rheumatoid arthritis treatment as possible.
Build your network of support
The first thing you can do is talk to your healthcare professional. He/she wants you to have the best quality of life you can. And don't forget to be active with family and friends. Your social time may not look quite like it used to, but you can still let people know you care about them. If you find it awkward to talk about your condition, see our
RAliving resources page, and email them some information you learned here to help get the conversation started.
Monitor your quality of life
A change in your quality of life could signal a change in your condition, or the other way around. That's something you and your healthcare professional will both want to do something about. So it's important to keep track of how you're doing. A great way to follow your symptoms is to
take the 8 Ways Quiz every month.
You can also sign up for your free information kit, including a special weekly Quality of Life Monitor. Instead of tracking your symptoms from month to month, it's designed so you can see just how you're managing from day to day. Since you probably see your healthcare professional regularly, all you need to do is simply record how RA is affecting your daily routine, every day for up to 4 weeks in between appointments.
Make other simple improvements
If you're like most people with RA, you're used to making a few adjustments every day. So we hope you find the suggestions in the "Tips for living with RA" sections of this Website useful. There's a set of tips for how to help your
body and some tips on how to keep your
mind in good shape, too.
These tips could help you avoid some physical discomfort in the first place, or help make adapting a little bit easier.
After all, from rheumatoid arthritis treatment to tips, it's still about your quality of life and how to improve it.
Let's Move Together
Let's Move Together is a nationwide movement led by the Arthritis Foundation that encourages people to move to help with their symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. At this site, you'll find new ideas on how you can move every day. Plus the opportunity to sign up for local Arthritis Walks in your area.
