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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Diving back into the topic of the autoimmune disease, Lupus, I’m going to talk about the diagnosis and treatment processes that are involved. Right now, there isn’t a single test that is used to diagnosed Lupus, it’s based on a combination of results of symptoms, blood work, and the patients medical history used to discover the abnormalities in the organ systems. Urinalysis and x-rays may also be ordered to make further confirmation. Specific tests that are relevant to the diagnosis of Lupus are sedimentation rate and CRP that are used to identify inflammation, an Antinuclear antibody test, and a Complement test to detect the presence of a specific antibody or antigen.

The severity of the symptoms of Lupus will determine the type of treatment. For inflammation control, NSAID’s (NonSteroidal AntiInflammatory Drugs) are commonly prescribed for a patient. Disease-Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs (DMARD’s), such as Plaquenil, is also a frequently prescribed medication to treat Lupus, along with immunosuppressants such as CellCept, cyclosprine and Imuran. Corticosteroids, such as prednisone are another option of treatment for Lupus.

As with other autoimmune diseases, there is no known cure as yet, but further tests of new treatments and discoveries are being performed and proven successful more and more each year.

So, as my title “Differences and Similarities between Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis” says, let’s take a quick over view of the differences and similarities. Similarities: both are autoimmune diseases with no known cure, both cause joint pain and inflammation, fatigue, inflammation affecting other organs. Treatments are similar as well with NSAID’s, DMARD’s and prednisone. Differences are mostly in the symptoms with Lupus revealing a possible tell-tale of a ‘butterfly-rash’ or malar rash on the cheeks and bridge of nose, a discoid rash- sores on the face, neck and chest, mouth sores or ulcers and a sensitivity reaction to sunlight (photosensitivity).

Before I end, something’s that I also didn’t realize before was that there 5 possible types of Lupus:

-the most common is Systemic Lupus Erythematosus involving multiple organs and the most serious

-Discoid Lupus Erythematosus involves only the skin, not other organs

-A drug induced Lupus is a reaction to specific prescription medications. The symptoms mimic SLE but it doesn’t influence the central nervous system or kidneys.

-Neonatal Lupus is an unusual disease which affects newborn babies.

-Subacute Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus seems more of a photosensitivity form of Lupus causing skin lesions to appear on parts of the body that are exposed to the sun.

One more thing, when I’ve had the privilege of meeting Mrs. Duncan, I’ve always made a point of reminding her of how much I appreciated her as a teacher and now I’ll have to tell her how much I understand the road she’s traveled, as we both live and SUCCEED with our autoimmune diseases.

Thank you Mrs. Duncan!

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When I was in second and third grade I had a wonderful teacher named Mrs. Duncan, she was a favorite and for a student who thought school was the bane of her existence, that is saying a whole lot! Just before Christmas of third grade, Mrs. Duncan became very ill and spent months away from school. We suddenly grew to appreciate her so much more when we met our naive, bland substitute teacher, who didn’t let us listen to music, read to us, or take us skating. School was once again torture and I spent most of the time day dreaming out the window.  A few weeks after Christmas break, the principal came in and told us that Mrs. Duncan had Lupus and would return as soon as she was well enough. Not understanding as an 8 year old, that word, Lupus, has always stuck in my mind and even to this day when I come across it I think of my fabulous teacher, Mrs. Duncan.

It wasn’t until I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and began informing myself, that I became more familiar with what Lupus actually is. Short for systemic lupus erythematosus, Lupus is an autoimmune disease, which like RA, that can involve joints and organs. Like all autoimmune diseases, the body’s immune system begins to attack its own cells and connective tissue.  The actual reason a person contracts Lupus is still not completely understood but it is believed to involve genetic and environmental factors.

Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish the symptoms between RA and Lupus, they are that similar. So let’s have a closer look at what Lupus symptoms commonly are.

The symptoms of Lupus vary but usually include a ‘butterfly-shaped’ rash that appears on the cheeks and across the bridge of the nose, pain and inflammation in joints, fatigue, hair loss, inflammation of the kidney (nephritis), discoid rash which is are scaly sores appearing on the chest, face and neck, sensitivity to light, mouth sores, fever, swollen glands and possible weight loss.

1.5 million Americans are estimated to have Lupus; women are 10 times more likely to be affected than men, and for some reason African or Asian  ethnic backgrounds have a higher risk of developing this disease than any other ethnic background. Though Lupus can occur at any age, even in newborns, disease most commonly occurs between the ages of 18 and 45 years old. 

In my next post I’ll be talking about the diagnosis and treatment process of Lupus is. Please feel free to share!

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Wow, say that 5 times fast! Paying the pain price for peppers. On Saturday evening, our family went for dinner to our friends’ home and had a great time! Played board games, ‘rock band’, laughed and ate. I was having so much fun that I didn’t notice that the nachos had huge amounts of red peppers, an hour later my knuckles and elbows felt like each joint had been stung by bees, some of them even looked like it. Red bell peppers are one of the worst things I can eat regarding my Rheumatoid Arthritis, they trigger a flare up within minutes.

I know that I have talked about food triggers on past posts, but since it’s been a bother the past 48 hours I thought I’d chat about it again. I’m always amazed and sometimes bewildered by the human body and how one part will cause another part to react. What I’m talking about is the digestive system and inflammation of joints.

When I was first diagnosed with RA, a Nurse Practitioner advised me to stay away from night shade vegetables such as tomatoes, potatoes, egg plant, paprika and red peppers. When I asked why, I was just told that they’re known to cause inflammation, but I wasn’t given any further explanation. I did notice that red peppers, shell fish and red meat made me feel a lot worse but it wasn’t until this past February that I found out the reason why. I was really sick this past winter, and decided to go to a Naturopath to give it a shot. She got out this chart and went through this whole lesson on how our body reacts to certain foods, and it made sense!

The point was our digestive system is crucial to our body’s good health, if we’re ingesting something we may have an allergic reaction to, our body’s going to react. I had always thought that an allergic reaction was a rash, a drippy nose or swelling of the eyelids, throat or lips, but there’s also fatigue, nausea, inflammation of joints, muscle pain and headaches as well, maybe even more symptoms.

Having an immune disease that attacks the body’s connective tissue, such as Rheumatoid Arthritis, is going to cause it’s symptoms to escalate when the body encounters something it’s allergic to. To find out my food triggers, I went on a cleansing diet. Ugh! I NEVER want to have to do that again. I had to cut out sugar, caffeine, deliciousness, salt, anything worth while eating, wheat, eggs, corn, fun, dairy, taste, starch and happiness. It was the longest 4 weeks of my life, but I did it and then I was able to slowly re-introduce things back in, one by one to test which ones gave me trouble. I was so nervous with the sugar and caffeine and cried tears of joy when I didn’t react to them! Hallelujah! But, there was a black day when it came to red meat, no more tasty, marbled, prefectly grilled rib-eyes for this gal! But I can drown my sorrows in chocolate. The additions to my ‘bye bye’ list are red wine, shell fish and pork. Oh, and liver! (well, I didn’t really test it out, but I hate it so I’m putting it on there!)

Now I’ve been feeling a lot better since I’ve been avoiding my ‘bye bye’ foods as much as possible, unless they’re cleverly disguised in delicious nachos!

Have there been foods causing you grief? I’m interested to hear what they are, how you’ve discovered them and how you deal with it.

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I came across the term septic arthritis when I was doing some research and it sparked my interest. A few years I had strep throat go septic, and boy, was I sick! I was fortunate to have it caught just in time before my kidneys were about to shut down . Since I have Rheumatoid Arthritis, I thought this would be something worth looking into.

Septic arthritis which can also be called infectious arthritis, is the invasion of the joint with bacterial infection; in rare cases fungal or viral infection is the cause. The source of the bacteria is usually carried to the joint by the bloodstream from an infectious source elsewhere in the body. It may also be caused by a lesion or skin ulcer that penetrates the joint, bone or connective tissue.

People who have had joint replacement or joint surgery, have had recent trauma or injury to a joint or those who have a blood infection are most likely to develop septic arthritis. Additional risks are people over 80, diabetics, those with a weakened immune system, gout, and rheumatoid arthritis.

Septic arthritis typically causes severe joint pain in one particular area, but some cases have reported more than one affected joint. This condition can destroy joints quickly in just a short period of time, so quick diagnosis and treatment is extremely important.

Diagnosis can be done by x ray, but may show specific range of infection; it is more commonly done through laboratory testing. Blood cultures are taken to evaluate white and red blood cell count, and to determine the microorganism causing the infection. Aspiration of the joint may also be done to acquire a synovial fluid analysis to not only identify microorganisms, but also to check for crystals in the joint fluid, that may indicate a different or co-existing cause for joint pain.

Treatment is usually done through intravenous antibiotics also fluid is usually aspired from the joint to relieve the pressure and in some cases surgery is needed to drain fluid and repair joint. Sometimes multiple drugs need to be taken over an extended period of time when dealing with stubborn bacteria called mycobacterium.

I’m glad I’ve done my research and have become more familiarized with this condition. It certainly sounds nasty, and it’s something I want to keep my eyes peeled for. Staying informed and aware is a great way to keep up a happy, healthy, long life.

Have a great weekend everyone and stay out of trouble! 

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