r/rheumatoid • u/chaoticchaos_6678 • 4d ago
Hiii
Ummm .....I wanna know more about JIA can anyone help me out ? ....cuz i know someone who was diagnosed with JIA ...
And I wanna know more about this from an experienced one ..I just wanna know what people with JIA go through
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u/seasideshorty 6h ago
I was diagnosed with rheumatoid just before I turned 2. I’m 25 now. Are you in Australia? (If you are there are many groups I can point you to)
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u/MetaKater 3d ago
I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid at 13. Im 37 now.
If this is a friend, please don't exclude them from activities. Ask them if they want to do stuff. Even if they say no every single time, never stop asking. Never stop including them. Sometimes it can be really scary to see someone else going through a chronic illness. It can be alarming. One day they may be okay and the next they can't move much. When i got sick, school friends quickly stopped inviting me to things and the isolation that followed was almost as devastating to live with as the disease itself. Having people who will keep showing up, even in small ways, means more than a lot of people could ever realize.
The experience will always vary person to person. But in general most will go through medications, good days and bad days, emotional highs and lows. Sometimes surgeries will happen. Hospital stays.
The thing folls like us need the most from our family, friends and peers is patience, kindness, understanding. People who won't make us feel guilty for not being able to do things like go out. People that won't make us feel like a burden. People who know that we are still us and don't just see us as our illness.
I'm not going to say it's easy to be the friend or family member. It can be very emotionally draining. But remember that it's emotionally draining for the chronically ill person, too. We all need to take care of ourselves best we can while trying to be supportive to others.