Rheumatoid Arthritis Symptoms Don't Rule My Aud Life

I’m not in contact day to day with another person who has a chronic condition like I have (at least not to my knowledge), so I don’t know what it’s like dealing with a person with an autoimmune disease like Rheumatoid Arthritis. My only point of view is from the side of the sufferer (the sufferer with RA), living with people who don’t have RA.

My post about ‘Arthritis Myths’ sparked this topic for me, when I wrote about how people assume you can’t or shouldn’t do anything anymore. It’s almost as frustrating as the pain in my joints. Most people are either one way or the other; treating me like a child who can’t cross the street without holding hands or not realizing how much pain and fatigue I feel during a major flare-up. There doesn’t seem to be too much of a happy medium, and trying to explain how you feel over and over gets old after a while.

I’m sure that every Rheumatoid Arthritis sufferer feels the same at one point or another. When people first learn that I have RA I’m treated with kid gloves, like I’m going to break into pieces if I do anything more strenuous than sitting down. But in all honesty, most of the time, the more I active I am, the better I feel. I love power walking a few miles every day, yard work and digging in the dirt is bliss for me, and when it comes to power tools, whether construction or destruction… stand back and let me play!

Being able to be independent is certainly important to me, but I’m also not a martyr. When the pain, aches and fatigue are too much for me handle without a grimace, I am usually able to put my stubbornness aside and ask for help, and most of the time help is given. I do remember one person who made a comment about how he didn’t think that Rheumatoid Arthritis hurts that much. I asked him if he’d ever been stung by a bee and he said he had. I asked him if he thought it hurt.

“Of course it did,” he answered.

“Well,” I returned. “My RA is like having bee stings in every joint. Hands, feet, knees, shoulders and elbows.”

That bee must have stung him pretty good because he never made a comment like it again.

I think I can also be honest in saying that I do get jealous of ‘normal’ people who don’t have to get up early just so they can get the stiff soreness worked out before the rest of the family wakes, who get to enjoy a glass of red wine, not have to worry whether the in coming low pressure system will set off a flare up. But I also see the blessing side of it. I’ve discovered that I can handle more than I thought, it’s made me a stronger person, and I’m much more empathetic to other people’s pain.

Living with the “normies” can be challenging, the main challenge being that they just don’t have a sweet clue as to how I am truly feeling, but it’s not their fault; they just aren’t as ‘blessed’ as I am!!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

3 Comments »

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!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

12 Comments »

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!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

No Comments Yet »

 I thought I would take the next several posts to talk about what the first year of living with Rheumatoid Arthritis is like. I’ll talk about what I went through; noticing a few symptoms, realizing the need to see a doctor, handling the diagnosis, experiencing treatments, all the ins and outs of the introduction of RA into a sufferer’s life.

 I think the first time I ever realized that there was something not quite right was driving with my mum down Main St. in Gaylord, Michigan. I stopped at a red light and started rubbing my hands because, they ached a lot and it was getting difficult to hold the steering wheel comfortably. My mum asked what was wrong and I said that my hands had been hurting for a few days, but I didn’t really think anything serious about it. A few days later, I noticed that my feet and knees were tender and a bit swollen, and still my hands were aching so I made an appointment with my doctor, and went without any expectation of what she would say.

 I told her about my stiff, sore hands and my swollen tender knees and feet. She asked about my energy level, which I said seemed a bit low, but I had assumed it was due to the fact that 8 months before I had major surgery and knew how long it took to completely recover, then she looked at my hands and feet, and said, “I’m pretty sure you have Rheumatoid Arthritis.”

 Like I said before, I had no expectations as to what I would hear from my doctor, but Rheumatoid Arthritis was completely out of the blue. “Didn’t old people get this?” I remember my grandmother’s hands and fingers all bent and twisted, and looked at my own. That’s what’s going to happen to me? “This isn’t right, I’m too young!”

 She sent me on my way with some information, blood work orders, and a referral to a rheumatologist in Petosky. I drove home, sat at my piano and cried. I’ve played the piano all my life, before I could even write my name, and now I have some stupid disease that is going to rob me of it! My despair turned into anger and I got on the internet and began to stare this condition in the face.

 At first, the information I found was a bit discouraging- there’s no known cure, it causes a lot of pain, it can affect other organs, and can shorten one’s life. Wow! I felt great!! (A little bit of sarcasm there) I kept looking and found that there were people who have been living happy, satisfying lives even with RA, and a spark of hope started. I’m a stubborn person and can sometimes be a bit cheeky, so I made the decision right then and there that I was not going to let Rheumatoid Arthritis take a full life away from me, and pretty much told it to bring its A-game because I’m planning on ‘jersying RA and scattering it’s chickens’! (A Canadian term meaning to pull one’s opponent’s hockey jersey over their head and continue to pummel them.)

 The next few weeks were a bit challenging with handling pain, trying to find shoes that didn’t hurt my tender feet (the only ones that worked were men’s sandals, they were ugly and I was NOT happy about that!!), and waiting to hear the results from my blood work. I wrote down questions to ask my new doctor, and continued to research and fortify my determination to defeat this adversary.

 How did you handle your first few days or weeks after hearing the diagnosis of arthritis? What was racing through your mind? Was it a shock or did you have a suspicion? I’d love to hear your story…

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

1 Comment »

Last summer, as I sat on the deck over looking Lake Superior, I saw a dark thick cloud bank rolling in from the west. It had been a beautiful clear and sunny day, but as I saw the new weather charging in, I knew pain was coming along with it.

Cooler temperatures and humidity are often not an arthritis sufferers friends. At least that’s the way it is for me; but that’s not always the case for others. Some claim the opposite, low pressure weather systems have a positive affect on their Rheumatoid Arthritis symptoms.

Many tests and experiments have been made to find exact reasons for this cause and effect; and while there are definite implications, doctors note that it’s not the same results for everyone across the board and have no explanation as to why that is. Sunny, warm and clear skies which make me feel wonderful can have the opposite reaction to some one else suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis.

So what’s to be done? The best thing is to be well informed. Know your triggers and keep an eye on your environment. I myself, check the weather reports at least twice a day to see what’s coming up, and if I see some low pressure, cool weather approaching, I get ready for it.

Sometimes it’s as simple as keeping myself warm with extra clothes. Other times I need to take it easy and spend some quality time with my heating pad in bed. It definitely pays off to be well aware of what’s going on around me.

How does the weather affect your Rheumatoid Arthritis symptoms?

To go off on a tangent… I thought I’d put some more pictures up from my vacation to Niagara Falls. It’s a great place to have a ton of fun!

The gentle belugas getting a snack at Marine Land.

“Mel Gibson” and I at the wax works museum.

Mr. Buffalo with a cracker stuck on his nose. He was not happy when my husband put it there!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

2 Comments »