A diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) brings serious physical and emotional challenges, including understanding a complex chronic disease, coping with changes in family and work life, and navigating a complicated therapeutic environment.
An Uncertain Future
Patients also must learn to deal with unpredictable pain, fatigue, and physical limitations. However, treatment today can be highly successful, with many and ever-increasing medical options. Your rheumatologist can work with you to develop the most effective regimen that can best control your symptoms and minimize medication side effects.
Adena Batterman, LCSW, who heads the Inflammatory Arthritis Support and Education Programs at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, identified these specific questions that are common among newly diagnosed RA patients:
- How can I continue to parent in the same way?
- Can I continue in my career or job? What will this mean for my future?
- Will my family and friends understand?
- How will my disease progress?
- Will medication work and can I tolerate the side effects?
"Learning how to integrate these changes as part of a new normal impacts every area of life. This re-imagination requires learning how to adapt to and live with uncertainty," Batterman told MedPage Today.
Depression
A particular risk among patients with RA is depression, which has been reported to be 70% more common than among healthy individuals. This can be exacerbated by the chronic pain, relentless fatigue, and sleep disturbances that are typical among patients with RA. Be sure to tell your doctor if you are experiencing mood changes or increased anxiety.
And depression may be most common among younger patients and early in the course of disease, when patients are trying to adjust to their altered life circumstances.
However, various types of counseling such as cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy have been shown to be helpful for many patients. Consulting with mental health professionals may be necessary, as medications also may be useful.
Finding Help
Support and educational groups can be very beneficial for coping strategies and understanding emotional issues associated with chronic disease. Your rheumatologist can help you find these sources. In a large treatment center, many professionals often are available, including clinical social workers and psychologists, but even in smaller centers there may be networks of mental health providers in the community that patients and their caregivers can access.
Read previous installments in this series:
How Is Rheumatoid Arthritis Diagnosed?
Starting Treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Beyond the First RA Treatments
"Medical Journeys" is a set of clinical resources reviewed by doctors, meant for physicians and other healthcare professionals as well as the patients they serve. Each episode of this 12-part journey through a disease state contains both a physician guide and a downloadable/printable patient resource. "Medical Journeys" chart a path each step of the way for physicians and patients and provide continual resources and support, as the caregiver team navigates the course of a disease.
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