Time for a visit to Ruth: Orencia is done
Visiting my friend Ruth when I am low.
All posts tagged: RA Fatigue
RA and Malnutrition
Why are those with rheumatoid arthritis malnourished?.
Oral bacteria, rheumatoid arthritis and the TSA
There is a growing link between oral bacteria and rheumatoid arthritis. I keep this in mind as I pack my suitcase for my visit to my favorite people, my grandchildren, Madison and Nate. I packed my fancy toothbrush, my Tom’s toothpaste, floss and pics. I had a small container of Biotene mouth rinse. However, I only had a big jug of Crest Pro Health Multi-protection mouth rinse. I could not find a travel container among my travel gear. I improvised. I had a snap-it plastic container, guaranteed never to leak. Perfect, I thought. I am set to go. Traveled. Arrived. Couldn’t find my mouth wash. Managed with what I had. Enjoyed a wonderful visit. Traveled home. As I was cleaning out my suitcase I noticed two pieces of paper. The first said my luggage had been chosen to be inspected. The second was as follows I found out what happened to my mouthwash. The TSA has saved the country again by confiscating the very mouthwash that helps protect my mouth from disease and consequently worsening …
Ruth explains RESET
The delicacy of the mahogany writing desk. Petite. Leather inlay surface. Slender wood turned legs. Just right for Ruth. She sat back straight in her neat smoothed dress. Her eyes twinkled in greeting. “I need help,” I said. She glanced toward the strait backed chair next to the desk. I sat. “I am discouraged. Exhausted. Defeated. Weak. Worried. In pain. All of it in a jumbled pile in my mind. Too much.” She smiled her little smile as she looked into my eyes. “It does sound like too much,” she agreed. “It weighs like an anchor on your soul leaving you feeling stuck. You need relief.” She understood as always. “Maybe it is time to RESET yourself. You are overloaded with tough stuff.” “Let’s have tea and sit in the big cozy chairs, “she suggested. As we sipped our tea and munched on lemon cookies with buttercream frosting, she explained the process. The first and most important RESET step is the Purge. The purpose is to empty the mind of all concern. Meditation can be too …
Ruth has RA, too
I love Ruth. I smile when I see her and Ruth always smiles back at me. Her blue eyes twinkle with a happy secret. I would like to know what Ruth knows. She always looks the same. She wears a blue dress that looks just right. Her hair is neatly parted to the side. Her hands are folded on the front of her dress. Polite. Neat. Helpful. Ruth works in a bookstore that has many books both new and old. There is every book you could ever want to read in Ruth’s store. The bookstore also has excellent coffee. There are big cozy chairs for reading. It is a good place to spend lots of time. Ruth works in the best bookstore. I met Ruth at her bookstore. I was looking for a hard cover copy of Preston and Child’s Relic. Great book. It is everywhere, paperback, kindle, nook. The hard cover copy is not. It is hard to find. I have read it but I wanted a hardcover for my library. Of course, I knew …
Managing RA and commitments
I made a big accomplishment recently that makes me very happy. I completed my role as planning committee member for Cancer Support Now’s 4th Annual Long-Term Effects of Cancer Survivorship Conference. The event was successful. I could see it being valuable to attendees just like it was for me last year. I had loved it. Felt grateful for it. I had wanted to be involved in it. Being involved had meant crossing town at 5 pm for planning meetings. Crossing town just at the time when the pain and the fatigue of RA increased for me was a big one. I made the decision to go. It was the first big commitment I had made since my odyssey of two cancers and a diagnosis of progressive RA began. I made the meetings. The conference was coming together. The Monday of the event I woke to severe pain in all my joints. It was not good. The problem with RA is that it is totally unpredictable. Severe fatigue or severe pain are random occurrences. The pain kept …
Finally, a life
I really thought I was going to die last year. To prepare, I filled out the final wishes form. Next, I made an attempt to simplify my financial records. I said thank you to all the people who have been helping me the last few years. I had a garage sale. What the heck, I thought, I would be the one to get the money if I had one before I died. Just as I thought things were going to get worse, they were already terrible, I started coming out of the methotrexate fog. I could think clearly again. O happy days. At least I had my mind. Both cancers could return. My RA could leave me immobilized. Yet, I would be able to read. My favorite thing to do. Preston and Child’s Pendergast series. Baldacci’s adventures. All the fascinating medical books. I could be happy. The methotrexate injections, Plaquenil, leflunomide and the prednisone finally calmed the ever-present inflammation in my body. This was after 2 years. And it may not last long, but it is …
How RA Feels
RA starts in the feet as often as in the hands. Mine had started in my feet long before I was given a diagnosis. My feet came to feel like dense bricks. The whole main part of my feet, all those little joints, were swollen and in pain. The three middle toes on each foot were swollen and would have sporadic shooting pains. I had a hard time walking. My hands have almost equal billing. Knuckles are enlarged and always have some degree of swelling. I use a simple rubber square jar opener to do the job of opening jars and bottles. I keep scissors around the house. They make it so much easier to open many things. Symmetry is a hallmark symptom of RA. Left foot and right foot. Middle three toes each side. Any synovial joint in the body can be affected. My left jaw (mandible) joints …
Adapt and survive definitely not easy
You might wake up well rested, feeling pretty good. Out of bed. Start moving. Your middle toe starts hurting. A piercing pain shoots through the bottom of a foot. Just keeps going until every joint in your body in inflamed and in pain. All had been well this last week. Lots done. Exercise class included. Pain level at a simmer. No need for the narcotics. Pleasant. Then blindsided! Unpredictable! Discouraging! Now, it is just hard to exist. Fatigue has joined the rest. Fatigue feels like an overwhelming exhaustion that makes thinking or doing hard to do. Just simply surviving is hard to do. Each of those joints supporting the 28 bones in each foot cry out for attention. Their chorus is joined by the joints supporting the 27 bones in each hand. Then there are the ankles, the wrists, the shoulders, elbows, and the joints of the chest bones. To stop is to adapt. There is no choice, not really. Time for a rest day, a veg out day, time out. …
Rheumatoid arthritis progression attitude
Rheumatoid arthritis sticks to me like glue. Severe. Persistent. Progressing. OMG! I have a tough one. But then, so do many, many others. I am alive. I am grateful. Life is good. Every minute of life is a gift. Believe it or not, the biggest joys in our life happen in our everyday life. Stop and think about it. What are the five best moments you have had this week? Remember, this week your life is ticking by. Life is now and a daily experience. Love it. Life has changed dramatically for me. My pace is about 20% of what it was. Am I sad. Not. Probably because I am spending my time managing my day. I’m living today. A lot of the maneuvering is about energy and pain control. So life is about balance. A little of this and a little of that. Breaking time into chunks. Working on re-potting plants. Then reading a good book or writing articles for a while. Lucky for me I can do many of the things I …
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