Your Answers: The Worst RA Advice (Infographic)

We asked and you answered! We posted this question: What bits of "advice" do you wish people would stop telling you? and hundreds of you took the time to respond.

What did we learn? From the unconcerned ("It's probably not a big deal") to the plain unhelpful ("Just drink more water"), advice is hurled at us from friends, family, coworkers, even strangers. While most suggestions are probably well-intentioned, hearing them over and over can make us feel that our condition is minimized and misunderstood.

Some of the most common answers we heard:

• You were fine yesterday. What happened?
• Just drink more water
• Don’t get hooked on pain medication.
• You probably don’t know how to exercise.
• Just move around more
• Join a gym. It will be fun.
• You don’t look sick
• Have you tried pain medication?
• Arthritis doesn’t make you tired!

Everyone's situation is different and not all of these apply to each person. Tell us: What advice about rheumatoid arthritis do YOU wish people would stop telling you?