The pain of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)

I have been a fulltime housewife for several years now after resigning from my work. At home, I practically do all the household chores: ironing, laundry, cooking, washing, cleaning, etc. Name it I do it. I am turning 36 this June and there are instances already that I already feel pain on my joints especially on my knees and hands. Is that what they called medically a “rheumatoid arthritis?” Physically, it is really painful. Actually I am scared too if this pain will occur often and how it will affect my day-to-day work at home. It is really irritating when you feel some pain inside of you while at work.

I saw some ads on TV using an old lady finding it hard to do her stuff because of joints’ pain and I find it misleading. What I understand about RA is that it may occur even as early as 30’s. I would appreciate much the ads that will clearly show what is RA, how to deal with it, basic things to do like daily exercise aside from the regular medication. Currently, my brother-in-law suggested Glucosamine with Chondroitin to rebuild cartilage and treat arthritis as for my maintenance. Another drug he gave me is Prednisone (daily intake), an anti-inflammatory drug to lessen the stiffness.

The thought of getting ill is really scary for me. My kids are still young and they need a mom to guide them and do stuff for them. Joint pain is really painful and I would have like to prevent of having it as much as possible. My joint pain occurs occasionally and a magazine ad would be effective and informative to explain what RA is and how to deal with it.