Some Answers for Rheumatoid Arthritis Just Bring More Questions

If stress weakens my immune system, why doesn’t that cure me?

And other weird questions no one will answer…
Many people advise me to avoid stress since it can weaken the immune system. I’m sorry, but there’s just something funny about that. I’ve been sort of afraid to ask, but don’t I WANT my immune system weaker? Don’t I take meds to knock it to its knees? Doesn’t that make stress my friend? If I could just get enough stress, wouldn’t I be cured?

Some of these questions just beg to be asked. They are just too embarrassing to say out loud. Why do medicines for Rheumatoid Arthritis have to make you feel lethargic and gain wait? We can barely move around already. Why can’t treatments for Rheumatoid Arthritis make you lose weight and have more energy like the ones for ADHD?

Here is a really tough one: When I say, “I CAN’T,” why does everyone hear something different? There must be something wrong with the reception. People hear, “I don’t want to.”
Listen, I do not even mean to say, “Well, I would do that, but it would hurt.” I REALLY mean, “I CAN’T do that right now.” I should probably just say it louder. That works with the TV when the reception is bad, right? Just turn it up.

I have more questions: If rest is so good for me, why does it make me so stiff? How am I supposed to sit down and rest when my knees and hips don’t want to bend? If we have made so much progress in the world, how come shoes were custom made to fit in the pioneer days, but there are so few to accommodate Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Another: And why am I told to protect my joints on one page of a “living with Rheumatoid Arthritis” book. And then on a different page of the same book, I am encouraged to exercise using those same joints. Why is the exact same motion considered to be dangerous in one context, but healthy in another context?

More ironic questions: Why do people think if you have Rheumatoid Arthritis, moving to Florida will cure it? (I live in Florida; No go.) Why do people tell us “No pain, no gain”? What are we supposed to gain from pain anyway?

And here’s one: Since there are so many cures for RA on the internet, why doesn’t my doctor know how to cure me yet?

I would like to take a vacation someday. I hope it won’t reduce my stress so much that it would increase my immune activity. That’d be bad for my RA – and really stressful.