rheumatoid arthritis/health update

I've lost almost 20 lbs in about 2 1/2 months.  it sounds like a lot but I have about 30 more pounds to lose to get to a healthy weight.  I have gained so much weight during the past 5 years so there is so much to lose also.  once I get to my target weight, or close to it, I will share with you how I lost this weight, the healthy way.


on Saturday, I was talking to a friend from church who currently has an undiagnosed auto-immune disease.  those who have read my blog may be familiar with some of my posts about Rheumatoid Arthritis, the auto-immune disease that I currently have.  my friend may have some type of rheumatoid arthritis also, or a type of lupus.  she doesn't know it quite yet but her rheumatologist is working closely with her to get the right diagnosis and get her the right treatment.  she was sharing with me her frustrations about being sick (while not looking sick), and the pain that she is currently going through.  I remember very clearly the first few months of feeling the symptoms of RA, how difficult it was to simply move.  Every task, no matter how simple, was excruciatingly painful.  undressing to shower and get dressed took anywhere from 45 minutes to 1 hour.  preparing breakfast?  forget about it.  I only had the energy to make coffee.  I was in pain, and exhausted.  it was so scary to not be able to do the things you used to do so effortlessly and to feel this helplessness at such a young age.  thankfully, I was able to see my doctor right away who immediately suspected rheumatoid arthritis and referred me to a Rheumatologist.  it has been about 1 year and 8 months since I was diagnosed and while I still feel the pain especially in my feet, I am on the road to better health.   i felt the same way early on in my diagnosis.   i didn't look sick at all.  some people said, 'you just need to exercise!'.  i know was overweight but how can i exercise when even getting out of bed was painful!  i cried so many times because so many people just didn't understand.  thankfully, i have such a wonderful and supportive husband who did his best to learn about my condition and help me in any way he could.    


i shared all of these pains and frustrations with my friend to let her know that she is not alone. she was close to tears and very appreciative because there was someone she could relate to.  i thanked the Lord for the opportunity to be an encouragement to her and i realized that there truly is always a silver lining to every dark cloud.  who knew that my illness will be a source of understanding and encouragement.  God's ways are truly magnificent and His ways are above ours. 


since i have lost some weight, i felt bold enough to register for my first 5k run in august.  i started training last week, using the couch to 5k app and successfully went through the first day.  yesterday, my husband and i decided to go train again and i failed miserably.  halfway through the training, i felt the pain shooting up from my feet to my shins.  it was so painful i thought i was going to pass out from the pain.  aside from having RA, i also have flat feet.  I've always had flat feet but people who have normal arches and later get RA can also have fallen arches.  i limped the rest of our 'training' and went home and googled for tips about running with RA and flat feet.  Tip #1, get the right shoes and insoles - i had neither.  training is suspended until the husband takes me to a store that specializes in these things.  *sigh* but i haven't lost hope.  it's just another hurdle to overcome.