Rheumatoid Arthritis Symptoms Don't Rule My Aud Life

Living with Rheumatoid Arthritis can make a person feel very lonely, and definitely not very glamorous. A recent little search online into celebrities suffering with RA made me feel a little less isolated and maybe not so awkward feeling. Stiff fingers and sore, aching knees don’t seem quite so painful when you can watch others live with it as well. Those with more spotlight shining on them are able to give voice to not only themselves but those who can identify with them.

 I watched “the Soprano’s” every week, and not until today did I realize that Aida Turturro, who played Tony’s sister Janice, has also been diagnosed with RA since a young girl. Now in her 40’s, she has become the spokesperson for “Joint Effort Against Arthritis,” an American arthritis awareness campaign sponsored by the Arthritis Foundation. It’s also sponsored by Centocor, a US company that makes a well-known arthritis drug, Remicade.

 I always thought James Coburn was a cool guy: tough, strong and silent with a rough cynical sense of humor. I like the late actor even more now because I’m able to identify with him and the discouragement of living with constant pain and the medical community not being able to supply any relief. Like him, I went off conventional medications like Plaquenil and Methotrexate and tried something a little unorthodox. He found deep tissue massage, electromagnetic treatments, and MSM to do the trick, I’ve found daily exercise, watching my diet, and Lyprinol (green mollusk extract) to help way more than what the doctors were prescribing me. *Just a reminder: I’m not suggesting anyone should toss their physician’s advice!!

 Way back in 1928, Lucille Ball was diagnosed at the age of 17. She was a young model at the time and was told that she would be wheel chair bound for the rest of her life, but after 2 years of barely being able to walk, with metal braces on her legs, and other medical treatments, she overcame this road block and became the television sweetheart known the world over.

 Being able to witness victories won over Rheumatoid Arthritis gives a sufferer a little more strength and encouragement to keep going. I can relate and gain from their experiences; feeling a little more inspired when the going gets tough and maybe even feeling a touch more glamorous!

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I have 2 strikes going against me when it comes to the health of my heart.

Strike one- Marfans Syndrome, a condition that causes my connective tissue to be defective and not act the way it should. It affects my skin, bones, eyes and my heart. At present, I only have a heart murmur, but more severe cases include aortic dilation, leakage, tearing or rupture.

Strike Two- I have Rheumatoid Arthritis which can cause inflammation of the membranes surrounding the heart. Thank goodness this isn’t baseball or I’d be out next strike!! I don’t like baseball and haven’t watched it since the Jay’s won the pennant in ’92. I’m a hockey fan!

OK, back on track… heart disease and Rheumatoid Arthritis. A study done by Mayo Clinic researchers uncovered some results that would suggest Rheumatoid Arthritis sufferers have a higher risk of heart attacks and sudden cardiac deaths. They studied 1206 people over a period of 26 years. 603 people had RA the other half did not. The entire grouped was matched in age, gender and location. Conclusions were made that people with Rheumatoid Arthritis are 3 times more likely to have been hospitalized for an acute heart attack, less likely to have a history of chest pains and 5 times more likely to have an unrecognized heart attack because of pain medications masking pain, and twice as likely to die from sudden cardiac death.

Fortunately for me, I’m on a pretty hefty dose of blood thinners because of a blood clotting disorder so I don’t have to worry about that kind of blockage. I’m not overweight at all, and that eliminates some stress on my heart. I do however need to be vigilant about how Marfans affects my aorta and that Rheumatoid Arthritis can cause membrane inflammation. Keeping my doctors informed, educating myself on what to watch for, new possible treatments, and keeping myself fit will all be beneficial to the wellbeing of my ticker.

Is your RA affecting your heart? Got some experience you’d like to share? By all means, send me a comment!

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I’m sure I’ve said it before in a previous post that I’m feeling better in my 30’s than I did in my 20’s, but I’m wanting to make that point again. For about 10 years I was quite a bit miserable, in a out of hospital for so many reasons from stomach and back issues, to having strokes and surgeries. By the time I turned 30 my medical chart was over 2 inches thick and I felt old. There was a 30 year old face in the mirror, but I felt 90.  The biggest reason was the <em>Rheumatoid Arthritis</em> that caused me to feel creaky and rusty like the tin man in Oz before the oil can relief!

So why am I feeling so “awesome” now? I’m learning to live with a different mind set, instead of putting others needs first, taking care of myself has become priority. Let me explain before I get called a selfish wench! How can I help properly when I’m barely able to get around myself? I might as well do nothing because I’m not going to do a lick of quality good for anyone. When I’m healthy and happy I’m in a better position to participate and people actually enjoy my presence because I’m not cranky!

The first step was to inform myself about arthritis and what arthritis causes. I then used my medical history along with professional health care advice to map out the supplements and medications I would be able to take to reduce pain and damage. The next process was getting physically active, starting out slow and doing things I truly enjoyed. 

I found my hobbies to be a great source of therapy. They not only gave me physical activity but my mind was taken off the disease for the time being. Playing the guitar and piano, painting and other creative outlets provide amazing exercise for my hands. Gardening, walking and muscle building has improved my knees, back and feet.

I’m not saying that everyday is a bowl of sickly sweet sunshine, I do have the occasional heavy storm clouds rolling in, but they’re not as severe or frequent as they were, even a year ago. It’s a fantastic feeling to look back upon my day and see all I’ve accomplished despite the fact that I have <em>Rheumatoid Arthritis.</em>

Everyone has interests or hobbies that keep them active - can you share your story?

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One way to get my mind off the troubles of arthritis is leaving home and going on vacation, which is just what I’m doing right now. I’m sitting in my cousin’s living room down in beautiful Ridgeway, Ontario just minutes away from Niagara Falls. It’s a lovely, soft evening outside and we’ve just returned from a fun packed day at the Falls.

We decided last week to take a quick trip down to visit family who have a son that our girls have a blast with. Wandering down through Michigan took a bit of Friday afternoon, and we stopped off for the evening outside of Flint where I knew a Red Lobster could be found. It’s been a year since my last crab leg meal and I was ready for another - even though shell fish cause flare ups. I had brought my Tylenol 3’s and dug in with my shell cracker and melted butter. It was so worth it!!

Within 20 minutes I could feel my wrists and elbows start, by the time we returned to the hotel, my knees were yelping, but I wasn’t going to say a word. I promised myself I wouldn’t make a peep and I didn’t! Fortunately it wasn’t too bad, I guess I over estimated the pain  (and that rarely happens).

On the road again the next morning after we found a Tim Horton’s (and in Michigan at that!) With my ‘large with milk’ and my husband’s ‘large with a double’ (that’s Canadian for 2 large coffees, one with milk and one with two creams), it was back to the Ontario border and into heavy traffic.

Today was fabulous! I got to take a long 5 mile walk through the quaint town of Ridgeway this morning. It was perfect, the air was sweet and warm, it was peaceful with birds singing and the occasional passerby saying, “Good Morning!”

The kids were scooped up and it was off to see one of the world’s wonders. They were very impressed and had almost as much fun as us  adults in the wax museums, arcades and other tourist magnets.

I’m having too much fun to been too concerned about the aches and pains. A vacation is a pretty effective Rheumatoid Arthritis treatment for me!

Tomorrow it’s Marine Land, I might even pet a beluga! How cool is that?!

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Living with constant, chronic pain can leave a person exhausted both physically and emotionally. Not being able to ’see the light at the end of the tunnel’ can really take a toll and most often leads to depression.

A downward spiral begins of ‘pain & depression’ because of the pain you get depressed and this leads to more aches and pains this in turn leads to a deeper depression… and ARGHHH make it stop!

I’ve gone through this a few times, especially at the beginning of my diagnosis with Rheumatoid Arthritis. It’s not only hard for the person who is faced with pain and depression, but also on their close family and friends.

My first step was recognizing the symptoms of depression. I was experiencing more fatigue than usual, losing interest in doing anything let alone the things I really loved doing. I couldn’t concentrate very well, I was very irritable, I didn’t want to do anything, see anyone, I was just plain miserable. This had to be depression.

Great! I have constant aches and pain from Rheumatoid Arthritis and now depression. The cause though, was the way I was relating to the pain of the arthritis. I felt defeated, it was unfair, I felt alone and frustrated. If I felt and thought that way, of course it was going to become reality to me. So, the first step was to change my way of thinking and to find some help.

I accept the fact that I have RA but I do not accept the fact that RA has me. Yeah, it sucks, but why shouldn’t it happen to me? It’s what I have been dealt in life, and I will make the best of it and do what it takes to make my life as full as possible. What’s next?

I went to a Naturopath doctor for some advice on how I was feeling and she gave a lot of great tools and information. First was the fact that common depression is not the cause of a chemical imbalance. Low serotonin (the ‘happy’ chemical) levels are a result, not a cause, of depression. Exercise gets the serotonin pumping, so I walked, and then walked even more. Vitamin D was a major role too. Since I found that winter was tougher than any other season- and who gets a lot of sun light in the winter?- I boosted my Vitamin D intake, which helped immediately. With my energy up, it took very little time to get my feet back underneath me and the depression crept back under it’s rock.

It’s easy to say I’ve got a handle on depression right now, it’s August, I’ve just spent 8 hours in the warm sunshine. But, I know how to recognize it and have the weapons now to send it packing. I’ve made future plans for the Fall and Winter to keep physically active with a close friend, take extra Vitamin D, use my husband’s daylight lamp and even take a sunny vacation. If those things don’t quite fit the bill, I’ll head back to the Naturopath doctor.

If you feel that you suffer from depression, I urge you to talk with a doctor as soon as possible, especially if you have thoughts of suicide. There is a lot of help and information for you. You’re not alone in this.

Do you have any experience or information to add? Please feel free…

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