These past several months have been an exercise in survival. I am feeling better than I have in months, but I still have a way to go before I am at a place where rheumatoid arthritis is not in every other thought. I have come to a place of survival.
All this down time has made me wonder how many of us are living with this disease and how many of us are in survival mode?
What is survival mode? For me it is getting through another day. Surviving the day with rheumatoid arthritis. Not exactly my idea of fun, but I am getting by. I wonder what survival means to everyone else with this disease. While survival is better than giving up it is not where I want to be.
I am an optimist so I believe that this is just a temporary setback on my journey to living well with RA. The idea that this survival mode is a permanent situation is not something that I am willing to entertain ever. I have too much fight left in me to settle for half way.
I am grateful to be out of bed. Two months ago I was flat on my back all day long. I am grateful that I am able to tackle small tasks on a daily basis so that I feel that I have accomplished something. But this is not where I want to be. I know that I have a ways to go and that this will probably take longer that I originally anticipated, but I am in this for the long haul and I am determined to find a new way to live with this disease without adding toxic chemicals to my body.
Here is what I have been doing so far and it seems to be having an impact on my overall wellness.
- I am monitoring my diet and have eliminated dairy from my diet. I have found out the hard way that if I do ingest something that has dairy in it I will swell. I have been adding and subtracting different foods from my diet to see what is having an impact on inflammation. So far dairy has had the biggest impact.
- I have been taking Flaxseed Oil (I can’t do fish oil supplements) and Vitamin D daily.
- I have found that mediation helps me sleep better and makes mornings a little more manageable.
- I am starting to be able to exercise ( I am using this term loosely because the rate of speed that I walk would hardly be called exercise, but it is movement and more than my body has seen in months.)
- I am careful about what I eat and have lost over 25 pounds since January 1, 2010.
- I spend time every day visualizing what it looks like to be free of stiffness and pain.
So far I am improving and I hope to be back to my old self soon.
In all honesty I have felt this bad on methotrexate. I have had the same levels of pain, inflammation, and stiffness while on mtx so I have been pleasantly surprised at my progress and so far happy with my decision to look for an alternative solution to mtx. It has made me wonder on more than one occasion how well the mtx was really working for me.
So for me, tomorrow is a new day with new hope for less pain and inflammation and life mode not just survival mode.
Tags: disease, exercise, Flaxseed Oil, inflammation, Meditation, methotrexate, mtx, RA, rheumatoid arthritis, survival, vitamin D
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Hi Jo-Ann – thank you for your post.
One thing I have been doing, that you might want to add to your programme is to drink lots and lots of water, as a book I read recently said that RA (in their opinion) is a result of chronic dehydration. Might be worth trying. You need to sip it throughout the day, not drink gallons at once (coffee, tea and alcohol don’t count as they are drying agents). Personally I find it difficult to drink water (maybe that’s why I have RA?) but am persevering.
Good luck and keep smiling…
Geoff
Thanks Geoff,
I am drinking water as well but it sure can’t hurt to up my intake of water. Thanks for sharing your ideas. Maybe I’d we all share what works for each of us we may come closer to a solution that works
Jo-Ann – I am glad to hear that you are feeling better. Congrats on losing the weight. When I am not feeling well, and unable to exercise regularly due to swollen joints, I also overeat so I applaud your self-control and success.
I work with a nurse practitioner who has encouraged many of the things you are doing and in addition has suggested that I add anti-inflammatory spices like ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, basil and rosemary. I also take ginger capsules 3 times per day. And my Vitamin D dips immediately if I don’t continually take at least 3000IU daily.
If you haven’t tried Peggy Huddleston’s Relation/Healing CD you should check it out. I’ve tried others but most often go back to hers.
All of this plus daily exercise and mtx and plaquenil have helped me get to a good place right now as long as I don’t get sick. If I have to skip more than one dose of mtx it all comes licking at my joints again. Spring is definitely here so let’s all go out and soak up that Vitamin D and enjoy the warmth of the sun! I wish you continued healing.
Thanks Joan for your encouraging words. I really do appreciate it
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Jo-ann, I am so impressed with the progress you are making. You and I sound similiar in our weight loss. I have lost 20 pounds since September. It feels good having any extra weight off my knee. My path seems to be blurring a little for me right now so it is so encouraging to read this post and finding you making progress. Thanks for always sharing. Sending healing thoughts. Enjoy your Easter weekend with your family.
Thanks so much Cathy. Your support has helped keep me going at those times when it has been the most difficult. I hope you have a peaceful holiday with the ones you love.