HOW MANY STRIKES DOES IT TAKE TO KNOCK US DOWN ......

[notsobendywendy]

hi everyone not been on for ages ..my RA has been hanging about with me while iv been dealing with the loss of my job...STRIKE 1.. and which it had its ugly little hand in { yeah my hands are starting to do that journey where the pinkie and the other fingers have decided they wont to see what the view is from the other side.. lol)..so I then dealt with laiming all benefits which i was entitled to which was a lovely experience ...is that a strike NO... That came when i got the letter to say i was eligible for DLA . STRIKE 2...My RA has been very active over the summer months buts i was having time out from any meds im on anti TNF..i just felt as i was feeling worse on them(side effects) and would see how i went...well i went on a mad holiday with my mad mucker which consisted of her doing all the shopping cleaning and even had to dress me a few times i even got stuck in the bath..its just as well she is younger than me...STRIKE 3...I have a migraine condition that makes me lose the power of my limbs and such which does cause me a lot of stress which was becoming more frequent my neurologists took one look at me and said that she is more worried bout my RA as she can see by looking at me that its very active so is not going to tweek anything..is that a STRKE ..NO...Why cant i get out my bed .:??.why is everything such a chore.??. why am i so bloody miserable?? May be my mums right... maybe my sister is right.. just maybe i do just need a kick up the ARSE... maybe its about time i pulled myself together ..My mum has sore joints she likes to keep reminding me.. my sister is always tired she likes to remind me.. but..they both have bloody OCD..u should see their houses... mine looks like something out of bloody hoarders.....anyhoo..i got an App in to go to rheumy clinic and thought ok ..Im not sore but will now look at going on some treatment...My bestest mucker took me god bless she keeps my spirits up so much ...Jan my nurse was as ever delighted to see me and the first thing she did was pick up my left hand....and ask me "Monica..whats your energy levels like?" ... i just stared at her in disbelief as she also asked me if i was more depressed than nomral... she told me that my RA is very active and no my hands should not be that size and my fingers shouldnt look like a bunch of bananas...and most importantly IM NOT A LAZY SOD....FATIGUE AND DEPRESSION are also symptoms of RA STRIKE 4...i know iv went on a bit but what im trying to say is that iv only now let my mind accept iv got RA.. and im no longer in denial about all its symptoms....and iwent to the big christmas party and i didnt dance and i accepted i couldnt...YUP MONICA YOU AND BEYONCE WILL NEVER DO VIDEO TOGETHER ..IS THAT A STRIKE????? NO.. xxxx im a weebeel we wobble but we never fall down xxx lots of love in 2014 xxx

[oldtimer]

I still have periods of denial and of pushing my body to do things when I shouldn't even after 35 years of remitting RA.

With painful ankles yesterday, I decided to walk up a muddy uneven track. The wobbles made the pain so bad that I could hardly hobble down again even with help. And they are still painful today. Stupid or what!

So I can really understand that you have tried to pretend to yourself that you were just lazy tired and exaggerating your pain. And when you look OK to other people, you can almost see them thinking that too - until you meet someone who knows who says "You're in pain" "You should not have hands that look like that".

I have to remind myself every time - I have an auto-immune condition that is attacking my body.

[hatshepsut]

I know just how you feel. I have just spent the most miserable Christmas because my family all have health issues at the moment and I have had to pretend to be ok because otherwise "Mom's always moaning". I am unbelievably sore....missed my enbrel last week because HAH screwed up....absolutely worn out and can't wait till I'm on my own again!

I intend to spend the next week on the settee in front of the tv with a ready meal....and no family!!! Sooooo fed up!!!

[11shirls11]

I had bad week..hands been really sore,,,but through the night my fingers so twist when try to straight them the palm is very sore;; now.. not got r/a doctor untill 10 jan;;dont think ate could last untill then

[allanah]

Ye well got the you need a biopsy news then rotavirus ........ Oh well !!!

[Hidden]

I hear you loud and clear... We seem to battle constantly with the everyday things and no-one notices except us because only we know how hard it is just opening a jar or puting something in our mouths knowing the ulcers will hurt badly or managing to put your pants and vv socks on without help. However when we do something that affects us in a big way like Old Timers walk, then the people we think should know better, are often critical of us - they seem to think its psychological not physical and we can will ourselves up to walk a mile without hurting.

Personally I do think we should push ourselves to get going sometimes otherwise we would never do anything but when we do try going for a walk or go out etc and we havent done in a while, then it would be nice not to have them say how "unfit" we are or tell us we "mope around being helpless" when it hurts for the next few days.

Lets hope 2014 is a better time for us all and people are more understanding

[lorann]

Monica, You have succeeded..Acceptance is the key to recovery. We cannot deal with our diseases until we can accept that we have something to deal with!! Only then can we move ahead. All the best wishes for 2014 to be the year of more comfort and abilities!

xx

[notsobendywendy]

Thanks for ur replies each and everyone of us need to be understood and if it it wasn't for this page I'd be so lost xx