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.