From My Private Dictionary for Rheumatoid Arthritis

To me, it’s fun to coin a new term. So, I have been guilty of making up words for the blog as I go along. I have printed for you here an excerpt from my private dictionary. It’s only fair!

~ Appointment disappointment: n. 1: a despairing feeling which often occurs after a medical appointment; 2: often a result of feeling misunderstood or having been treated with skepticism by a doctor or technician

~ Bee sting: n. 1: pet name for injection site reaction; 2: red, itchy, hot , and hardened skin surrounding injection site

~ Courses of RA: n. 1: any of several various patterns which Rheumatoid Arthritis may follow in an individual patient; 2: Although the course of the disease is progressive in most patients, there is much variation in the pace and range of destruction; specifically, patients differ as to how often flares remit or how many joints are involved

~ Delusional response to RA: n. 1: Unreasonable behavior by Non-RA-ers with regard to Rheumatoid Arthritis caused by assessment that Rheumatoid Arthritis is not a painful, crippling, and progressive disease; 2: behaving as if RA-ers are able to do things that they are not able to do; 3: related to denial

~ Dr. Dolittle: n. 1: a physician who does very little to help patients because of a lack of understanding of the impact of Rheumatoid Arthritis; 2: aka Dr. Do Very Little

~ Full blown RA: n. 1: Rheumatoid Arthritis which does not remit; 2: Rheumatoid Arthritis which affects enough joints to make a normal life impossible

~ Hysterical woman diagnosis: n. 1: ludicrous remarks written into a medical record which imply or state that a patient of either gender is crazy and not physically ill ; 2: misdiagnosis of a woman based upon erroneous assumption that she is malingering

~ Leftovers: n. 1: pain, stiffness, and other symptoms experienced by an RA-er after disease fighting medication has been applied; 2: leftovers require additional disease management

~ Preventative first aid: n. actions taken to prevent injury or illness, specifically as it relates to chronic illness or a compromised immune system

~ Patient protection plan: n. similar to witness protection plan; secret identity for patients who do not co-operate with medical establishment

~ Pyramid of Treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis: n. 1: the use of mild symptom relieving drugs as first-line treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis, followed by gradual steps toward stronger medicines; 2: saving the most effective and modern medications until Rheumatoid Arthritis has already caused a great deal of damage; synonym: old school

~ RA-er: n. 1: also spelled RAer; a person diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis; 2: preferred term to Rheumatoid Arthritis sufferer or Rheumatoid Arthritis victim 3: contraction of RA warrior

~ Surge (also: treatment surge): n. the early use of DMARD combination treatments for Rheumatoid Arthritis, especially including Biologic drugs to attempt to slow disease progression and limit or prevent damage caused by RA ; antonym: traditional Rheumatoid Arthritis treatment pyramid

~ Under-diagnosis: n. the tendency of physicians to diagnose Rheumatoid Arthritis as a less serious diagnosis

~ The Wall: n. 1: a barrier which obstructs productive communication about Rheumatoid Arthritis; 2: Non RA-ers may put up the wall because of denial of some aspect of the disease or because of fear of discussing an illness that is mysterious to them.

And that is only an excerpt! We’ll put the whole thing up on the website someday soon. If you’d like to read more Rheumatoid Arthritis Warrior, I recommend:

Classic RA Warrior: RA Can Leave You Stuck in Orbit

Corny elephant post on vitamins: Tickles, Trunks, and Nutrition

Popular question: What’s the difference Between Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis?