For all of you who live with the unwelcome guest Arthur Itus

[Dreadbelly]

Clickity

That is a pretty amazing discovery. I know from various posts that many of us deal with Mr. Itus, and would like to show him the door.

I sense some hope that one day, many of us can wear our kilts and strut proudly.

Here's to hoping for a cure

[Livingston]

I thought I was losing my grip....turns out it was just Arthur Itus getting to my thumbs.

The sooner they can figure that out the happier I'll be.

[Tattoo Bradley]

I'm 27 and live with him. Who'd have thought. Though mine is a different monster... it has the same effects to the joints.

[brandycr]

Always thought it was for old folks til discovered I had it a few years back .Sewed all day on a quilt next day hands said nope I quit.Was shocked when Doc said Mr.Itus was what I had

[Mr. Kilt]

Interesting reading, Dread. I've suffered from Mr. Itus since I was a child. It started out in my hands (can't hold a pen for very long), then it affected my knees. I, too, wait for a cure.

[Dreadbelly]

I think this could go a long ways toward explaining why conventional pain killers fail miserably with things like RA. Maybe. I don't know enough about it yet. I've been looking for more info. (And maybe explain why booze does more to help RA than anything else... a shot of something strong makes your joints feel much better, and a pickled brain knows no fear)

I find it all somewhat strange, and maybe to late, when I think of the overwhelming sense of dread that Hunter S. Thompson said he felt all the time. He too, suffered from severe RA. (As well as other stuff) I remember reading somewhere about something he said... The constant sense of fear and anxiety that he had as he grew older. I can not help but wonder if it was this sort of thing that caused him to off himself the way he did. I wonder if he had lived a little longer, if maybe he would have changed his mind about killing himself knowing this information. He said one time with complete seriousness that the only thing that kept him sane in his life was knowing that he could kill himself and escape any time he wanted. I think of others that have thought the same, have done the same, and can't help but wonder if this knowledge may have changed their outlook.

Learning this, seeing this, has taken an incredible load off of my own shoulders. It is as if somebody cut shackles off of me or something. I feel... Liberated and relieved knowing about this, and for once, there is real hope of destroying the disease, not just pacifying the symptoms. I've felt it all day today. I've been in a better mood than I have been in quite some time. Even my wife has noticed.

Today, I was finally able to say to my self "This too, shall pass" and I believed it.