The Pain And Relief Of Being AWriter With Rheumatoid Arthritis
As I type this post, it’s winter. It’s 41F / 5C and I’m sat by the radiator with gloves on. I’m working. I am a writer. I have rheumatoid arthritis.
My mum warned me all my childhood not to crack my fingers. The threats of you’ll get arthritis when you’re old fell on deaf ears.
I was a child and I knew best.
I fully embraced the mantra of science hasn’t proven anything and fully believed I’d be just fine because apparently doctors couldn’t prove it either way.
As a child, I didn’t crack my fingers on purpose. It was a reaction when I needed it. I saw no harm in this. It wasn’t all day, every day.
But soon it became most of the day, every day. And then it became apparent that I wasn’t aware I was even cracking my fingers.
A painful habit I had made.
Does Cracking Your Fingers Lead To Arthritis?
I have no proof that this is what’s caused my pain.
But the correlation is there.
I cracked (and still crack) my fingers a hell of a lot.
I look for help in the world of science…
The top result on Google (which isn’t total validation) suggests that there is no evidence that joint cracking of any sort leads to arthritis.
Knuckle “cracking” has not been shown to be harmful or beneficial. More specifically, knuckle cracking does not cause arthritis. Joint “cracking” can result from a negative pressure pulling nitrogen gas temporarily into the joint, such as when knuckles are “cracked.” This is not harmful.
I’ve included the full article here:
The rest of the internet seems to be in total agreement. As do several physicians and physiotherapists that I have consulted.
Is Rheumatoid Arthritis Hereditary?
Having conducted my own research and tried to extract a yes, your arthritis is because of knuckle cracking from everybody I have access to, my next assumption was that my arthritis could be hereditary.
My mum suffers from undiagnosed arthritis.
Diagnosed by her but not a doctor, I weaved this logic into my reasoning for not listening to her as a child.
As I looked for evidence of arthritis being hereditary, I was left with the same feeling that nobody really knew enough about this condition.
Again, I’ve included the top post on Google below.
While RA isn’t hereditary, your genetics can increase your chances of developing this autoimmune disorder. Researchers have established a number of the genetic markers that increase this risk. These genes are associated with the immune system, chronic inflammation, and with RA in particular.
What Is Rheumatoid Arthritis?
Failing to learn how I have ended up with arthritis in my 20s (and now 30s), I decided to look up what arthritis actually is — to see if I could extract anything to prove why I have it.
The best definition of rheumatoid arthritis is this:
Rheumatoid arthritis is a long-term, progressive, and disabling autoimmune disease. … Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) usually affects the hands and feet first, but it can occur in any joint. It usually involves the same joints on both sides of the body.
On a personal level, I am currently only impacted when it’s cold. Inside or out.
As I mentioned in the opening paragraph, I am literally sat by my radiator.
I am accompanied by my compression gloves which aren’t particularly sexy — and I’m not even sure they help.
These are unsightly, to say the least, but I’m up for giving anything a try. I’ve included a section with some other “writing aids” for arthritis sufferers a little further down.
Back to defining rheumatoid arthritis…
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic disease. People with it experience periods of intense disease activity called flare-ups. Some people experience periods of remission when symptoms lessen considerably or go away.
The NHS seemed a good place to look for further insight into rheumatoid arthritis and offered this advice…
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune condition, which means it’s caused by the immune system attacking healthy body tissue. However, it’s not yet known what triggers this.
Your immune system normally makes antibodies that attack bacteria and viruses, helping to fight infection.
If you have rheumatoid arthritis, your immune system mistakenly sends antibodies to the lining of your joints, where they attack the tissue surrounding the joint.
This causes the thin layer of cells (synovium) covering your joints to become sore and inflamed, releasing chemicals that damage nearby:
- bones
- cartilage — the stretchy connective tissue between bones
- tendons — the tissue that connects bone to muscle
- ligaments — the tissue that connects bone and cartilage
If rheumatoid arthritis is not treated, these chemicals gradually cause the joint to lose its shape and alignment. Eventually, it can destroy the joint completely.
Various theories of why the immune system attacks the joints have been suggested, such as an infection being a trigger, but none of these theories has been proven.
So, I get it. My immune system is processing things incorrectly. But, I’m still none the wiser as to how I got this and knuckle cracking or hereditary remain my firm favorites for causes.
A Typical Day As A Writer With Rheumatoid Arthritis
My daily routine is not atypical compared to most normal people.
There are just a few additional steps I must take, in order to try to combat the numbing pain in my fingers.
- Wash my hands under the hot tap for a few minutes
- Moisturise hands (the process of rubbing fingers together is more important here than actually moisturising them)
- Do all the usual morning things then wash hands under hot tap for a few minutes
- Moisturise hands
- Don the above-mentioned gloves as I sit down to type
- Make a hot drink (mostly used for holding)
- Continuously rub hands together when they become painful or chilly
- Repeat steps 1 and 2 each time I take off my gloves for anything — eating, washing up, not looking a prat when the postman knocks on the door
No, it’s not a huge effort. And it would definitely be worth it if these preventative measures helped for more than immediate relief.
But it rarely is.
Successful Writers With Arthritis
Sometimes, my arthritis gets so bad that I wonder what on Earth I am doing being a writer.
A lot of people get this.
Some sufferers suggest it is so extreme that rheumatoid arthritis should be listed as a disability.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) does consider rheumatoid arthritis a qualifying disability, but…
It must be advanced RA to meet the SSA’s eligibility requirements. Proving your condition meets the SSA’s criteria can be challenging.
For me, however, it’s not that bad. And even if it was (or becomes) that bad, the likelihood of quitting and living on a disability allowance over pain and a successful writing career is heavily swayed in the favour of the latter.
The urge to pack it all in and find something to do that doesn’t involve your fingers is suddenly overcome as another idea pops into my head.
Or the best closing statement ever appears and I rush back to my keyboard.
I’m not the first person to tell this story. Here are two of my favourite stories from other writers with arthritis.
Robin Mayhall is a published novelist and poet.
Jessie Kwak is certainly someone I can relate to. My favourite quote from her piece below is:
Despite being such a sedentary job (or perhaps because of it), writing can wreak havoc on the body. There’s all the slouching, the mousing, the typing, the banging your head against the keyboard.
Writing Aids For Arthritis Sufferers
Before we delve into this section, I must warn you.
They all suck.
My compression gloves help my fingers a little — but I am left with freezing cold fingertips due to the nature of needing those to type.
Other writing aids include:
- Rheumatic pens
- Grips for your normal pens
- Pens that hang over your finger
- Jumbo pens
- Various shaped stress balls
- Electronic heat pads
- Lots of plastic things that don’t do anything
Being A Writer With Rheumatoid Arthritis
With all the doom and gloom that has preceded this paragraph, it’s a wonder this section exists.
BUT IT REALLY DOES!
There was a time where I used to write for fun. And if I hadn’t transferred writing for fun into writing for a living, this blog post would not exist and I wouldn’t spend any time writing.
However, a few years ago, after writing the odd blog post in my product role, it became clear that sharing my product knowledge, use cases, and experience with technology, that my biggest strength was conveying the power and benefits of this tech through the medium of the written word.
Sure, I had done plenty of writing in all my previous roles. I have only ever known “work” as a knowledge worker — sat at a desk in front of a computer.
Had that transference of skills not happened, I would have fallen out of love with writing. As my arthritis escalated, I could have left any job where writing or typing (during the winter months, at least) was a major part.
So, I upped and quit my full-time job and became a freelance writer.
Sure, there were some other factors too. All positive. I loved my job but this was an opportunity I couldn’t decline.
The Relief Writing Provides
I consider myself a success. And that provides so much relief itself.
I get asked by businesses to write for them. To represent them. To be responsible for what the customer sees.
The feeling of self-fulfillment that finishing a blog post, sending the monthly newsletter, seeing people sharing my work online, and being paid for the privilege is all the relief I need to continue writing.
Outside of work, I write about my hobbies and my interests.
I’ve started a passion project (dwelled since this post was originally written but was fun): a football magazine.
Just rounding up my thoughts about topics that interest me provides the relief that I need to keep going. A lot of people don’t have that.
And I wish they did.
Which brings me to the point of this blog post…
If you are reading this because you suffer from arthritis, and don’t know how to get started writing, or think nobody wants to read your work, or worry that you just can’t write, add me on Twitter or LinkedIn and reach out.
We’ll make this work.
Thanks for making it this far. It means a lot that you stayed with me so I could tell my story. I didn’t intend it to be a sob story, more of a glimmer of hope for people that get diagnosed and immediately feel down.
If it’s not too much, please give this story a 👏so I know this topic is worth writing about.
And if you’d like to leave a tip, why not buy me a coffee here.
