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    KitKara Brown
    6/20/16 4:26pm

    Um yes, many RA or other arthritis patients can and do rightfully say we’re receiving chemo. Methotrexate is a chemotherapy agent. Here’s the problem: when people hear arthritis, they think of grandma with a sore thumb. The reality is people with autoimmune arthritis are sick every damn day, with joint pain and reduced movement, with intense fatigue, and any number of other problems that come with autoimmune arthritis - especially if it’s systemic, which means it can affect your organs. People can die from this, but one of the few ways to get people to understand the severity of our illness is to say “chemo”. It makes people pay attention. When they hear methotrexate...”shrug”. I can assure you that though the dosing is different, these are still incredibly strong medications with many side effects. She “understands the correct terminology”. It’s you who doesn’t.

    Don’t dismiss her expressing the severity of her illness as “drama”. And RA and other illnesses like it aren’t “medical mysteries”. They are very real, very debilitating illness that are more common than you think. Do some research. You clearly did the bare minimum.

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      KK4BamaKit
      6/20/16 4:37pm

      My mom was first diagnosed with RA at 28. Sometimes she’s bedridden, sometimes she’s ok. She still takes at least 10 different meds a day, has to go once a month for injections in her joints, and also does hours-long IV treatments every few months. She’s 56 now so that’s a long ass time to be dealing with a debilitating illness.

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      AmandaKit
      6/20/16 4:42pm

      THIS. Systemic JRA sufferer here. I get really sick of people who think RA doesn’t exist or is caused by gluten/sugar/moonbeams or whatever the flavor of the month is. We’re tired enough fighting our bodies. We don't need to fight over terminology and whether it actually exists too.

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    MEtheBarbarianKara Brown
    6/20/16 4:27pm

    I grew up with a heart surgeon for a father and a nurse for a mother. I have to consistently remind myself that my husband’s family doesn’t have the medical knowledge that my family does and recounting of hospital related events will take 2-3 conversations to get the actual terms and events right.

    Not being snobby, I just mean they’ll misunderstand something and relay the wrong info to you. Example, this week his mom called and told me his uncle had A-fib and a blood clot in his heart. After hanging up I went “wait, does he have A-fib and is at risk for a clot? Cause a clot in the heart should have equaled stroke”. It was the former luckily. It’s just always a couple rounds before I get the right info. This sounds like that to me. She's just going off of what she hears/briefly reads.

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      thetallblonde loves twinjaMEtheBarbarian
      6/20/16 4:40pm

      i think it’s hard in these situations because not only are you potentially receiving devastating or fatal news, but you also have to then internalize and retain this medical jargon that is being thrown at you all in the same sentence. when my mom was diagnosed with endometrial cancer, i don’t think she heard a word after the “c” word; thank god dad and i were there at the appointment and could then accurately relay the message to our family, and even back to her. it’s no one’s fault; they’re understandably stressed and no doubt emotional. rational, calm though often goes out the window during those moments.

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      Marlene FreaktrickMEtheBarbarian
      6/20/16 4:50pm

      tbh it’s really rare for someone to completely understand their illness much less the illness of someone else no matter how close to them. Most people aren’t in the medical field, but often people who have knowledge kind of assume everyone else has the same level of knowledge of even just understanding of what they are being told. I think it’s way more common than otherwise.

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    mocenaKara Brown
    6/20/16 4:20pm

    I know a lady with an immune disease (scleroderma) who takes chemotherapy drugs for it, and she calls it chemo too. I think when people have these kinds of invisible illnesses, having treatments that have names that convince regular people of the seriousness of their conditions is a way of dealing with the stigma of being really sick and not looking it. It may be dramatic, but immune diseases can and will kill a person, so if they want to call their drugs chemo, what’s the harm?

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      DashleyinCalimocena
      6/20/16 4:55pm

      I think a lot of people label any kind of infusion therapy that takes place inside of a doctor’s office “chemo.” And note: just because it’s not cancer doesn’t mean it’s not incredibly serious. Infusion therapy is often a last resort for treating a serious illness, and has a lot of its own drawbacks. No one prescribes infusion therapy for something that can be treated with at-home medication or physical therapy.

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      Zabellamocena
      6/20/16 5:02pm

      Not to mention if you’re frequently throwing up and tell someone “it’s probably the chemo”, everyone knows what chemotherapy is, so you won’t have to explain anything else.

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    Major Lazer Power BlazerKara Brown
    6/20/16 4:20pm

    i know GG is actually sick, but girl needs rehab and she needs it fast. her drinking (and probably drugging) is probably making her sicker and it’s hard to watch

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      kingwolfMajor Lazer Power Blazer
      6/20/16 4:23pm

      Actually it’s really easy to watch. It’s on TV and Instagram.

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      Major Lazer Power Blazerkingwolf
      6/20/16 4:44pm
      GIF
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    lisaroweKara Brown
    6/20/16 4:19pm

    It is irresponsible to suggest that someone might not be sick because they don’t “act” like it, just as it’s irresponsible to not accurately present a particular illness.

    YES. there are many illnesses out there that don’t make a person look sick. if a friend or family tells you they’re sick, how about being a good friend or family member and believing them.

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      Very Dangerous Over Short Distanceslisarowe
      6/20/16 4:33pm

      This, absolutely this! And extend that to everyone, not just friends or family. Arthritis in my back, hips, and knees means that I’m generally on a walker and sometimes in a chair, but I can walk short distances, such as from the car to the store to get on the ridey-cart to do the shopping. Unfortunately, this has meant more than one asshat then claims that I don’t ‘need it’ and am just ‘being lazy’. The highlight was one particular jerkass who tried to tell me that I should give up my cart to his friend who had one leg while I was ‘just fat’. He was called an insensitive prick and informed that, unless he had a medical degree and access to my records, he had no ability to judge my condition. One of the few times I actually had the right words for the situation and was pissed enough to not care about calling someone out on it in public. Remember, you never know what someone else is dealing with, so if you’re ever tempted to judge, please take that crucial moment and remind yourself that you’re not in that person’s body and you have no idea what’s going on with them.

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      HellishHarlotlisarowe
      6/20/16 4:51pm

      My husband got fired because they said they didn’t believe him when he had a very painful medical episode while at work (and wouldn’t send someone to relieve him to go to the ER). They even suggested he seek mental help because he was clearly lying about something so egregious. Within the week we found out it was testicular cancer, and when he called to say “hey I was not faking, I have proof, may I have my job back after treatment and recovery” they seriously said “everyone gets cancer, we don’t care, we owe you nothing”. Even PROOF of illness despite outward appearance (my husband was a young, large, strong, 24 year old and wouldn’t outwardly appear ill until after surgery) can still elicit zero fucks - when it comes down to it, even with factual data, some people are shady, greedy assholes and don’t care about anything but themselves. It’s what I imagine the average trump supporter, sarah palin lover or reality TV star to be like.

      I think in his particular situation, he was unliked because he did things by the book and management was regularly cutting corners. He worked in hospice care and you know, actually gave a damn about letting these people die with dignity.

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    randilynisFINDILYNKara Brown
    6/20/16 4:29pm

    To tell you the truth I always thought of RA drugs as being the same or similar to cancer drugs in that they destroy or attack to treat the condition.

    They aren’t interchangeable but I don’t get the impression she was trying to be misleading. Also, I think that sometimes when people are challenged about their condition they may respond defensively. I think it’s natural.

    NB: My dad had RA from age 29 and it dramatically complicated his treatment for prostate cancer, probably contributing to its lethality. He only in his early 60's and lasted just 5 years. My understanding of the meds are a layman’s at best. My sister has it too.

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      LoudproudsilentdeadlyrandilynisFINDILYN
      6/20/16 4:38pm

      Sorry about your dad.

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      randilynisFINDILYNLoudproudsilentdeadly
      6/20/16 4:39pm

      Thank you.

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    ASnowdenofYesteryearKara Brown
    6/20/16 4:37pm

    Methotrexate is a nasty drug. My mom had it as part of her chemo cocktail about a decade ago. It’s not vincristine bad (that one I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemies) but it's still going to make you puke.

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      AnglKatASnowdenofYesteryear
      6/20/16 6:04pm

      I take it for RA, and even though RA patients take it in way lower doses than cancer patients, it still makes me vomit. So I have to take zofran for the nausea, and then more drugs from the constipation from the zofran...it’s never ending. And the fatigue. It really makes you feel horrible.

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      ASnowdenofYesteryearAnglKat
      6/20/16 6:18pm

      The amount of drugs you have to take just to keep the drugs keeping you alive from killing you is insane.

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    Ladyheatherlee 2016 EditionKara Brown
    6/20/16 5:05pm

    On/off topic, I might have a heart condition and it’s freaking me the fuck out. Seems no one bothered to tell me I have ECGs going back YEARS that have t wave depression suggesting anterior ischemia. Now I have to to get all these tests done.

    But don't panic! Aaaaahhh.

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      Regina Phalange ReduxLadyheatherlee 2016 Edition
      6/21/16 4:57pm

      I’m sorry to hear that you might have a heart issue. I was diagnosed with CAD when I was 31, and I have one stent (so far). If you have any questions about your upcoming tests, please feel free to reply to my comment. Before I had my first cardiac catheterization, the hospital did a terrible job explaining things. It’s better to know what to expect!

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      Ladyheatherlee 2016 EditionRegina Phalange Redux
      6/21/16 9:03pm

      I have no idea what an echocardiogram entails, so a little reassurance that way would be great. I'm kind of terrified, but my dance teacher reminded me tonight that unlike so many organs in the body, hearts are machines and machines can be fixed. That made me feel much better.

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    indiscutableKara Brown
    6/20/16 4:49pm

    Her struggle with Rheumatoid Arthritis is so vastly different from Brooks’ (who lied that he was sick) and Yolanda’s (who is unwell, but claims to have a disorder that science-based medicine does not recognize) cases. The comparison doesn’t seem to fit. RA is a well-established autoimmune disorder, not a medical mystery.

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      CNicRouteindiscutable
      6/21/16 8:36am

      Yeah. RA is definitely real and she definitely has it and there are definitely some nasty treatments involved.

      That being said, I also think this article misses the whole point her group of friends were trying to get across with her (albeit very badly). They reason they questioned her illness wasn’t because there wasn’t necessarily “proof” of it, but because she’s actively doing things to aggravate it. Like, I cannot imagine any doctor, ever seeing her drink the way she does and not making her do drug tests before starting new treatments.

      I don’t drink and never really have and my doctor still pulls the, “and were gonna run some drug tests on this round of blood just to be sure” card. They do not play with that stuff. Especially with something like methotrexate.

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    BettyBlueBoxKara Brown
    6/20/16 4:50pm

    I have RA and am on Rituxan. I have been on methotrexate. Methotrexate is a form of chemo. This is the first time I’ve heard that GG has RA. I feel so bad for her. It’s a life destroying illness. People tend not to understand RA. They think it’s ya know “just arthritis” It’s not. It’s joint damage, it’s fatigue, it can damage your teeth. It can damage your blood vessels. In order to keep your immune system from totally destroying things, you have to suppress the immune system. The word Chemo means shit is going down. And people can relate to that. So if she uses the word Chemo to describe Rituxan to get people to understand, so be it. (Also Rituxan tends to be a last resort type of meds. There are a whole bunch of Anti-TNF meds like Enbrel, Humira. Those are the 1st ones most people try. I was on Enbrel and it was great until it failed me. Then it was on to Rituxan.)

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      AnglKatBettyBlueBox
      6/20/16 6:09pm

      I have it too! I’ve failed cimzia and humira and am waiting for approval to start actemra infusions, and of course am on mtx. I never refer to any of it as chemo, but I can understand why someone would. People don’t understand how serious these drugs are. You immune system is whack....I got a scratch a couple of months ago that got crazy infected because you can’t heal while on these drugs. And the fatigue. Jesus.

      But I look fine, so people don’t give a shit. I wish the public at large understood RA better because it really sucks when you look ok but feel terrible.

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