For a gal with RA, Houston offers a climate that I like to think helps the whole swelling business in the joints. Houston's weather is by no means ideal. It is hot and humid for a good 8 months of the year. For the other 4 months temperatures range widely. Yesterday, for example, was 70 degrees. Today, the temperature is sitting at freezing. These huge swings in temperature usually coincide with extreme joint discomfort. The cold temperatures definitely bring on a stiffness that I do not experience any other time of the year. Is there a connection between join pain and weather? If my joints could speak, that would be a definitive yes. I am by no means a doctor or a licensed medical professional, so please take my opinions for what they are, mere opinions.
Since being diagnosed with RA in April 2010, there is one constant that I am sure to count on. I will most undoubtedly experience un-godly amounts of swelling during the winter (or what winter there is in Houston.) I am not convinced it is the temperature or it may be the fact that I am around more people who are sick during this time, but inevitably a flare-up will strike and leave me and my bed to be companions for days. What I don't like about RA, besides the most obvious reasons, is that I am never sure how this disease works. I will spends hours scouring the internet with searches such as "pain in joints during winter" or "causes of RA pain," and "flare ups and temperature connection." I don't get many answers, and my rheumatologist tells me that RA flares are hard to predict. But, I have noticed patterns. I have noticed that winters are always worse than times when it is hot. I have noticed that when I do not get sleep or very little sleep that will almost assuredly mean the next day will be painful. If you have RA have you noticed similar patterns?
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Saturday, January 25, 2014
I'm there, but you can't see me
Sometimes I just wish that this RA business didn't seem like the makings of a good fictitious nemesis. The kind cloaked with invisibility; able to strike without any foreshadowing or hints. But, alas RA is my invisible nemesis. I don't know when it will flare its ugly head or sneak up to make my joints ache. Not knowing when and how it will strike gives me enough grief, but trying to convince or explain my nemesis to others... you'd think I was pulling their leg.
That's the thing with RA; the invisible thing with RA. To the outside world, even to my closest friends and family members, I look normal, sound normal and rightly they conclude I am normal. But tear away the invisible cloak, and there lies a gal in real pain. The pain affects my joints: my toes, my knees, my hands, my wrists, my elbows, my fingers, my ankles. It's real pain, and it makes doing seemingly simple tasks very difficult. Opening a bottle of water, holding on to a pen for over 5 minutes, typing on the keyboard while writing this post, they are all a struggle. Those tasks become even more of a struggle when you look normal to others.
Now, this post isn't a pity-me post, or a look how horrible my life is post. No, this post is just intended to make clear that this thing, this disease, is hidden to those who don't know how it works or how it functions. This post might as well be a PSA to all those who know someone with RA. I have learned, since I was diagnosed with this disease about 4 years ago, that I cannot be embarrassed about what pain I am experiencing. I have learned that I have to tell those around me what my struggles are, and more importantly, I have learned that in some form I have to put myself first and know what my body needs. I have learned to make what is invisible visible to others. I cannot say I have all this RA business figured out. I am still learning on a daily basis how to live, work, and function with this nemesis. But, I do know that my family and my friends sometimes need reminders to look past the normal invisible cloak that is RA.
That's the thing with RA; the invisible thing with RA. To the outside world, even to my closest friends and family members, I look normal, sound normal and rightly they conclude I am normal. But tear away the invisible cloak, and there lies a gal in real pain. The pain affects my joints: my toes, my knees, my hands, my wrists, my elbows, my fingers, my ankles. It's real pain, and it makes doing seemingly simple tasks very difficult. Opening a bottle of water, holding on to a pen for over 5 minutes, typing on the keyboard while writing this post, they are all a struggle. Those tasks become even more of a struggle when you look normal to others.
Now, this post isn't a pity-me post, or a look how horrible my life is post. No, this post is just intended to make clear that this thing, this disease, is hidden to those who don't know how it works or how it functions. This post might as well be a PSA to all those who know someone with RA. I have learned, since I was diagnosed with this disease about 4 years ago, that I cannot be embarrassed about what pain I am experiencing. I have learned that I have to tell those around me what my struggles are, and more importantly, I have learned that in some form I have to put myself first and know what my body needs. I have learned to make what is invisible visible to others. I cannot say I have all this RA business figured out. I am still learning on a daily basis how to live, work, and function with this nemesis. But, I do know that my family and my friends sometimes need reminders to look past the normal invisible cloak that is RA.
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