Category: lower body

State Fair

Posted on by Grayson

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.

It seems like the more I open up to people about what I’m going through, the more understanding they are. Friends at work are a little more understanding when I get flustered and so is the boyfriend. If I had realized in the past how much better my life would be with a little more communication on my part, I would’ve started a million years ago.

Resting

Posted on by Grayson

It feels overrated, but is a huge necessity for me right now.

I am so scared right now. I’m not sure if my emotional state is pushing the physical problems to be worse, or vice versa.
My left knee is the biggest problem lately. As a child, it’s the one that I tripped and got rocks stuck in and the one that I flipped a cart full of stuff onto. It tends to be terribly hard to walk with one knee freaking out and the other definitely threatening to follow suit, if it isn’t already doing so.
I get paid on Saturday. With the money that doesn’t go to bills or savings (or gas – jeez), I want to try and take some more herbal supplements like dandelion, garlic, and ginger to help with the pain and inflammation instead of trying to depend so very much on pain killers like Advil and the like. Of course, getting some insurance and actually getting on some JRA treatments couldn’t hurt either.

FML

Posted on by Grayson

Ah, yes, the knee saga continues.

So I went up to my boyfriend’s house the day before yesterday to play house and keep the lonely kitteh company since my boyfriend’s newlywed mom and step-dad were out of town still on their honeymoon. My knees were kind of being annoying when I was driving up there, but this subsided a little when I began to entertain said kitteh. We decided to walk to dinner, which really wasn’t that far at all, and should’ve been no problem for me, right? Well, in my mind it shouldn’t have anyway.
When we got back, I was so exhausted. I took enough pain medicine to deal with it for the night, but that didn’t quite help the next day. I worked the closing shift last night and was already in so much pain and exhausted before going. Standing around and walking briskly all night was not really helping.
When I got home, my mom had me use her TENS unit from when she had been electrocuted a few years back. I really didn’t want to use it, half out of being stubborn and half because I was freaked out about it. It did help enough for me to sleep though, so I’m sure I’ll continue to use it in the future.
The pain is terrible, but I think the mental anguish over the fact that I can’t do certain things right now is worse. When I was diagnosed with JRA, the prognosis for most kids was that they would end up in a wheelchair by the time they were eight. The prospect of that happening at any stage in life is so frightening, but to know that I maybe could’ve/should’ve already been in one gives such a foreboding feeling. It’s part of why I am stubborn and try to push myself to do as much as I possibly can, but I’m feeling like those days are quickly coming to an end. I need to figure out how to do something different, because during the school year, I can’t sleep in until eleven out of exhaustion.

So…Tired…

Posted on by Grayson

I’ve been working without a day off for a while here now. It’s not terrible, but I’m definitely getting pretty tired of it. I had a cramp yesterday in the back on my right leg that didn’t go away until after work today. On top of that, it’s time to get certified with the cleanliness of our store, so I’ve been in contact with a lot of chemicals today that, with my allergies and asthma, I probably should not be. Needless to say, I’m still a little light-headed. Oh well, tomorrow is another day.

I’m beginning to think that my leg cramping is a result of not having arches. It always seems to happen in my right leg, starting with my right heel. It should be interesting to see exactly what’s going on there eventually.
Well, I’m pretty beat. I get to wake up early-ish and work just a few hours tomorrow, but I’m sure it’ll be full of busy things to do and more physical pain. Oh joy.