Hello UCTDers! I've just become one of you. I'm a 73-year-old woman, I live alone, have been newly diagnosed, and am now on Prednisone and Plaquenil.
I have been feeling sick for 6 months, but I made an effort to live normally. During this period, I found that having an illness that wasn't outwardly visible meant that there was a problem about how to behave with other people. Should one be plaintive or stoic? If you complain, people get bored, or tell you to think positive. If you keep a stiff upper lip, they take all you do for granted and don't consider that many normal activities are quite demanding for you (to begin with, they buttonhole you and keep you standing a long time on a street corner while you're only longing to get home and lie down... or they ask for burdensome favors... and so on).
So which is the best attitude? I have concluded that a little complaining is essential, for defensive reasons. But the best plan is to be brisk and concise, to state the most important facts (with no understatements), and then to begin to joke about the whole situation. I have started a collection of suitable wisecracks!
I'm glad you have emoticons on this forum!
I have been feeling sick for 6 months, but I made an effort to live normally. During this period, I found that having an illness that wasn't outwardly visible meant that there was a problem about how to behave with other people. Should one be plaintive or stoic? If you complain, people get bored, or tell you to think positive. If you keep a stiff upper lip, they take all you do for granted and don't consider that many normal activities are quite demanding for you (to begin with, they buttonhole you and keep you standing a long time on a street corner while you're only longing to get home and lie down... or they ask for burdensome favors... and so on).
So which is the best attitude? I have concluded that a little complaining is essential, for defensive reasons. But the best plan is to be brisk and concise, to state the most important facts (with no understatements), and then to begin to joke about the whole situation. I have started a collection of suitable wisecracks!
I'm glad you have emoticons on this forum!
