All posts filed under: RA journal

RA In the kitchen

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In the kitchen with RA When I was twelve, I road my bike downtown with my mom’s green stamp book in my pocket. I road my bike back home with my first Betty Crocker Cookbook . I still have it. Now I have many recipe resources including the food section in the  NY Times, All recipes and Martha Stewart emails, and King Arthur Baking Recipes. Now I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and my life has added uphill challenges. Between RA pain and fatigue, doctor visits and drug complications,  ambition frequently descends into the basic mode of  required activity. That activity is as basic as  getting dressed in the morning. Cooking?  Is it really necessary anymore especially when you add the difficulties of RA to the mix?  For some of us, it is. I like to cook. I like the taste of homemade meals. I like the fragrance of baking bread coming from the oven. I enjoy working with my tools and ingredients in my kitchen.  Fresh fruit and veggies. Organic chicken. Cream, buttermilk, unsalted butter.  Working …

Mary’s RA Journal

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Mary’s RA Journal May 2021 Year nine I was diagnosed with RA eight years ago. The onset seemed sudden. But was it? My RA started in my feet. I was one of the 20% whose symptoms started in their feet. My internist thought I was too old to have RA. He seemed to think my feet were fine. As recent as eight years ago, rheumatologists did not routinely examine a patient’s feet. They believed RA started in the small joints of the hands. Examining the feet was inconvenient. Examining the feet took too muctook to much time. My symptoms increased. My pain became severe. I was very sick. As a victim of an unresponsive healthcare system, I finally sought relief in the ER. I was fortunate to be seen by a knowledgeable doctor who treated me and sent me to a rheumatologist. My career as a rheumatoid arthritis patient began. I spent years on methotrexate which helped me about 50%. I tried most of the biologics in between being treated for three different cancers.  Orencia …

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RA Journal Progression

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Mary’s Arthritis Journal May 8, 2021 I have always been amazed by those who can work through illness. I once had a friend who had a chronic leukemia. During episodes of chemo, she found that she could not sleep. Instead of watching endless Netflix, she spent her nights researching and writing a successful blog on ghost stories. She used her down time to her advantage. I am not like her. I wallow. I vegetate. My brain seems to stop working. When my rheumatoid arthritis is sending inflammatory messengers throughout my body, when pain is attacking every moveable joint, when I have depleted my stores of coping, I retreat. My body feels sick. My research goes on hold as does my writing. My mind is stuck in a quagmire. There is only a wish to escape and a hope that there will be an end, and in that end, I will be alive again. I will be okay. My flares are becoming something to be feared. My ankles and my toes remain swollen. It is very …

Managing RA

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I am an optimist. But I am also a realist. When faced with a painful situation, I sometimes  dance around the issue for a few turns. Then, painful, or not, I face whatever it is,  deal with it and then do my best to move on. Stiff upper lip and all that. Each time I was diagnosed with a new cancer I did just that. I never once thought why me. I had the surgery, the chemo, the radiation. Suffered through it. Recovered for the most part and moved on. I felt that none of those three cancers would ever return as the treatments were brutal to my body and left nothing unaffected. My method of handling problems worked with cancer. Then I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis almost eight years ago. RA is a painful, debilitating and a  lifelong disease. It is a disease that must be dealt with daily. RA will not go away just because I am weary of living with it. It is forever. It is not a problem to be …

Lockdown Update

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We are still locked down. We go to Costco and to Smiths. We travel out with our masks and our hand sanitizers. Those we meet are friendly and have smiling eyes behind their masks. If a person depended on reading lips to understand another, they are currently out of luck. Who would have guessed? Certainly not last September. Life changes so quickly. My garden is winding down. The squirrels are fat and happy after eating my tomatoes. The roadrunner couple I saw having sex in my back yard now have healthy teenagers who are as aggressive about eating birds as their parents. Our quail population is booming. They love quail blocks and nest along side the squirrels on a little used side of my property. I make bread every couple of days. I have many recipes for rye bread, but rye flour is now unattainable. Not enough planted by the farmers for the current demand. I also make a lot of oatmeal bread. Lucky for me. I make my own buns for bratwurst. I also …

Life is good

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Christmas is surrounding us. Thoughtful considerations given. Small kindnesses. Music. Good chocolate. Desserts. Hugs. Packages in shiny paper. And the knowledge I am cared for. I feel fortunate. I have loved ones to share the holidays and although I am a little wobbly at times, I am able to do my favorite activities for the season. I have had past years where I have felt frightfully alone. I have been fearful for my life. I have been fearful for my future. But now my heart has settled down. I know better who I am.  I feel satisfied with myself. I accept my place in the world and I am grateful for it. Life is good. My son and I took Francis for a picture with Santa at Petco. We were first. Francis growled at a young French Bull dog and then sat on Santa’s lap like they were old friends. Another good memory.

RA in New Mexico

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I have Rheumatoid Arthritis in New Mexico. Are there advantages to living in New Mexico with RA? Sure there are. The climate is high desert and very dry. Humidity is tough for many situations. It is frequently hard on the joints.   Less humidity is a good thing. Another one. New Mexico is sunny. Our brains love light. Light helps to keep us happy. RAers need happy help. Sunflowers are like happy pills. They make us smile. New Mexico is a good place to have RA.