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...