As terrible as my arthritis has been throughout my life, there are kids and adults both who are far worse off than myself. I have had it pretty easy, compared to many with this disease. Yes, there are others who have it easier – those who will outgrow the disease or already have done so. I am grateful every single day that I am not worse off.
Month: August 2009
Reliance on Pain Meds
So in my last post I talked about how nice it was that my new job was so much better on my joints. I didn’t take any medicine before working last night and won’t be making that mistake again anytime soon. When I got home, not only did my knees and ankles ache, but my shins did too. It got to the point where I was trying to get comfortable in my dad’s recliner and crying alone in the family room. I did go ahead and take medicine but had to bombard my legs with pillows I stole from the family room just to get to sleep.
New Job
So I started my new job today. It was amazing to come home after work without being in a world of hurt. Like I predicted, this new job is going to be so much better for my JRA. I get to sit at a desk in a big comfy chair and answer phones. I have to obviously get up and do some running around, but it’ll be nice to have lower stress for my joints. I have to wear dress shoes, but if I’m not on my feet so much, that shouldn’t be too bad.
State Fair
So my boyfriend and I went to the State Fair yesterday. I was a little worried about how I would handle it, but I think I found something that helps the pain be not so bad. Obviously, wearing sneakers instead of my flip-flops helped a lot (boyfriend’s idea, of course). I took three ibuprofen before even leaving the house. More than that, though, we stopped and sat down quite a bit.
Appetite
So yesterday, I had an ensure for breakfast… a handful of chips for lunch… some popcorn at the movies… and an ensure at like eleven. I’m just not hungry for some reason. Obviously, it bothers me that I’m not eating. I usually do alright with trying to make myself eat a little bit. Right now though, I think this appetite thing is the worst it’s been in a long long time.
Fatigue
Lately, especially in the last week or so, I have begun to deal with more and more fatigue as a result of my arthritis. It’s gotten to the point where I am nearly passing out from exhaustion, only to sleep for 2-4 hours at a time (well, at least today… then again, I was up most of the night). I’ve been reading up on fatigue in the past few hours and found out some interesting things.
Resting
It feels overrated, but is a huge necessity for me right now.
How Do I Loathe Thee? Let Me Count The Ways…
Alright, so a lot of people say that they get their best ideas on the toilet right? You can consider me one of them right now. For people who maybe don’t quite understand how Still’s Disease/JRA affects the ‘everyday’ stuff that I do, I thought maybe I’d just list the things that are harder to do when the arthritis is acting up (like it’s been lately).
FML
Ah, yes, the knee saga continues.