Rheumatoid Arthritis Symptoms Don't Rule My Aud Life

I’ve come across some funny comments that people make when they learn I have Rheumatoid Arthritis, some comments are just simple while others I find more frustrating. So here are some myths to illuminate the facts.

Myth #1- Rheumatoid Arthritis can be cured.
Oh, how I wish this was true. Right now there is no known cure for Rheumatoid Arthritis. However there are a lot of successful treatments and procedures to slow it down and put the disease into remission, and increase the quality of life of a sufferer.

Myth #2- Rheumatoid Arthritis is an old person’s disease.
Some days I do feel like I’m 90 years old, but I’m only 33. RA can strike at any age. Children, young adults and middle aged people can be affected, and this condition doesn’t care whether you’re male or female.

Myth #3- “You felt fine yesterday, why are you feeling so terrible today?”
This is one of the frustrating myths. Although sometimes I do get a bit of a warning when a flare is going to hit, but that doesn’t happen all the time. Some mornings I wake up feeling like I’ve been hit by a Mack truck!! I may feel tired and achey, or in a lot of pain. No real explanation other than RA involves periods of flare ups and remission, and you roll with the punches.

Myth #4- Rheumatoid Arthritis is caused by the wet cold.
While I am personally affected by the weather, not all other sufferers experience the same thing and the cold and wet not the cause of the onset of the disease. Pain is caused from inflammation and the deterioration of cartilage in the joint. For me, warm baths, and other heat sources are very soothing for sore joints, and I feel pretty good when the climate is warm and dry.

Myth #5- Rheumatoid Arthritis only consists of minor aches and pains.
Yeah, another frustrating myth. I hate those commercials that say “Pop a couple aspirin or Advil and all your arthritis pain will be gone!” I’d love to scatter their chickens! All arthritis sufferers know that this is a crock of….(you fill in the blank)! RA hurts and it hurts a lot, and it’s more than aspirin, extra strength Tylenol or Aleve can handle. A regimen of diet, exercise, supplements and other medications is usually the best way to overcome RA pain.

Myth #6- Rheumatoid Arthritis is caused by poor diet.
Sure, I believe that diet greatly affects a Rheumatoid Arthritis sufferer’s life, but it’s not the cause of the disease. I feel that the digestive system plays a major roll in the immune systems function and since RA is an autoimmune disease, I like to keep an eye on what I’m putting into my body, and I keep track on how I feel after I eat something, especially if I’ve never had it before or haven’t had it in a long time.

Myth #7- “If you have Rheumatoid Arthritis you can’t do…..”
Wow, not something to say to a stubborn person! There are some things I’m  not able to do, and some things I probably shouldn’t do, but most are because I’m a woman, not that strong, and I’m an incredible klutz. A certain amount of help is likely to be required when fatigue and pain are at their worst, but some try to do too much for a sufferer and it can limit them. Certainly RA interferes with some physical activity but it doesn’t mean that someone becomes an invalid because of their diagnosis. Emotional and physical stimulation is an important part of Rheumatoid Arthritis treatment.
Have you come across some odd or absurd comments about Rheumatoid Arthritis? Share them! I’d love to hear them!

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The deep aches and sharp stings of Rheumatoid Arthritis pain are things I’ve learned to live with over the past few years. The first few months after diagnosis were terrible, I was incapacitated with pain. My feet and knees were so terrible I needed a cane to walk and my hands were useless to open jars, and buttons were impossible. I was quite an unhappy camper.

As I’ve said over and over, I dove into researching RA. Food became an interesting topic as I discovered that many others had noticed that certain foods caused more pain and discomfort than others. I thought I would give it a try; I had nothing else to lose.

Red peppers, red wine and shell fish were quickly noted as pain triggers and were begrudgingly eliminated from my diet, but still there was pain. How could I keep up with my young family? I had to find something better. I found weather played a big role and heating pads and hot baths became more frequent and favorite friends.

I noticed that stress would set pain switch on and if I wasn’t active for more than an hour, stiffness set in, so walking was put on the schedule, which also helped with relaxing stress away.

One particular thing weighed heavy on my mind and that was the dependency of pain meds. In the past, with other health situations I had gone through weeks and weeks of extreme pain and had been given copious amounts of narcotics, morphine, Vicodin and Demerol. But at the most I was 3 weeks relying on them because the pain was temporary and an end was in sight. This was different, I would be living with RA for the rest of my life, how could I get through without abusing drugs? Who in their right mind wants to live 24/7 with no pain relief? And narcotics certainly help deal with that, and wow, they make me feel great! It was a big decision to dig my heels in and be determined that I would do all I could to better this situation before relying on mind and body numbing drugs. So far, I have been doing a pretty good job of keeping pain away, and in dire situations I take a couple of Tylenol 3’s.

When living day in and day out with chronic pain, a person learns how to cope. I began to keep an eye on the weather in order to prepare myself for pressure changes, I always make sure pain meds were handy, heat sources close by and diligently keep my immune system as healthy as possible. But even all this doesn’t entirely remove it.

I barely notice it now, unless it’s a bad flare, or really take the time to think about it. I supposed I’ve gotten used to it so much that it doesn’t register the same as it did even 2 years ago. I deal quite well with the daily stiffness and aches, but the sudden flares still send me for a loop, probably because they are so infrequent now. The sharp pains that feel like bee stings in my fingers, elbows, knees and feet are horrible, and because I’m on blood thinners, the inflammation usually causes quite a bit of ugly bruises which makes me look like I’ve been beaten with a ball-peen hammer.

Yes, Rheumatoid Arthritis pain definitely gets on my nerves to say the least, but the more I live with it, the more I learn to fight it; and the stronger I get, RA’s grip on me gets weaker. Until a cure is found, I’m quite prepared to fight tooth and nail. Bring it on!

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In my last post I left off venting about my ‘ugly man shoes’ and the anticipation of meeting my Rheumatologist during the first few weeks of being diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. It was early September of 2005 when I made the 45 minute drive from Gaylord to Petosky to meet Dr. Huebner at the Burns Clinic, and I sat in the waiting room not quite sure what to do. I heard my name called and followed the nurse into an examination room where she took my vitals and made a few notes.

Dr. Huebner came in shortly afterwards and did a double take. He looked at me, looked back at my chart in his hand, flipped a few pages and then looked back at me and asked, “Are you Audrey Katzenback?” I nodded and said, “Today I am.”

He looked back at the chart, “You’re only 30!”

“Yes, I remember my Birthday Party.”

“I thought you were much older. You’ve had 3 strokes and a hysterectomy. I don’t think I’ve ever come across anyone your age with this kind of history.”

“What can I say; I’m an Internalist’s Dream!”

After a review of blood work that confirmed the Rh factor in my blood and a check of my swollen, painful joints, he made a few comments about the hyper-mobility of my joints and the fact that my skin was quite loose. He asked if I had had any troubles with my heart and I told him I recalled having a heart murmur confirmed by ultra sound when I was 13.

“Well, you have RA, that’s for sure; but I also think you have Marfan’s Syndrome.”

Marfan’s Syndrome? It sounds like something a UFO would suffer from.

“Well, why not?” I thought, “Nothing surprises me now!!”

At that point I could’ve been told that I had male-pattern baldness, would be growing 3 more toes and my nose would fall off and I would not have been shocked.

More information was given to me about RA and now Marfan’s Syndrome, plus blood work ordered to confirm the newest condition, and another appointment was made to perform a biopsy on the bruised lumps on my knees. I left Dr. Huebner’s office more confused than before I entered it, not what I had hoped.

Back to the research, and things began to make a bit more sense when I was able to find facts for myself. There was so much information and help out there, it took quite a bit of the over-whelming sense away.

I had been prescribed Plaquenil when I first visited my regular Doctor a few weeks prior and that seemed to be kicking in and helping. Pain medications, mainly Tylenol 3, made it possible to exercise my joints, giving me more freedom, inflammation was going down, and the ‘ugly man shoes’ got tossed into the back of the closet! Things were looking up, but with any disease, things don’t always stay fine and dandy!

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When I was first diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis in 2005, I didn’t know anyone else with this condition. I was overwhelmed, a bit frightened and felt very alone. I thought RA was a disease that only affected the elderly and had no idea how I was going to cope with it.

Immediately I started researching and educating myself, not only wanting to find relief from the pain but to understand why this was happening to me. I found that age has nothing to do with it which made me think that there may be others, my age and station in life, going through the same thing.

No one in my little corner of the world, except a neighbor I see occasionally while I’m walking the dog, is dealing with Rheumatoid Arthritis pain. It wasn’t until I started getting involved in some forums that I found people in the same situation.  A whole new world opened up, there were people who really understood what it is like to live day to day with arthritis and Marfan’s Syndrome.

Living with chronic pain can make a person feel isolated, especially if they are the only one in their family and network of friends going through this. It’s comforting being able to ask questions, give advice and share what you’re going through. Somehow it seems to relieve some of the discomfort and it definitely helps with the stress.

I personally have had a lot of positive experiences with being involved in a few forums, coming away with a satisfaction of being a part of a community I can fully participate in! When I’m feeling down, maybe tired, in pain, or even if I’m having an amazing day, it’s a place I can unload.

What support do you have in dealing with your arthritis pain? Good experiences or bad? Let me know!

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I think that one of the most frustrating things about my Rheumatoid Arthritis treatments has been my health care. I have other health issues besides my RA, and really should have a family doctor, let alone a few specialists- but I don’t.

I moved from Ontario in 2001 to Michigan, and left behind doctors I’d had for years. When I moved back in 2006 and notified their offices, they were full and were not taking any new patients. When I told them I wasn’t new, just returning, I was told that I had been away over 2 years and was not considered a patient of theirs any longer and so I was put on a 5 year waiting list (I have 3 years to go).

The city I live in is one of many Ontario centers where there is a lack of doctors, which is very unfortunate. When a blood test or prescription is needed, I go to the doctor on call at the walk-in clinic and wait for several hours with other people who do not have a family doctor as well.

Just a couple weeks ago I wrote a post that included my 7 hour wait with my daughter at the clinic just to have a blood test! I was so stressed that my arthritis flared.

I had a wonderful doctor and Rheumatologist in Michigan and I am thankful for the loads of information they gave me, and because of their encouragement, I sought out other avenues of pain relief and prevention of the damage of Rheumatoid Arthritis.

I looked into Naturopath/holistic healing and therapy. I was very, very skeptical at first and wasn’t too keen on the idea. A few years ago my husband tried to get me to try holistic healing, but at the time I was newly diagnosed and really didn’t know a thing about it. But with more research under my belt, along with being exasperated with my symptoms, I booked an appointment and was happy and very satisfied with my results. It did take time, good things always do, but it was worth it and has continued to be a part of my daily life and routine.

I still need to make a trip down to the walk-in clinic at least once a month to have blood tests for coagulation, prescriptions filled, or one of the kids needs medical attention, but I don’t have the angst and concern that I had a year ago. 2 prescriptions, methotrexate and plaquenil, have been eliminated from my list because I have been dealing with the arthritis differently and no longer need to take them for my Rheumatoid Arthritis treatment.

Finding a good, knowledgeable, compassionate doctor is so important to the life of a patient dealing with a serious disease. For me that’s a luxury I don’t have at the moment, but that’s okay because I have a wonderful Naturopath therapist who is doing a fine job filling in.

So you know how I feel about my health care situation, how’s yours?

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