Living with Rheumatoid Arthritis (A Johns Hopkins Press Health Book) Paperback – September 1, 2014

I borrowed this book from my local library, read it all the way through, and just purchased a Kindle copy for my personal library.I don't have a diagnosis for my joint pain yet, but Rheumatoid Arthritis is a possibility. I've done quite a bit of reading on the internet, and I've met with a highly regarded rheumatologist at a Boston hospital. I would say that I came to this book already well-versed in the current understanding of RA and its treatments.I'm not sure that I learned very many totally new facts about RA, but I did find the presentation of information in this book to be excellent, and the comprehensiveness (in terms of details) really wonderful. I decided that purchase of the book was justified just by the chapters on exercise (including specifics) and medications/treatments.The exercise chapter covers what could be appropriate exercises for three broad categories of RA status: Very Inflamed Joints, Moderately Inflamed Joints and Controlled Joints. There's one chapter on overall activity and health, and another full of specific exercises, such as range of motion exercises (with illustrations.) This was far more helpful to me than advice to "avoid damaging exercises" that I've heard elsewhere! I've been doing strength training with weights for several years, and I wanted very clear, specific advice on what a good exercise program for a person diagnosed with RA might be if that's the diagnosis I end up with. I plan to show this chapter to my rheumatologist and confirm whether his advice matches the general advice Dr. Shlotzhauer offers in the book.Similarly, I've read descriptions of the various DMARDS and biologics on lots of websites, but here they are tidily packaged in one place, and the author has included a table of side effects (with their frequency of incidence) for each one. I could've printed all of this out from the internet, but this is a nice, and seemingly very complete, set of information for me to bring to my doctor visits.About the only thing missing from this book that I personally find really vital to my own choices in treatment options is information about costs. Yes, our system tends to rely upon insurance companies to pay for imaging and treatments (for those of us lucky enough to have good, comprehensive insurance), but that also means sometimes the insurance company's idea of the best first treatment for me might be based upon cost as opposed to outcomes. Knowing the cost of various tests and treatments helps me evaluate whether there might be a money motive I should know about. Consumer Reports did a report on biologics for RA in March 2013, and that document includes prices for those treatments. Elsewhere on the internet, I found a chart "Comparison of Musculoskeletal Imaging Modalities" in a scientific paper that offers a quick overview of Cost, Accuracy, Risk (radiation exposure) and Time (to do the procedure) for Radiography (X-Ray), Ultrasonography, MRI and CT scans. I realize costs vary wildly by geographic region, and the data would go out of date, but the RELATIVE costs are very important to know, and the variations in costs between medical establishments, even in the same geographic area, are frankly offensive when sick and injured people can't easily compare costs between institutions.My least favorite part of this book is the tone of the "Coping with Emotions" chapter. All of the information given is sound, but the author's tone got just a little too "self help book" for me in that section. Admittedly, I'm more data driven and I don't enjoy self-help books. I was also looking for physical/medical advice when I borrowed this book. No doubt the emotional component is vitally important for successful management of an autoimmune disease, but reading about it now (without a diagnosis) just made me kind of grumpy as I think I'd rather not think about it!Other useful sections of the book that I wanted but didn't know for sure I would find therein were:* alternative and complementary therapies* diet (including discussion of gluten-free, Mediterranean, paleo)* financial issues (insurance issues, medication costs issues)* travel with RAI'm grateful that this book was available at my local public library, and it was an easy decision to spend my own few dollars to purchase the Kindle version. If I find any issues with the formatting in the electronic version, I'll update my review. The paperback version was well-formatted and a great reference. The weight of the heavy (trade paperback size) book did present a reading challenge for me with the current state of my hand and wrist pain, however.

For day to day stuff this book is helpful. I hope for new edition this year.

This book offered valuable insight into RA. I would definitely recommend this book to persons who may have recently been diagnosed with RA. It is quite easy to become overwhelmed by well wishers citing the most recent fad/home remedies, medications, treatment options and other related twists and turns on this RA journey.I feel more grounded and hopeful after reading this book.

This was a fantastic and comprehensive book on RA. I'm newly diagnosed and found this to be really informative. Although containing some very technical terminology, I didn't mind it so much because I was able to pick up on the context clues. Definitely an invaluable resource!

I found this book to be very informative and I plan on using it to reference back to when needed.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who has been diagnosed with RA! It covers a vast array of questions and concerns that are inevitable with this disease. It is written at a level for any non-medical personnel to understand. I am just sorry I did not purchase it at time of diagnose last August. The breakdown of the meds used to treat this disease alone is worth the cost. Thank you Dr.Shlotzhauer as I do not feel quite so hopeless and discouraged! I highlighted my way thru the chapters to come back to for reference....

When newly diagnosed RA can be intimidating. This book helps the reader learn what to expect from the illness and various treatments and medications.

This is a comprehensive guide to RA, up to date, written by a practicing rheumatologist. It was helpful to me as a newly diagnosed RA person. I haven't read through it as a book. Instead, I'm using it as a reference book, and I find it helpful to have in the paper form, rather than electronic. I would recommend this to anyone who wants more information on RA. The source seems very reliable.