Suprise! | Arthritis Information

One thing that has helped me is I now know what things will surely trigger a flare. Not getting any sleep. Stress over my kids or job. Bad news from the doctor. Sudden weather changes. Eating crummy food when I shouldn't.

Think of yourself as an ocean and the good and bad days are waves. You do go down but you also have to go back up again. The important thing is to have a good support system which we'll call our boat. The better you build that, the easier it is ride the waves.

The boat is the positive people in our lives, the medicines that work, the doctors that really look out for us. Every positive thing we can add, the better off we are.

But I do get discouraged when it hits me. Those giant waves can really hurt.

OMG!!  I was just thinking the exact same thing!  I have been weaning off of pred (3mg. this week) and have felt FABULOUS all week,until I got up this morning!  What the heck is this?  I too begin to think ph everything is going so nicely and then I can't go up or down stairs!

Doesn't also get you when you are feeling  great, sit down to watch TV for maybe 20 minutes and when you go to stand up, you can't!

What I can't stand (pun, sorry) is when I get down on the floor to do my exercises and I have to figure out how I'm going to get to my feet again. This takes me through some amuzing contortions before I finally figure it out. Fortunately, I use a broom for one of them and I can kind of use it to get up.

When I flare bad though, I can't hardly get up without help. Fortunately, I haven't been quite that bad since both kids moved out on their own. But I can just see me someday, stuck for days, finally getting skinny (it's the only way, I swear) and my son will stop by to raid the fridge and find me in this ridiculous position.

Having given him a wealth of humor and being born with enough mischievousness on his own, there is a small chance he might take a picture first. Oh, the humilation!

Now, don't feel too sorry for me. I've been playing pranks on my kids since they were little. They owe me for about the next 90 years.

Getting dressed is the next big hurdle. Oh, that takes forever. It's like watching myself in slow motion.

Then the car. How far am I up to driving? Well, work is a target zone. But on the weekends, I don't hardly get out.

Maybe some of it is easier for me because I always have been fighting my body. I was always getting sick as a kid and was the runt. My body and I are continuously at war. I think the body is winning.

Nope. Nope. I'm still going. Ha! Take that you crazy body.

You know this is going to catch up with me later.

Crunchy; I never think about the next day and how I'll feel.  I live in the present. If today is a wonderful day for my body then I enjoy that day fully and not think about how I felt yesterday or how I'll feel tomorrow. 

If I have plans for the next day and I'm in pain then I cancel and reschedule.  Remember only think about one day at a time, the present.  This way I'm never disappointed, let down, or frustrated. 

Sometimes I cry for the loss of my life as it was, but then I think about what I have now, slap myself silly,  get up and do some art or go volunteer at the senior center.  When I'm helping a senior who is about my age and dying, I realize how fortunate I am.  The seniors always uplift and inspire me in ways that no medicine or doctor can. 

Keep in mind that you are also dealing with a lot of big stressors right now. Do some things that baby yourself. If you love to read, read. If you love a long bath, take one. Pull out the ice cream and indulge. See a good movie. Call an old friend. Anything that you love, give it to yourself in whatever measure you can. It is also very permissable to lay down in a ball and cry. I use that therapy a lot myself. Screaming (although not recommended for public environments) can do wonders for your attitude. Praying can also bring comfort.