As promised I said I would drop off a note for those interested in the strength and conditioning program I was starting at the hospital. In a nut shell it is weight lifting / resistance for major muscle groups, from leg muscles to bicep curls. I am doing a series of lifting a weight at a comfortable level of resistence with a 1 minute rest between repeats. The theory behind this, is that it creates mini tears in the muscle, the rest triggers new muscle growth (very simplistic sorry!). This is all done under the careful supervision of the physio, so all joints are carefully protected. Great. I certainly know that I have done some work, but very comfortabIy. I get 10 sessions of this and then guidance of how to keep going at home later. NRAS published an article in Winter 2018 on the area of RA Cachexia, which was very informative about this aspect of RA. Hope all that makes sense!
RA and RA Cachexia update: As promised I said I would... - NRAS
RA and RA Cachexia update
Excersize is seen as one of the most important help for your body to cope with RA. Good for you! I hope you report more on your experiences
Excellent! I hope it's really helpful. What's on offer from NHS is geographically patchy.
Postcode lottery I'm afraid as you are lucky to get any physiotherapy here as the waiting list is so long, let alone anything that specialises in RD. I had one session and was given a general handout. Although I have had three sessions of hydro which is all you can have at the moment. So I am glad Rosie is getting some physio and following a program under supervision.
I have understood that cathexia starts usually when your body has a hard time getting what it needs to nourish your body.You start to loose weight. The vicious circle continues if you don’t do something essential.Excersize has shown to be one of those essential things.
I am not sure about straight Cachexia, you are probably correct in your understanding. The article from NRAS is very good. It argues that Rhuematoid cachexia is specific to RA and different from straight Cachexia in that (from my understanding of the article) no weight loss is necessarily detected as muscle mass is replaced by fat mass. You are right in that exercise is absolutely essential. So that in mind I'm off to my second ballet class in a few months. Went on Monday and gosh what a difference. I used to be able to do 2 hours, now 30 mins of barre work and I needed to rest. Caught up for the last 15 mins of the hour but I have certainly lost significant strength and stamina. And although I was worried about my toes and ankles they didn't complain too much. Think I'll be avoiding pointe work needless to say. Dragging myself there but wish me luck.
You are in a much better place. I noticed what happened when I didn’t get enough right Excersize or physiotherapy, eventually I lost more of my weight and my appetite got dehydrated, my RA symptoms got worse. Not until until I noticed I needed to reverse the vicious circle. And am just doing this with my new knowledge and seeing encouraging results.😊
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