Month: April 2017

RA, Biologic Medication and the numbers

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Reading the fine print on a medication insert is not done by many of those with RA. I suspect the big reason is the amount of time it would take to understand all the information or even to understand the information of value to you. It does seem like too much work. But there is a time to buckle down and read the inserts. I am at that time. I need to make new decisions with my Rheumatoid Arthritis(RA) treatment. I have tried three of the biologics. One didn’t work. One worked about 50% for nine months and then left me to a bad flu and a worse flare. The third just made me sick. I felt like my life was being sucked out of me. It was not a good feeling to have. For the last six months, I have sustained myself with methotrexate injections coupled with hydroxychloroquine, meloxicam and methylprednisolone. I love methylprednisolone (Medrol). It makes me feel better. I morph from a cripple in excruciating pain into someone feeling almost well. My …

Gardening and RA

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April is a great month for gardening in New Mexico. Sunny, 70’s. Roses blooming. Oklahoma Red bud a riot of color. I am enjoying every bit. This week I planted a Lady Banks rambler on my back fence. There have been times when I never thought I would be able to kneel and happily dig in garden dirt again. Right now I can and I am very happy. In the four years since I was diagnosed with RA, I have learned to modify activities of my life. In the garden I have a kneeling pad for my knees. I buy the smaller size plant so I don’t need to dig a bigger hole and don’t need to haul as much garden soil. I have learned not to buy more than one or two plants at a time. And most importantly, I will relax with a cup of coffee and a book as a rest when my planting is done. The Lady Banks Rose is white and luscious. This is an old rose that was originally brought …

Knitting and RA

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Last summer I had a strong urge to take up knitting again. I hadn’t knitted in many years and wasn’t sure I remembered how. I bought a book for teaching children how to knit and learned quickly that knitting was like riding a bike, once learned not to be forgotten. I enjoyed the projects. Easy. Big needles. Satisfying. The basket in the picture was one of the projects. Circular needles. A few years ago I was sent to a  hand clinic for my RA. I learned a series of exercises to strengthen my fingers, hands and wrists. It was the most helpful process I had had for my RA. I still do the exercises. I have added knitting as another way to exercise my hands. I enjoy projects simple and repetitive and I enjoy projects with complicated precise instructions. I usually knit a bit every day. There are times when I can’t knit. My hands are too inflamed. Sometimes my shoulder is too inflamed. So I just stop for a bit and carry on when …