I'm sure I told you, Mom...

Says she who is the Mom that she didn't know I had arthritis. I thought for sure I mentioned that. Well, I've been seeing a rheumatologist for a little over a year. I was diagnosed with garden variety osteoarthritis in my hands (probably genetic), and psoriatic arthritis in my sacroiliac joints (not so genetic). I guess you could say a I have a pain in the butt, and Mom says I can blame her and the dads. Although maybe I didn't, because it's one thing to complain about the little aches and pains and another to spring major medical news. So maybe I didn't mention it.

I took an awesome picture on the way to a doctor appt last week. I was early so I drove around the area for a while. Dr. Luke is off of Battlefield Blvd near Volvo Parkway, so I just kept driving down Battlefield to see what was there. I don't go out into Chesapeake that much because it's so depressing: new housing developments everywhere where the cookie-cutter houses are way to big for the occupants, are built cheaply and sell expensively because they have a "cathedral foyer" and a kitchen island. 4000 square feet, ten measly little feet between houses, and no personality whatsoever. And in the spirit of full disclosure, I have a big house but it:

o) was built before 1995 (1913, specifically)
o) is less than 4000 square feet
o) has a foyer but it's the same height as all the other rooms in the house
o) has masses of personality
o) has real plaster walls (a blessing and a curse)

(hum, the second post where I've used bullets; I wonder if it's a sign)

So I was wandering off down Battlefield Blvd and I passed by one of those pumpkin stands. The kind that spring up out of nowhere next to the Mercedes dealership that scream "quaint country." It was 7:30AM and the sun was peaking over the trees and the green grass and the orange pumpkins looked hyper-saturated in the light. And no one was around. I swung a u-turn and shot the remainder of a roll of film I'd been trying to finish off for over a week. I got four or five nice shots, one of them is below.



According to the Arthritis Foundation, all arthritis are a form of an autoimmune disorder in that the body attacks itself (or it's joints). Psoriatic arthritis is a degenerative inflammatory type that is related to psoriasis. Not all people with psoriasis get the arthritic form, and not all people with the arthritic form get the skin form. I don't have the skin form or, if I do, it's so minimal as to be masquerading as something else, like dry elbows and dandruff. Psoriatic arthritis is related more closely to the rheumatoid than osteo forms, and one of the key differences is that supposedly the psoriatic form doesn't test positive for the rheumatoid factor; I've been known to test positive for that at various times but I've also heard that false positives are common and it's not definitive. At this point I have a moderate case that flares up occasionally. This last summer was one of the worst flare ups I've had in my lower back, which I sure hope doesn't happen again soon. Last winter my hands flared up. Being active with photography helps a lot because it keeps me moving and occupied :)

More Doctors: Time for a Life Change

This will be a series of posts.
(10/1: or maybe not)

1. I have four doctors: my primary care physician, my rheumatologist, my therapist, and, now, a referral to a podiatrist.
2. Normal, healthy 40+ year olds do not have four doctors
3. While I am far from normal, I am also not healthy.
4. I have the power to change that.

#4 is the kicker, really. Because changing "it" means turning my life upside down, on it's head. It means that the way I've defined myself until this point in time has to change in fundamental ways.

And it scares the shit outa me. I read. I read a lot and I'd be perfectly happy to spend an entire day reading, but that doesn't support the more active me that I have to become. I need to sit down and outline the desctructive behaviors. That's a little harsh. I need to sit down and outline the counterproductive behaviors.

How do healthy people approach food? Exercise? The gap I see between my perception of a healthy lifestyle and an honestly healthy lifestyle has to diminish for this to be successful. There has got to be a balance in the middle.

Sunday, 9/11/2005

Was 9/11 a horrific event? Yes, it was. Was Katrina a horrific event? Yes, it was. I appreciate the pain and suffering they have endured and continue to endure. How did we handle it all? Not as well as we could have but typically like we always do. Very pointed and very pertinent Slate.com article.

I have a problem managing my daily pain. I don't want this blog to be about pain, arthritis, or any of that stuff, but as someone newly diagnosed and dealing with periodic reduced mobility, it does kind of take a leading role in life. Today, though, I think I'm dealing with yet another ankle sprain. I've been battling these for a few years now, I think since I sprained it badly one winter from slipping on ice. Or is it tendonitis? In any case it's been weak and unstable ever since, and I have to deal with a sprain a couple times a year now. After doing some reading, I'm just gonna tape the damned thing for a month or two and see if that helps. Complete immobilization it just weakens everything around the ankle, and I'll be damned if I'm going to stop moving (although that's kind of what it feels like!).

I'm off to the pharmacy to buy cohesive tape, a better ankle brace, and refill my prescriptions.

Labor Day Weekend

Three day weekends are great. I love them. Saturday? Did nothing. That's not entirely true. I messed around with my blog, tweaked a new template, consolidated my movabletype blog to this blog because I don't have the time to really dig into all the things I could do with the moveabletype one even though I prefer it. Played many games of Boggle, and watched five episodes of M*A*S*H season one. So, really, I wouldn't call all that Nothing.

Sunday (today) more playing with the blog template, which I think I'm happy with for now. Write a letter to Nick. Build a "photo gallery" with NetObjects Fusion. Watch the other three episodes of M*A*S*H season one. Log in to the corporate network and approve timesheets. Another "do nothing" day HAHA!

For those with any kind of spondylitis (mine is psoriatic spondylitis), or if you know anyone with these conditions, or someone who may have broken their tailbone, I found a seat cushion at Walgreens called the "seat solution" that helps with mild to moderate pain. It's a wedge-shaped cushion with a cut-out at the back. The box claims it allows you to sit without putting extra pressur on the sacral joint, basically allowing it to hang more or less freely. The slight incline puts your body into a more aligned postural position. And hey, it works. It's pretty inexpensive at $14.99 and I have one at home and at work now. That was the other mitigating strategy that I used to manage my arthritis pain. It was one of those "as seen on tv" things. If they had this in that visco-elastic foam it would be wonderful. Follow "Today's Link" for info on spondylitis.

Army, Arthritis, and Stuff

Well, yes, it's been another long delay between posts.

Nick entered basic training on August 18th, and we've had two letters from him so far, as well as two update emails (with pictures!) from the brigade captain. That's pretty amazing because I think Nick has only written two or three email before this.

In case anyone ever said arthritis is fun, I'm here to tell you it ain't true. The hands are ok, and the knees are mostly ok. The sacral joints are the worst, and I spent the better part of August hobbling and looking for relief. I found it in the form of
(a) BenGay pain relieving patch
(b) Thermacare heat wraps
This stuff really works, although I prefer the bengay patches instead of the theramcare ones. Those thermacare patches get pretty warm which makes me really really warm. Dripping with sweat kind of warm. Blech.

I almost had my dream job last week. On Monday I was told I had it. On Wednesday I was told all the open positions in the department were frozen. Damn.

Garden-variety Arthritis

The diagnosis is garden-variety arthritis (osteoarthritis). Yes, that's a little cavalier. I haven't processed what that really means for the next forty or fifty years for me. Dr T gave me wrist splints to wear at night to immobilize my lower thumb joints, and he wants an x-ray specialist to read the SI joint x-rays because apparently there is some inflammation and he needs a second opinion. They took six tubes of blood (did I have any left!?). He may as well have been showing me a picture of a secret code because I can't read that stuff.

The Good: There's a label and it's not RA. God knows I like my labels. Now I can say "My arthritis is acting up" instead of "My arthritis is acting up - at least I think it's arthritis."

The Bad: There's still pain but mitigated by Tylenol if I take more than the lowly two tabs a day I've been. At least it doesn't require a prescription. Tylenol Arthritis has this weird cap that isn't exactly arthritis friendly if the arthritis is in your hands. And, I can't tell any difference at all between the Arthritis formula and any other 500mg formula they sell. Is it just marketing? Geez, I really hate that. I did not wear the splints last night. I fell asleep after finally finishing The Man Who Ate Everything.