Maximising your potential
Realise your potential by challenging your limits.
Maximising Your Potential
Wendy Favorito
Consumer Director Arthritis Australia
Chair, Arthritis Australia National Consumer Reference Group (rheumatoid arthritis)
I think there are lots of secrets to living with this disease. I think the first thing people need to know is that as an adult it’s not normal to have hot, swollen and stiff joints. And that would be the first thing I would share with people is that if you do notice that there’s something unusual about your joints, whether it be your fingers or your ankles or your knees – that it’s a really good idea to talk to your GP. Don’t be shy to say, look I’m concerned about this. It might not be arthritis but if it is, it’s really critical to get a quick diagnosis and start on an effective treatment as soon as possible.
So the medical side of living with RA is really important and within that comes I think the need to have a rheumatologist who you feel comfortable with. This is a condition that’s going to stay with you for a very long time so you need a doctor who really gets you and who you feel comfortable with and who you trust. So when I was getting ready to finish school and I was talking to my rheumatologist at the time about future career options and I had floated the idea of studying medicine, he said to me that I had these great life aspirations and he used the analogy of concentric circles and the said that my life aspirations were out here in this outer circle, but my physical ability was really actually only this little circle in the middle. And what I had to do was I had to shrink my life expectations to better fit that really small inner circle.
It was around that time that I had this realisation that I would live with rheumatoid arthritis for the rest of my life. There’s no cure at the moment and it was a real turning point. I thought, gosh this is forever. What am I going to do? And it was a catalyst for me to change doctors at that time and I didn’t care who I went to see, they didn’t have to be male or female, they didn’t have to be young or old. I wanted someone that I could live my life with and who would help me get through the life that I wanted for myself and wouldn’t tell me I had to squeeze it into this teeny, tiny circle. So I moved rheumatologists and by the time I saw this new specialist I was having an awful flare-up; my mum had to drive me to the appointment, I was about 26 at the time. She had to undress me. I couldn’t even undress myself and this new rheumatologist sat opposite me and she said to me, I cannot imagine what it must be like to live in that much pain. So that was the first thing I went, I like that. And the second thing was we talked about what I wanted to do with my life and she said to me her job was to enlarge that inner circle, that physical capacity, and to make it as big as possible so that it matched better with what I wanted to do with my life. And that’s when I realised we were a good fit as patient and doctor.
About MTX

MTX myths

Complimentary meds

Living with rheumatoid arthritis

It's a marathon not a sprint

Maintaining a positive attitude

Arthritis

Alliance

Non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis explained

A Young Woman’s Journey

A team of practitioners

Role of practitioners

Customised team

Centre of the team

Occupational therapist introduction

In your hands

Changing your focus

Living with the condition

Customised care

Diet to cure arthritis

Nutritional supplements

Resources & advice

The physiotherapists role

Rheumatoid arthritis

Psoriatic arthritis & ankylosing spondylitis

Proper exercise program

Your team

Living a full life

First steps after diagnosis

Getting to know your body

Learning your trigger points

Family & financial commitments

Maximising your potential

Calibrating your life

The financial impact

Family life

The lessons of hindsight

You're responsible for your health

Ray's best tip

Finding resources

Live a healthy lifestyle

Taking responsibility

Pregnancy introduction

Having a safe pregnancy

Planning a pregnancy

Medications & pregnancy

The post birth flare

Suzie's successful pregnancy

Suzie's post birth flare

Breast feeding & recovery

Wendy's pregnancy story

Recovery with biologics

Introduction to complementary therapies

Dr Whittle discusses complementary therapies

Complementary medicines may affect your treatment
