Newly Diagnosed-Arthritis Fears

Being diagnosed with arthritis can be scary, youll have many fears. But most of those fears will never materialize. We asked our members what fears they had when they were first diagnosed and if those fears came true. Here are some of those responses:

The Rhematologists predicted I would be completely immobile and in need of a wheel chair within 6months ..that was frightening...but in all honesty the thing that first came into my mind(fearfully) was visions of my hands becoming all twisted and clawlike...
I have now had RA for almost 9 years..I am NOT in a wheelchair..not even close but my hands are somewhat curved , my left worse than my right...I still try to hide my left hand...it is silly I suppose...I am very blessed my body still does most things and even my funky hands still work okay..I can manipulate small things, make a fist ..so I really should not complain, oh and my hair thinning from the meds did bother me , well it still does on some days! Debi

That I would have to stop playing the piano. It has not come true. It is true that I have to limit the amount of time I play, and I don't have the stamina or reach that I used to, but I continue to play and enjoy it. Barbara

My biggest fear when I was first diagnosed was that I wouldn't be able to work one day (I was an avid workaholic at the time). Yes, the fear was realized but it wasn't as big as I thought it would be once it came true. My fears were worse than the reality. Robert

That everyone would find out and look at me like i was crazy. No it has not come true. Katrina

My biggest fear that I would become sick and crippled like the mother of one of my high school friends. Almost three years later, I am still working, and have not had to radically adjust my life, although compromise has taken on new meaning. Eddie

I was afraid of not being able to handle having RA. Knowing I was going to have limitations and set backs. After reading the posts here I learned that accepting the fact that I have RA is the biggest hurdle,learning to enjoy the good days more,pampering yourself on the bad days and to find new ways of doing the things that I need to do. I've also learned from this site is that people feel so much better when they know they are not alone in their pain and suffering. Lydia

My biggest fear was that I would end up with gross ugly feet like my grandmother. (I had nightmares about those feet as a childewwwww!) I actually called my mom after I heard the diagnosis, crying, I am going to have grandmas feet. But five years later, my feet are not even close to being like Grandmas! -Tina