making connections

Making Connections is a group project that has drawn on that real-world support function of ATT. Group members met to discuss their IA journeys in the context of their everyday lives: juggling employment, families and leisure time; and discussing treatment and information about living with IA. Members then met to discuss what sorts of things they would have liked to have known when they were first diagnosed, and provide information and advice for newly diagnosed women in Taranaki.

Inflammatory Arthritis

Inflammatory Arthritis (IA) is an umbrella term for several conditions that result from the immune system attacking your joints, causing pain and inflammation. There is no cure, and for most people, it means a lifetime of medical intervention. If you have a family member with an IA, you may not have been surprised to be told that you have, say, rheumatoid arthritis, but you may not have realised that this can occur at a relatively young age and that as well as causing severe pain and, if left untreated, damage to joints, the disease is systemic - that is, it affects the body as a whole rather than individual jointd. Research has shown that RA is misunderstood as an older person’s disease and a result of life choices. But you have just been told by your doctors that you have an autoimmune disease that you are likely to have for life; and that you need intensive medication to live without the physical effects of the disease. Due to the underlying disease, people who have been diagnosed with some forms of IA (e.g. psoriatic or enteropathic) may have already been through this thought process before diagnosis. For others, it is a shock to be diagnosed. For most of us though, it's likely to be a complex process of managing changes to our health and our life lplans.

After diagnosis you will need to learn to negotiate the health system, learn about your disease, medications and outcomes and find support. All your plans, your life pathways will be re-evaluated. You know that whatever decisions you make now regarding your disease can impact your family, your career, your finances and your life course. It can be overwhelming.

The purpose of this site is to help you negotiate this period. It draws on the collective experience of women living in Taranaki who are a little further along the path to you are travelling. They are women with families, jobs and other activities who have made connections that support them in living with their IA.


In this resource you will find information, advice and personal anecdotes in the following themes:
  • The Rheumatology pathway
  • Medications
  • Pathways to Allied health services
  • Physical Well-being
  • Mental Health
  • Personal relationships & social support
  • Study & Employment
  • Home help & personal care
  • Pregnancy & postnatal care
  • Arthritis organisations & on-line help
for more information on this project contact the project coordinator
Valerie Milne 947529843752 info@mydomain.com
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