“I toughen up and do what I gotta do to remain the Queen that I am,” the ‘Shahs of Sunset’ alum said of undergoing treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, which she was diagnosed with in 2010
Golnesa “GG” Gharachedaghi is urging others not to judge as she continues to deal with symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic autoimmune disease that affects more than 1.3 million Americans.
On Tuesday, the Shahs of Sunset alum posted an Instagram video documenting her rheumatoid arthritis treatment on her knee, seemingly undergoing joint aspiration — a procedure to remove fluid from the space around a joint using a needle and syringe.
“Ask me how I’m doing and I’ll always smile and say, ‘I’m great.’ But today, well today was a rough one!” Gharachedaghi, 41, wrote in the caption. “These extractions are never easy, but I know I need to get back to smiling for my son [Elijah Javad, 3], so I toughen up and do what I gotta do to remain the Queen that I am.”
“Simply ask me how I’m doing… but don’t judge without knowing MY reality,” she said, adding the hashtag “f— RA.”
Rheumatoid arthritis, also known as RA, is a chronic inflammatory disorder that occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks the body’s tissues, according to the Mayo Clinic. The condition can cause inflammation, swelling and pain, and in severe cases lead to bone erosion and joint deformity.
Gharachedaghi was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 2010, and previously opened up to about how she initially brushed it off. At the time, the Bravo star said she was “in denial” about her diagnosis until she had to undergo a combination of infusion and chemotherapy to treat the disease.
“It’s very confusing when you’ve never heard of a disease before and all of a sudden you’re supposed to in one second accept that you have it,” she told back in 2016. “I can’t lift things the way a 35-year-old should be lifting things. I can’t hold my phone for long periods of time without my hands going numb or shaking. I can’t sit in the car for too long.”
“You’re tired all the time,” she added. “It doesn’t matter how much you sleep – you’re always tired.”
The reality star said she quickly turned to alcohol to cope with her diagnosis because she “wasn’t mentally ready for it.”
“I turned to the bottle for pain and mental management,” she said. “I was drinking a lot. And when I say ‘a lot,’ I mean I was literally waking up in the morning and downing a bottle of vodka … I just wanted to numb out.”
“I would just drink and drink until I couldn’t feel my body,” she continued. “Because you know, when we drink, it’s like we can do anything – we’re invincible. So I was dancing on tables and then I would wake up the next day and not be able to walk for the whole day. But those moments felt so good to me when I was in them that the following day didn’t matter. I just wanted to feel that numbness again.”
Gharachedaghi said that after her drinking became an “obvious” problem, she checked herself into a treatment center and has been doing well with her health ever since.
“The spiritual retreat really changed me,” she said. “You’re out in the wilderness, you just meditate from morning ’til night, you do spiritual counseling, you do a lot of self-work.”
“It’s all about cleansing the liver and the soul,” Gharachedaghi added. “I’m learning different ways of living. It’s a different lifestyle. It’s been an amazing transition for me.”