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Hi, I'm Lisa Emrich; RA Patient Advocate living with rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. I'm here today to talk about how to live well with moderate to severe RA.
First off, seek medical treatment. The guidance from a good rheumatologist is your best defense against your RA. And then make sure you get on medical treatment itself. Get on drugs that will help slow down the disease and help to prevent damage.
Manage your pain. There is a lot of pain in RA. And when you experience severe changes in the condition of your RA or your joints contact your doctor. When you're in a flare you definitely want to get medical treatment. Discuss pain management with your doctor as well. There are treatments to help limit the amount of pain that you're in.
Exercise as much as you can within your abilities. You want to make sure that you help to treat your cardiovascular health to stay healthy and that you keep your muscles in good shape. Your muscles need to be strong to support your joints.
And then focus on nutrition and weight control. Eat well. Avoid saturated fats that cause inflammation and they can also contribute to cardiovascular disease. And if you're overweight, try to manage your weight get it down a little as it will help protect your overall health and it will also help protect your joints especially your knees.
Be sure to manage your stress and your fatigue. Get plenty of rest and plenty of sleep. If pain is preventing you from sleeping through the night, definitely talk to your doctor about some more pain management. There are ways to help take care of that, and be sure not to over fatigue your body. Work within your limits and rest. Balance activity with rest.
And reach out to others. Talk to a counselor to help kind of manage how to deal with the disease itself. Reach out to peers and friends, colleagues, find a support group in person or online and always practice joint protection techniques. Find a good physical therapist or occupational therapist who can teach you to exercise safely or also how to do things more efficiently so you don’t over stress those very delicate joints.
And that’s how I see it as an RA Patient Advocate. But I do recommend that you do reach out to your doctor for more details or go to Google and type in Living Well with RAfor more information. Thanks for watching.
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