Posted 6/8/2013 7:50 PM (GMT 0)
RA is definitely in my family.
My cousin was dxd. when he was age 10, although I had no clue what it was then. I was dxd. at age 24, my Dad a couple of years after he retired at age 68(poor Guy), my great aunt at age 50, my younger brother had it but refused to get dxd. with another disease. We have lots of relatives whom I do not know since they live farther away but I'm sure some have it also.
My Mom has OA and Osteo. I was dxd. with OA in my lower back 6 years ago. We also have Type 2 Diabetes on my Dad's side. I'm curious where the Type 1 came from though since my 2 brothers and I were dxd when we were little but didn't know of others except for one of my first cousins 3 boys on my Dad's side(younger than us) were dxd. much later than us and 2 other 3rd cousins way younger than us. Some say it skips generations. (Sorry, I got off track).
It amuses me when the scientific world says that far more females have RA than males. Could it be that there are far more females in the world than males?? Not to forget all the males who are killed in wars, etc. who may have been dxd later. Plus males are less likely to get dxd. since they don't want to be whether it be due to denial or they feel that they are supposed to be the strong ones or they think it's just arthritis and don't know that RA can kill them without treatment. I applaud all the males who make an effort to get the important diagnosis, so they may live a longer, heathier life for themselves and their families.