3 tips for taking charge of your arthritis

Equip yourself with the knowledge, medicine and goals you need to take charge of your arthritis with these three tips.

• Studies show that the better an arthritis patient understands his or her disease, the more likely he/she is to overcome its hardships.
• You may think you're already quite knowledgeable about your condition, especially if you have been living with it for an extended period. After all, having lived with a disease for many years might lead you to assume that you're intimately familiar with it. But what you think you know about your arthritis — what has caused it, how to treat it or prevent it from worsening — may not be true, or may be based on outdated information.
• In fact, you may not even have the disease you think you have. Even if your symptoms resemble those of a relative or neighbour, you may have an entirely different type of arthritis — or even a health problem that isn't arthritis at all.

• An arthritis diagnosis is not good news. But at least you now know the cause of your pain, stiffness or disability.
• Armed with that knowledge, you can take the first steps toward overcoming the disease and its symptoms. If you haven't already done so, your first step should be to get a definitive diagnosis of your problem. If you are unsure about what type of arthritis you have — or whether you even have it — see a doctor, who can evaluate you properly.
• Once you're sure about what type of arthritis you have, the best thing you can do is learn as much as you can about the condition, including information about the joints where problems arise and the major conditions: osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia, as well as less common but important ailments like gout and lupus. You should also read the latest findings on causes, diagnostic techniques and treatments.

• People with arthritis have a wide range of goals, from the unrealistic ("I want to be cured") to the vague ("I want to feel better") to the specific and realistic ("I want to climb the stairs unaided"). Specific, realistic goals are best. In fact, you will learn that the take-charge approach to arthritis is based on setting and attaining specific goals.
• For one thing, you can tell whether or not you have attained a specific goal. You'll also find it easier to motivate yourself to reach a specific goal than one that is vague or perhaps even undefinable.
• Spend a few minutes thinking about your goals and write them down. Try to list your goals in their order of importance and try to choose goals that are measurable. Your most important goal is the one you should work toward first.