A Tale of Battles & Blessings...
This is going to be about my living with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)...as I will refer to it here.
Before I was actually diagnosed...I had gone to the world famous... Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota...because I was experiencing severe chest wall pain...a condition...called costochondritis...I had been to many doctors...even had my chest wall injected with cortisone...but the pain was getting worse. I had to quit my last job because I was missing so much work....and I probably would have gotten fired anyway. I felt I had to get to the bottom of my problem. So in September of 1988...the year my brain tumor supposedly started growing...I went to Mayo.
They found that I had high cholesterol and degenerative arthritis of my spine...but no help for the costochondritis. Mayo is really a rather depressing place...as there are so many people there...with serious medical issues. The architecture...on the other hand, was magnificent! We actually took the tour twice...as we were there for a whole week.
The first day there...they poke and prod you. I had blood work done, a tetanus shot, because I couldn't remember the last time I had one. I also had a rubella titer. My arm was very badly bruised. I cried that first day...I thought...they were so rough.
So I saw the Rheumatologist...who was a real rough fellow. His language for a professional was much to be desired. I also went to a pain clinic there and again, got injected with cortisone. It helped only until it wore off....then the pain returned.
So I went back home...I had just started my new job 3 months prior to going to Mayo...as I now had decent insurance...thus I could be referred..etc.
I was a receptionist...at the time for 2 vascular surgeons and 1 general surgeon. The one vascular surgeon...happened to be a personal friend of mine...and he went to great lengths to find a solution to my problem...that being a doctor who could help me.
He finally found a heart surgeon of all things...who could perform a procedure...which involved removing cartilage from my chest wall..or costochondral junction. So in November of that year...the procedure was performed. It seemed to solve that problem...but little did we know that something was lurking in my body.
The battle was dealing with this terrible pain...for over a year. The blessing...was my friend finding a doctor who could change that for me.
I seemed to be doing pretty well...but in February of 1991...I developed a real bad case of bursitis in my left shoulder. My regular PCP at the time...who has since died...was not available, so I saw another internist...who did two things...he did an ANA...to see if I possibly had lupus...and a RA factor...which happened to be real high. There is something really strange about that. You can have the factor without actually having the disease or not have the factor, and have the disease. I know...it sounds really strange.
Anyway...that was Monday. I would not hear anything about the fact that I had lupus or not...until that Thursday. In the meantime...I was in so much pain from the bursitis. Well....Thursday finally came...and I did not have lupus.
I was sent to the Rheumatologist..and this is how he told me I had RA. He said, "This is going to take a little bit longer, than what we had hoped." He never came right out and told me...I had this devastating disease. His nurse handed me 15 or 16 pamphlets, as I walked out of the office.
I was in shock, devastated, angry...you name it. I could hardly walk at this point...as my ankles were so swollen. I was using a cane. I really thought...my life as I knew it was over. I was walking to work at the time..and the more I moved...the better I felt. As soon...as I would stop...and have to get started again...I was so stiff. I dreaded getting up from a chair after sitting for a while..because I knew...it would be pure agony!
I had to fight to keep my job...as the higher ups were working on getting me to work only part time. This is where my inner strength comes in. That was probably the hardest thing that I had to do. Fight for my job!
Statistics will tell you...that the average person living with RA is usually disabled within 10 years of being diagnosed. I am not your average person..by any stretch of the imagination. I have surpassed that by over 8 years...thanks in part to a wonderful medication...that I started in April of 2001. I give myself injections, every Thursday morning...it's gotten much easier over the years...because of the improvements...they have made. I use an auto injector. It takes less that 5 minutes. It stings for a bit...but that's worth the relief I get in the long run.
My first ten years of RA were terrible...because there just wasn't anything out there in the way of meds...like there is now. Like they say...if you are going to get RA...now is the time. lol
Even though RA has been a battle...and continues to be...I had a real blessing happen to me over 3 years ago.
I have always hated one part of my body...and that was the fact that I was a 40DD. I have a slightly built frame...and I was having problems getting bras to fit properly anymore. I also could not exercise because of all the extra weight.
When I saw my plastic surgeon, she said no amount of exercise or weight loss, would help...because it was breast tissue that had developed. It was not my fault. It just happens to some women. She also said because of my RA...it was recommended to have a breast reduction. I really thought this was impossible and would never happen.
I got more out of this that I could have possibly hoped for. I had told her at my first visit...that I desired to be a 36B. She said I would always be large but she could make my breasts, proportional to the rest of my body.
I figured...I would go ahead with the procedure...and try to make the best of it. She ended up taking 1lb 1/2 off the right breast and a 1lb...on the left. She got in there and realized...that I was not a big woman and guess what? I ended up as a 36B...just what I told her I wanted to be on my first visit.
My recovery time was a breeze...she wanted me to go for walks...which I love to do...so it was perfect. I was on work restriction for a month.
I was very pleased with the results. I was able to start exercising after a month...and I now, am not self conscious about that part of my body. I can now wear a variety of clothes...and I look pretty darn good. : )
The RA may have been the battle here...but had it not been for that...I would have never been able to have the breast reduction...which has truly been a blessing for me.
So there you have it folks. Battles & Blessings. I believe they go hand in hand...with anything in life.
I decided long ago...that the RA would not beat me. As one person once told me..."You are stronger than the disease." You know...they were absolutely right about that!
There is great hope here. I have learned that moving and keeping limber...is the best thing for me. I do full range of motion...twice a day. I also try to do some kind of exercise routine at least 6 times a week. I don't always get the time in I want...but my attitude here is, at least I am doing something. : )
I know...that this is a continuous battle and I intend to win! My blessing here...is that I know I have the inner strength to do just that! : )
Brenda ; )
Before I was actually diagnosed...I had gone to the world famous... Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota...because I was experiencing severe chest wall pain...a condition...called costochondritis...I had been to many doctors...even had my chest wall injected with cortisone...but the pain was getting worse. I had to quit my last job because I was missing so much work....and I probably would have gotten fired anyway. I felt I had to get to the bottom of my problem. So in September of 1988...the year my brain tumor supposedly started growing...I went to Mayo.
They found that I had high cholesterol and degenerative arthritis of my spine...but no help for the costochondritis. Mayo is really a rather depressing place...as there are so many people there...with serious medical issues. The architecture...on the other hand, was magnificent! We actually took the tour twice...as we were there for a whole week.
The first day there...they poke and prod you. I had blood work done, a tetanus shot, because I couldn't remember the last time I had one. I also had a rubella titer. My arm was very badly bruised. I cried that first day...I thought...they were so rough.
So I saw the Rheumatologist...who was a real rough fellow. His language for a professional was much to be desired. I also went to a pain clinic there and again, got injected with cortisone. It helped only until it wore off....then the pain returned.
So I went back home...I had just started my new job 3 months prior to going to Mayo...as I now had decent insurance...thus I could be referred..etc.
I was a receptionist...at the time for 2 vascular surgeons and 1 general surgeon. The one vascular surgeon...happened to be a personal friend of mine...and he went to great lengths to find a solution to my problem...that being a doctor who could help me.
He finally found a heart surgeon of all things...who could perform a procedure...which involved removing cartilage from my chest wall..or costochondral junction. So in November of that year...the procedure was performed. It seemed to solve that problem...but little did we know that something was lurking in my body.
The battle was dealing with this terrible pain...for over a year. The blessing...was my friend finding a doctor who could change that for me.
I seemed to be doing pretty well...but in February of 1991...I developed a real bad case of bursitis in my left shoulder. My regular PCP at the time...who has since died...was not available, so I saw another internist...who did two things...he did an ANA...to see if I possibly had lupus...and a RA factor...which happened to be real high. There is something really strange about that. You can have the factor without actually having the disease or not have the factor, and have the disease. I know...it sounds really strange.
Anyway...that was Monday. I would not hear anything about the fact that I had lupus or not...until that Thursday. In the meantime...I was in so much pain from the bursitis. Well....Thursday finally came...and I did not have lupus.
I was sent to the Rheumatologist..and this is how he told me I had RA. He said, "This is going to take a little bit longer, than what we had hoped." He never came right out and told me...I had this devastating disease. His nurse handed me 15 or 16 pamphlets, as I walked out of the office.
I was in shock, devastated, angry...you name it. I could hardly walk at this point...as my ankles were so swollen. I was using a cane. I really thought...my life as I knew it was over. I was walking to work at the time..and the more I moved...the better I felt. As soon...as I would stop...and have to get started again...I was so stiff. I dreaded getting up from a chair after sitting for a while..because I knew...it would be pure agony!
I had to fight to keep my job...as the higher ups were working on getting me to work only part time. This is where my inner strength comes in. That was probably the hardest thing that I had to do. Fight for my job!
Statistics will tell you...that the average person living with RA is usually disabled within 10 years of being diagnosed. I am not your average person..by any stretch of the imagination. I have surpassed that by over 8 years...thanks in part to a wonderful medication...that I started in April of 2001. I give myself injections, every Thursday morning...it's gotten much easier over the years...because of the improvements...they have made. I use an auto injector. It takes less that 5 minutes. It stings for a bit...but that's worth the relief I get in the long run.
My first ten years of RA were terrible...because there just wasn't anything out there in the way of meds...like there is now. Like they say...if you are going to get RA...now is the time. lol
Even though RA has been a battle...and continues to be...I had a real blessing happen to me over 3 years ago.
I have always hated one part of my body...and that was the fact that I was a 40DD. I have a slightly built frame...and I was having problems getting bras to fit properly anymore. I also could not exercise because of all the extra weight.
When I saw my plastic surgeon, she said no amount of exercise or weight loss, would help...because it was breast tissue that had developed. It was not my fault. It just happens to some women. She also said because of my RA...it was recommended to have a breast reduction. I really thought this was impossible and would never happen.
I got more out of this that I could have possibly hoped for. I had told her at my first visit...that I desired to be a 36B. She said I would always be large but she could make my breasts, proportional to the rest of my body.
I figured...I would go ahead with the procedure...and try to make the best of it. She ended up taking 1lb 1/2 off the right breast and a 1lb...on the left. She got in there and realized...that I was not a big woman and guess what? I ended up as a 36B...just what I told her I wanted to be on my first visit.
My recovery time was a breeze...she wanted me to go for walks...which I love to do...so it was perfect. I was on work restriction for a month.
I was very pleased with the results. I was able to start exercising after a month...and I now, am not self conscious about that part of my body. I can now wear a variety of clothes...and I look pretty darn good. : )
The RA may have been the battle here...but had it not been for that...I would have never been able to have the breast reduction...which has truly been a blessing for me.
So there you have it folks. Battles & Blessings. I believe they go hand in hand...with anything in life.
I decided long ago...that the RA would not beat me. As one person once told me..."You are stronger than the disease." You know...they were absolutely right about that!
There is great hope here. I have learned that moving and keeping limber...is the best thing for me. I do full range of motion...twice a day. I also try to do some kind of exercise routine at least 6 times a week. I don't always get the time in I want...but my attitude here is, at least I am doing something. : )
I know...that this is a continuous battle and I intend to win! My blessing here...is that I know I have the inner strength to do just that! : )
Brenda ; )
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