Quote Originally Posted by Nor.Cal Smoker
As someone who also suffers with chronic pain (herniated discs, bulging discs and rhuematoid arthritis) I can relate to your feelings. One of the hardest things for me was realizing that maybe my being around limited my friends activities. I always felt that maybe they would rather be out doing something else, if I weren't there to tag along. I think it is just part of the process of learning how to deal with your pain and grieve the loss of your old "able bodied self". I know that is what helped me. I was sad that I wasn't the same person I was before the pain but, what can you do besides try to learn to live with it. Your friends won't hold it against you, and you shouldn't be embarassed about something that you didn't cause or couldn't prevent.

BTW, I was 17 when I was diagnosed with the rheumatoid arthritis and it was really hard at first because all my friends were out being teenagers when I was at home feeling like an 80 y/o woman. It REALLY sucked.

Hope this helps.
See man, you know what I'm talking about. It's such a bitch when your with friends and they're all like "hey, lets go to _____ place" and you gotta say you can't physically do it. Your right, I really do miss having my old able-bodies self, this is supposed to be the prime of my life. If it wasn't for this damn condition I'd be back in Judo or Aikido having a great time honing my skills. Instead you and I have decide if we can handle the pain of walking down the street to the corner store .
Who knows, maybe they'll actually find a cure for arthritis in a reasonable amount of time, and you won't have to put up with it the rest of your life. I know I'm routing for some kind of breakthrough in spinal damage, we must be due for some findings pretty soon.



Birdgirl, I wish you the best on your surgery. I know it's impossible not to worry, but try to keep a possitive mindset and believe you will get better after the surgery. People can talk themselves into life or death if they really believe what they think. I know you're strong-willed and smart enough to make it through this mentally and physically.