Living Day-By-Day With Rheumatoid Arthritis

I just wanted to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday...and a pain free, stress free new year :) -L

I feel so old today...even more old than usual!  I could barely get out of bed this morning...not a good start to the day.  Then I had to go out to a couple of stores...oh my...craziness!!!  My body feels like it just wants to give up today.  It seems I am having a hard time with everything I do, or try to do!  So not fun.  I hope I don't feel this way over the holidays.  I want to be able to play with my kids and there new toys and not be extremely tired and sore.  Is that too much to ask?!? -L

Oh the joys of holiday shopping.  This year was easy for me as we went on a family vacation which took care of most of the gifts.  But usually I end up going shopping for what seems like way to much time.  I end up trying to get it all done in one day...but half way through the day, I am limping and can barely hold the bags I have.  Online shopping is great.  It takes away most of the hassle. How do you complete all of your holiday shopping? -L

I can't believe the holidays are just around the corner...it seemed to come so quickly this year!  I do look forward to the holidays...more for the kids than anything.  But I am not looking forward to everything else it entails! The holidays seem to be so busy! I know it is a time to spend with family and friends…but it always seems like we are running around to various houses and parties and boy does it tire you out! When Christmas day arrives…I just want to stay home for a nice quite day. But then by Boxing Day we are out and about again! The get-togethers…the cold weather…uggghh. Am I the only one that feels this way? I hope not…lol J   -L

I have heard many stories about working and issues with Rheumatoid Arthritis. I myself find it very hard some days to make it through a work day. There have been many jobs in my past that I could not stay with because of my RA. I have also had employers in my past that did not care about how I was feeling and would sometimes hold it against me. I felt like an outsider sometimes. I once read an article that asked 'should you be honest with your employer about your difficulties at work?'. It was debating whether you hold it in and not let them know your situation in fear of losing your job...like not letting them know how bad it actually is…or if you let them know exactly how you are feeling. Either way it can backfire on you. Even if you are near symptom free because of medications or remission…at the end of a long day you can get really worn out. Obviously age, occupation and how long you have had the disease can play a factor in your ability to work. The Arthritis Fo...

So we all know the usual things that RA can make extremely difficult to do…opening jars, door handles etc. But what about all the other things that are taken for granted? I am sure there is a ton that I have problems with daily…but I am now so used to it. Here is a list I have started… Closing Sandwich Bags (Ziploc) Snaps on baby clothes Using dental floss Tucking in sheets Typing on a computer Writing Walking to the bathroom in the middle of the night Using clothes pin-type hangers Putting socks on yourself or a child Opening the refrigerator door Opening a drink with a lid (sippy cups) Taking the gas cap off Getting up after sitting on the floor Opening a can of pop Even carrying a full plate of food sometimes Squeezing a shampoo bottle   I am sure there are a ton more I can't even think of right now…please keep going and add to the list. -L    

Arthritis pain…I find it hard to describe. I usually don't cry when I am in pain…I usually just keep it to myself. I am not sure why I do that. I sometimes don't want to feel like a burden…and if I always talked about the pain…I would be talking all the time…because even between "flares" there is always a baseline of pain to some degree. It's like sometimes the pain just becomes numb. Some people have said that the pain is much worse than I describe and others say I describe it much worse than it is. But aren't there many different faces of RA? We don't all feel the exact same way or same pain. I find so many similarities with others…but no one is exactly the same. We cannot put each other in the exact same shoes…but we do have an understanding about the pain, weakness and other symptoms of this disease. So my question to everyone is…how do you deal with your pain…do you hold it in, do you cry or get upset? -L

I always run into situations where I meet a new person and we get into the fact I have arthritis…and I always get the same line "But you can't tell by looking at you…you look fine." I know they say it because most of the time it is true. Unless you look closely at my swollen joints or if I happen to have really sore legs that day…I 'look' fine. But why do people feel the need to say that I don't look like I have arthritis? I didn't know there was a specific way to look. Also, I get comments like 'but you are so young'…and when I tell them I was diagnosed at the age of 2 they usually say they didn't even know that kids could have RA. Does anyone else get these kinds of comments…do you say anything in return?  -L

What a day I've had so far! I woke up extremely stiff…took me a good 20 minutes to stretch out my joints and get moving. Then I had to go into work early…did the work I had to do…then when I went to get up from my office chair, I couldn't. I had to stretch out each leg slowly as I had been sitting too long without movement…ugh… Some days I just feel so stiff! Then when I was getting back in my vehicle, I hit my wrist on the arm rest and was in tears because it was extremely painful…what a mess of a morning!!! I hope my day does not continue like this! I always seem to be less mobile when the winter weather starts (and rainy days). I am not looking forward to the winter at all. Does anyone else feel this way? How are your joints in the cold weather? -L

Ok…so where did I leave off. Well, as I said, I didn't want to be on any medication while pregnant. So, shortly after the wedding I did become pregnant. For the first 12 weeks or so, I felt ok…just really tired and a little bit of nausea…and mild soreness and stiffness! After that – I felt great!!! My joints didn't hurt for the most part and I had more energy. After the birth of my son, I still felt pretty good day to day. I was breastfeeding also…so I was happy to feel good and not need to be on meds. At about 6 months postpartum…it all came flooding back. It felt like overnight my body changed…my joints became swollen again, I was stiff, tired and in pain. Great…just what I need when I have to take care of the baby. There were many times I couldn't even hold him for longer than a minute or so as my wrists would just give out. I went to my doctor and she decided that I should go back on my meds. So, I started taking prednisone again. A few weeks later…my Irit...

Hmmmm…where to start.   Well this is my first official post.   I guess I should start out by letting you know why I decided to start this blog and a little background information.  First off, I decided to start this blog as I thought that sharing my day-by-day stories about living with Rheumatoid Arthritis might help others feel that they are not alone.  Sometimes I just want to know that others feel or have felt the same way that I do…sometimes you need to feel the support of others and know that you are not alone. Now a little background info on me.   I was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis when I was 2 years old.   I was starting to show symptoms around 18 months of age.   First, the disease just affected my knees.   Then it slowly started creeping into joints all over my body.   I was getting blood tests weekly, Cortisone injections regularly as well as being on a mess of medication.   The medication also came w...