One of the best ways to describe an arthritis diagnosis is the feeling of joining a club that you vaguely knew existed; certainly not a club you ever intended to become a member of. Yet, the condition is irreversible, and fortunately, the community of people living with arthritis - in its different forms - is a unified and welcoming group. The people are also quite knowledgeable about the disease and its many quirks and challenges.

Still, it is important that you stay in communication with your Riverside arthritis doctor as there are aspects of living with and managing arthritis that bear repeating and monitoring. Here are some important things to note about living with and managing your arthritis:

1. Get to understand your arthritis

The term 'arthritis' is used as an umbrella term, such that rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis are very different from osteoarthritis. While the former are inflammatory chronic and systemic conditions (meaning they affect multiple joints), the latter is a disease affecting a single joint. So, the management for each of the 100 plus variations of arthritis is different, and you should know how to manage your specific case.

2. Understand that your case is a work in progress

Arthritis is a chronic, systemic disease, which means that once your treatment starts, it will continue for the rest of your life. But for the first three to six months, your arthritis doctor will be trying different treatments until you find the right combination of medication that will most effectively get your disease into remission.

3. Don't delay your treatment

When people first start experiencing joint pains, they tend to start to exercise, do yoga, or change their diet in order to relieve the pain. This, however, delays them from seeking professional help from a physician. The American College of Rheumatology recently revised its diagnostic procedure to catch the disease earlier. It is critical that you get your diagnosis and start treatment as early as possible for a favorable outcome.

4. Take your medications

When people realize that they have a chronic disease, the hardest thing to accept is the constant need for medication. If you rarely get sick and only need an occasional pop of aspiring, the thought of embarking on a daily regimen of drugs can be daunting. Although exercise and dieting are okay, they don't replace treatment.

5. Don't accept a 'new normal'

Arthritis patients have a tendency of finding ways to deal and function with the disease, developing a new normal for how they should expect to feel. The problem is that this makes them forget how good they could feel.

To avoid this, it is important that you get timely diagnosis and treatment, and maintain your Riverside arthritis doctor appointments so any medications that don't work can be switched immediately. You don't have to soldier on through your pain.

Also, there is plenty of research going on in arthritis, and an early diagnosis of arthritis does not have to mean a lifetime of pain and limitation. People with arthritis need a reminder of what is and isn't possible for them, and such information is best delivered by your Riverside arthritis doctor while monitoring your condition.