post christmas RA stuff

since I was diagnosed with RA, there are days when it seems like I am in denial.  take the holidays for instance.  I love to cook and during the holidays is when I cook the most.  so i slaved away in the kitchen on the 24th and the 25th...i was on my feet so much so by the evening of the 25th, i was exhausted and stayed in bed until almost 10 am the next day.  sometimes, i refuse to believe that my body can no longer keep up with the things that i want to do.  i am 33 years old and should be at the prime of my life, and yet most days, even getting out of bed can be extremely difficult.

i wish i didn't have to complain.  i didn't realize how difficult days would be.  i am thankful that my husband understands what i go thru, but i know that there are some days when he wonders if i really feel what i feel or if im just being lazy.  =(  it's hard because i look so normal, and yet inside me, my body is betraying me. 

i woke up at 5 am today, lying in bed with both arms over my head, it took me a good 30 minutes to figure out how i would be able to put both arms down to my side without asking my husband for assistance.  i had to force my left arm down and tried to figure out how to move the right.  after all of that was sorted out, i had to slowly get up from bed and use the restroom.  the things i used to take for granted  thankfully i was able to go back to sleep.

now im spending a good portion of my morning putting hot compress all over my joints.  im trying out exercises to increase my range of motion. 

we have an upcoming trip in april...and im trying to figure out how i can walk about the cities we're visiting without over exerting myself.  i also bought new skis over the summer that i was hoping i could use this winter...now i wonder when i'll be able to use them.

im reaching out to my friend's cousin whose RA is now in remission.  i want to know what she went thru, what helped her, how she overcame all the challenges and what lead to the remission.  i know it's only been a few months since i was diagnosed, but i can't imagine living like this for many years.  i am scared of the things i wont be able to do....im scared  that the damage will be permanent.  i scared of the many unknowns that comes with this but I am confident that the Lord will see me through this.  he's blessed me with a family whose support i can lean on. 

looking forward to 2014

i picked up my car from the service center today and paid $1,003 to replace the rear shocks.  it was me who was shocked.  it is an exorbitant amount of money to pay to get a car serviced but what can I do?  when I became a Christian, I learned to shrug things off when it's something beyond my control...there's no point in stressing over finances and the cost of things, God is in control of every aspect of my life anyway.  so even though my wallet bled quite a bit today, in the grand scheme of things, it is insignificant. 

I encountered a customer that seemed shady and I have my doubts that she will ever pay the debt she owes me.  if she doesn't, I charge it to experience but will also make an effort to collect the debt.  I feel sorry for people who think they can one-up someone...she's probably on her flight thinking, 'hahaha! naisan ko si almira!'  but she doesn't know that the debt she owes me may end up costing her quite more than she expected.  the Lord will return what the locust has stolen.  I firmly believe  in reaping what we sow.  if we sow goodness and kindness, then we reap the same harvest, and the harvest will be plentiful.  if we sow theft and malice and lies, then we will reap the same also, ten-fold, maybe even a hundred-fold.

before I was a Christian, i believed in karma - what goes around, comes around.  so before knowing the Lord, it was my motivation for trying my best to be honest and good.  i don't want karma to bite me in the rear and ruin what i worked so hard for.  now, i am moved by a different belief.  it is a belief in what the Lord says in His Word, 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' Romans 12:19.  so if God says He will avenge and repay, who am i to doubt that? 

so as i was driving from the car dealer today, the Lord reminded me of all the blessings from 2013.  the Lord has provided more than enough in every aspect of my life.  while i complained a lot about my health this year, i still wake up every morning with a renewed hope in the Lord.  of course, i still need to do my part in maintaining my health.  with the new medication that i am taking, i do feel an improvement from my RA symptoms.  hopefully in a couple of months, there will be little or no pain at all so i can go back to exercising. 

now i need to plan for 2014, i need to increase my sales, open a new business, GIVE MORE and still be able to spend quality time with my family. with Christ's help, this will all come to pass. 

new medication for RA

I saw my rheumatologist again last week.  I told her that the medication im taking hasn't really helped me at all.  so she added Plaquenil to my daily (medication) cocktail.  I hope this works and without side effects! I really, really, really, really, want my life back.

yesterday was another terrible day for me.  days like these have become more and more frequent during the last couple of months.  yesterday, I noticed that my hands were swollen, just above the knuckles.  it was swollen pretty much the whole day.  my toes, ankles and knees have been slightly swollen for a couple of weeks now.  I feel exhausted.  it's terrible. 

in a bit of good news, I stumbled upon this article on Reuters about RA patients quality of life improving from the last 20 years.  RA is a difficult disease to explain to people who are not going thru it.  the question I get asked the most is, 'aren't you too young to be having arthritis?'  oh well...i'm just thankful I have a supportive family that understands and helps me go thru this.  I have been scolded many times though to take it easy...like this weekend....I was exhausted from all the cooking and activities that I attended.  I think that made Monday's flare up much worse.   

Rheumatoid arthritis patients better off than decades ago

(Reuters Health) - People with rheumatoid arthritis are better off than they were 20 years ago, according to new research from the Netherlands.

Researchers found about half as many people were considered disabled after the first four years of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treatment in 2011, compared to 1990.

"The results of our study relay the hopeful message to patients that today, in spite of having rheumatoid arthritis, they have a better opportunity to live a full and valued life than 20 years ago," Cécile Overman wrote in an email to Reuters Health.

Overman is the study's lead author and a doctoral student in clinical and health psychology at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.

RA is an inflammatory disorder that often affects the lining of the small joints in the hands and feet. Unlike the more common osteoarthritis, which occurs after years of wear and tear on joints, RA is caused by the body attacking its own tissue.

"It is believed that the tendency to develop rheumatoid arthritis may be genetically inherited," Overman wrote. "It is also suspected that certain infections or factors in the environment might trigger the activation of the immune system in susceptible individuals."

About one in five U.S. adults reports having been diagnosed with arthritis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Women are more likely to report arthritis than men at any age.

About 27 million Americans had osteoarthritis in 2005, according to the CDC. About 1.5 million had RA.

"Rheumatoid arthritis is a much more daunting diagnosis," Dr. Daria Crittenden, a rheumatologist at NYU Langone's Center for Musculoskeletal Care in New York, said.

"It comes in much younger patients," Crittenden, who was not involved with the study, said. "They go from being completely functional and going about their daily lives to having severe stiffness in many of their joints and pain that keeps them from doing simple things."

For the new study, Overman and her colleagues analyzed data on 1,151 people who were diagnosed with RA between 1990 and 2011. Patients were between the ages of 17 and 86 years old.

They were assessed for anxiety, depression and disability when they were diagnosed with RA and again after four years.

The researchers found that at the start of the study period, 23 percent of patients had anxiety, 25 percent were depressed and a little more than half were physically disabled.

Among people who were diagnosed toward the end of the study period, 12 percent had anxiety, 14 percent were depressed and about 31 percent were physically disabled, the researchers reported in Arthritis Care and Research.

"Improved treatment strategies have shown to be capable of improving patients' psychological well-being and physical functioning," Overman wrote.

"Therefore, treatment improving over the decades is a likely candidate to explain, at least in part, the improvement in psychological well-being and physical functioning."

She stressed, however, that she and her colleagues did not examine any particular treatment and the improvement may be due to better drugs and non-drug treatments, such as therapy.

Overall, the researchers found about half of people diagnosed with RA two decades ago were disabled after four years of treatment. That compared to about one in four people in recent years.

Crittenden said doctors and researchers had believed the treatment of RA led to better outcomes, based on anecdotal evidence - and it's good to see that confirmed.

In addition to better treatments, Crittenden said the improvement may also be due to a greater effort to treat RA early and aggressively.

Overman said it could also be that doctors encourage people with RA to "keep physically active and stressing that it is possible to live a valued life despite RA."

She added that the study is also good news for rheumatologists and health professionals.

"We're on the right track with the changes in treatment focus and strategy that have been gradually implemented over the past decades," she said.

SOURCE: bit.ly/1cdfNP3 Arthritis Care and Research, online December 3, 2013.

Yolanda brought disaster, but we can turn it into something good

It is inescapable. Unless you have been living under a rock for the last week or so, you have seen the destruction that Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda brought to the central Philippines.

For the millions who have prayed, we believe that God has heardour prayers. Thank you for your prayers. For those whose faith is in the power of the human spirit, thank you for the confidence that the people of the Philippines will be able to rise up and rebuild. But to all of us, regardless of our faith, we ask not only for kind thoughts and prayers but action. Fund raising events have began to sprout left and right, you can do your part. No dollar amount or service is too small. There is a kindness inherent in all of us that aches each time we see the desperation of the people.

We had a fund raising dinner with our friends at Tselogs and Voice of Victory church on 

Thursday and raised over $6,000 for the Typhoon Yolanda Relief effort! Thank you everyone for your help and generosity! This is just the beginning. We will announce more fund raising events and in-kind donation stations soon. 

The people need help for many months, maybe even years to rebuild their lives so our attempt to help should be on going, think immediate and longer term assistance. We have all been blessed so abundantly and have no reason to hold back. Just give what you can and it shall return to you!

God bless you all and thank you so much for your generosity!

bad morning for RA

it was extremely difficult to wake up this morning.  my arms, my hands, wrists, knees, ankles and toes were painful. *sigh*  the doctor told me there will be days like this when everything seems to hurt.  when my alarm went off, i said to myself, 'i seriously hope michelle likes the scheduled lunch at school today', otherwise, i will have to whip something up for her to take to school.  thank God they're serving chicken noodle soup and sandwiches for lunch so i took my time getting myself and michelle ready this morning.

to those of you who don't know much about RA, here's what the mayo clinic writes about Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA):

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disorder that typically affects the small joints in your hands and feet. Unlike the wear-and-tear damage of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis affects the lining of your joints, causing a painful swelling that can eventually result in bone erosion and joint deformity.
 
An autoimmune disorder, rheumatoid arthritis occurs when your immune system mistakenly attacks your own body's tissues. In addition to causing joint problems, rheumatoid arthritis sometimes can affect other organs of the body — such as the skin, eyes, lungs and blood vessels.

Although rheumatoid arthritis can occur at any age, it usually begins after age 40. The disorder is much more common in women than in men. Treatment focuses on controlling symptoms and preventing joint damage. 
 
Signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis may include:

• Tender, warm, swollen joints
• Morning stiffness that may last for hours
• Firm bumps of tissue under the skin on your arms (rheumatoid nodules)
• Fatigue, fever and weight loss

Early rheumatoid arthritis tends to affect your smaller joints first — particularly the joints that attach your fingers to your hands and your toes to your feet. As the disease progresses, symptoms often spread to the knees, ankles, elbows, hips and shoulders. In most cases, symptoms occur in the same joints on both sides of your body.

Rheumatoid arthritis signs and symptoms may vary in severity and may even come and go. Periods of increased disease activity, called flares, alternate with periods of relative remission — when the swelling and pain fade or disappear. Over time, rheumatoid arthritis can cause joints to deform and shift out of place.

I was diagnosed early because I always make it a point to see my doctor right away when I feel something unusual with my body.  last year, I was diagnosed with bell's palsy within 24 hours of the first symptoms and was taking medication immediately so the bell's palsy didn't last longer than 3 weeks and my face didn't droop that much.  hopefully, the same goes for my RA.  the doctor expects that I will be able to do all the things I like to do and manage the pain once I get started on my medication...unfortunately, she's holding off on that to see if any of my RA symptoms are alleviated by the meds im taking for my hypothyroid.  ano ba yan?  dami daming kung ano anong nararamdaman?  i'd rather be diagnosed and get treated right away than ignore the symptoms now and then only go to the doctor when the symptoms have gotten out of hand.

i'm back to blogging (obviously).  I hope to hear from anyone who stumbles upon this blog who is also going through RA and hypothyroidism.  I hope we can encourage each other as we battle through these.  God bless!

sickness and death (sad post) =(

last week, I visited my rheumatologist to review the results of my lab tests.  As it turns out, I have Hypothyroidism and Rheumatoid Arthritis.  Finding out about the hypo came as a surprise.  I stopped thinking about it after it was dismissed by my former doctor from Kaiser way back in 2008 (I think).  Maybe my doctor back then was just thinking I wanted an excuse for slowly putting on weight  and not being able to put it off (I have gained about 40 lbs in the last 4-5 years).  So I was expecting my rheumatologist to just straight up tell me, “You have R.A., this is what we’re going to do…”  Now, I need to take meds for the thyroid first and then after a couple of months, get checked again to see how the thyroid is doing and then get treatment for R.A. 

Now that I have been diagnosed, I feel extremely optimistic that I will get a better handle on my health and get help/treatment when I need to.  It has been a difficult couple of months for me:  two deaths in our extended family and my aches and pains puts a strain on my day.  The mornings have been especially difficult.  I wake up in the morning after a full night’s sleep and feel exhausted, with joints and muscles in terrible pain.  Hopefully, it’s uphill from here.

My father in law died 2 weeks ago.  My husband went home to the Philippines and stayed with him at the hospital before he passed away..  After my in-laws separated many years ago, my husband’s relationship with him was strained.  It was important for Paul to see his dad and tell him that all is forgiven, and that he loves him. It was good to reconcile but at the same time, it also makes me sad that it has taken this long to seek forgiveness.  Before we got married, I told Paul, ”You have to forgive your Dad.  You need that to become a better father, too.”  I know he forgave him but he never told Pop that. Before Pop died, we made sure he knows that he is loved, and that the Lord is there for him, also waiting for him to seek forgiveness and to turn to Christ as his Lord and Savior.  We believe that Pop accepted Christ and is peacefully with Him now. 

My cousin died two months ago.  I still can’t believe it’s already been two months.  He died of a brain aneurysm. An aneurysm at age 32.  Unbelievable.  =(  it’s still hard for me to talk about it and it makes me sad when I think that he’s no longer here.  I always send him messages and tell him how much I miss him, and I ask him when he’ll be back so we can spend time together.  Michelle asks me about him all the time.  She saw how devastated I was when I found out that he’s gone.  I miss him so much. 

all these things remind me that life is short...

type 2

my dad was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes yesterday.

urgh!  terrible news!

so i gave my dad the standard, 'you have to change your diet, you have to exercise' speech.  but to help him with this whole thing, i told my mom that we all have to change how we eat.  i don't think my dad will like it very much when while he's eating a salad, we're feasting on the yummy filipino food we always eat.

so my dad has started eating oatmeal...snacking on baby carrots and hummus.  this morning, my parents went out for a walk around the neighborhood. i'm also heading to the library today and i'm going to check out books that will help us learn more about diabetes and the types of food we should eat and avoid.

i believe there is a way for my dad to get through with this without becoming dependent on his medication.  he had his blood tested in feb and that came out normal, so this week's test came out as a surprise.  but God is in control and i know all will be well.  =D

to disney or not to disney?

i had just read an article on cnn about loving or hating the disney company.  it got me very curious because we are going disneyland next week for spring break.

ever since i was a child in the philippines, i've always wanted to go to disneyland.  what kid wouldn't?  i was thousands of miles away from the nearest disneyland (tokyo) and we couldn't afford it so all i could do was dream.  when we finally moved the states, i finally got my chance to go, albeit, i was already 18 years old.  

i had seen enough disney commercials as a child and watched a good portion of their cartoons and films to be familiar but in no way was i constantly bombarded with disney's advertisements.  but when i first stepped into disneyland, i was grinning from ear to ear.  i was delighted to finally be there and experience the fun that is disneyland.  everyone seemed to be having a good time (at least from what i can see).  the lines where extremely long, but who cares?  you're at disneyland!  

so now that i have a daughter who is exposed to disney's constant commercials (how much money do they spend on advertising?  LOTS!).  i think she still managed to be just your average disney consumer.  not a total fanatic.  she never expressed a desire to always dress like cinderella or have disney princess everything.  sure she likes them.  but i think she loves all things pink more than she likes any of the princesses.  for her birthday last year, a friend of mine gave her a chest with 3 princess dresses with matching tiara and wand.  she dresses up in them every now and then.  a couple of times, i actually let her leave the house wearing it, but i attribute that to the idea that every girl likes dressing up...i don't blame disney for that.    

she doesn't have a favorite princess.  she likes cat in the hat more than any of them.  cat in the hat trumps anything else she's watching...that or bedtime stories (starring adam sandler, disney produced the film).   

one mother in the article said that she doesn't want to expose her daughters to the disney princesses and limiting their fantasy world.  i'm not quite sure i understand what the mother meant.  as parents, our role is to encourage our kids to explore the things that interest them.  i wont leave it up to disney to decide what my daughter can do.  she watches the movies, but that's not all she watches, that's not the only thing she's interested in so i don't think having her watch them will limit her imagination.  

michelle watches a lot of disney channel right now. i have locked the tv at home so she can only watch them with my permission and after she's done with homework.  when i notice that she does not focus on learning her school work or when her behavior and language changes (she immitates the teens on disney every now and then, she's only 6), i tell her that we need to cut back on the disney channel and she gets a little upset but she understands.  she doesn't really have a choice.  

it's easy to point the finger at disney because they are everywhere.  and i'm not saying that disney is the greatest corporation in the whole world.  but everything has its pros and cons.  as parents, we play a larger role in influencing our child's behavior.  i disagree with a total disney ban but hey, each parent's ways are different.  i salute all the parents who do their very best to nurture their children, even if i their ways are different from mine.

what is your take on disney? 

updates

it has been too many weeks without any blogs from me.  far too long!  

christmas was wonderful.  i told my husband after we took down the christmas tree, 'now i have to wait another year for the holidays to arrive.'  it truly is the most wonderful time of the year.  i love how most homes are decorated, everyone seems to be in a better mood.  hopefully, we get to spend this christmas in the philippines.  i haven't celebrated christmas there in about 10 years and i am really looking forward to it.

next update....

superbowl.  aaaaah!!!  the agony of defeat!  it was heart breaking to see our home team comeback after a large deficit only to come up 5 points short of victory!  oh well!  what can we do?  paul said, 'the niners are a young team.  we'll get them next time.'  o di ba optimistic!  

trips i am looking forward to this year....

for michelle's spring break, we are going to california adventure and universal studios.  we had originally planned on going to oahu for spring break but by the time we were ready to purchase our plane tickets, they were $800 each.  waaay more than what i had hoped to pay.  so the plans changed and we're going to see the new cars land at california adventure instead and then heading to universal studios (i have never been!).  it should be a good trip...i do dread the drive through southern california traffic though.  

so we moved our trip to hawaii to summer and instead of going to oahu, we're going back to maui!  yey!  can't wait to go back there and eat at star noodle!!!  i like maui because it is more laid back than oahu. i remember seeing sugarcane fields as we drove thru the highway.  when we go this june, we'll do the road to hana and explore the rainforests and waterfalls of maui.  can't wait!

michelle turns 7 this year so we've sorta started thinking about what to do for her birthday.  most people have told us that the 7th birthday should be a pretty big bash (in filipino culture). i'm not a big birthday person myself but we'll see.  i would rather go on a trip (obviously) than spend the money on a birthday party but michelle wants a party and paul wants a party for her so i really don't have a choice.  what are your suggestions for a 7th birthday party?