A Tale of Dealing Daily...

RD BLOG WEEK; DAY ONE

DEALING - How do other diagnosis impact your RD and its treatments?

Before we begin, I would like to make a little introduction. I'm Trevor a golden retriever, who has been Brenda's storyteller for this blog, the past 8 years. We share tales about experiences that have happened in Brenda's life, good or bad. We believe in being real and at the same time, pawsitive. See what I did there? BOL Now, you get it. 

Brenda has lived with rheumatoid disease for 28 years. Hers is primarily rheumatoid arthritis, but she also lives with another autoimmune disease, hypothyroidism. This was properly diagnosed, after her craniotomy was performed, for her right frontal lobe nonmalignant meninigioma brain tumor, which was removed entirely on September 8, 2008. That now makes her an eleven year brain tumor survivor. 

Brenda also deals with high blood pressure, which as of late, has become a real challenge with finding the right medication. Thanks to her brain tumor experience, Brenda also deals with vertigo issues from time to time. Her last blood pressure medication was not only making her ankles swell, which is not good for her RD, but she was also experiencing feeling lightheaded and dizzy at times, which is certainly not good for vertigo. You see, dealing with RD is not just dealing with RD. Your medications or other treatments need to work for the whole body. 

Brenda also deals with acid reflux, so she also needs to keep that under control. She avoids eating before going to bed or even napping. She also sleeps with several pillows to help elevate her head. She also has her mattress propped up with several other pillows for support.

Brenda also has been diagnosed with Osteopenia, which was found on a dexa scan performed or a screening for potential osteoporosis in the future. She takes calcium and Vitamin D on a regular basis and her screenings have really not changed in the past few years. At least, she is not getting worse in this area. 

There is a lot to deal with when you live with RD. As I mentioned above, it's not just RD you are dealing with. You have to be mindful, that with anything you take, even a supplement, there are risks involved. Brenda takes nothing, until she has consulted at least one member of her medical team.

Being that she lives with at least 2 autoimmune diseases, the supplement Melatonin is an absolute no no, yet, you see it all the time being suggested to help with sleep issues. It can actually cause other issues, such as making your RD become more active. We don't need that now do we? Didn't think so. 

Also with the blood pressure issues, she has to be careful with her kidneys, that they stay in good shape. She also takes a biologic for her RD and so far after 18 years, they continue to remain along with her liver in good shape. So much to consider when you're dealing with chronic conditions. 

Thanks to having been on methotrexate for over 4 years for her RD, she still deals with chronic sinus issues to this day. She has been off of that medication, since 1995 and there are still after effects. She gets at least one sinus infection a year. She takes Vitamin B complex to help with this issue and believes it would be much worse without. Again, only taking this with the blessing of a member of her medical team.

After menopause and having to finally get off the medication for her endometriosis, which by the way, there is a strong connection between RD or RA. That is one of the reasons that her pain level was managed, because of the medication for the endometriosis. Her rheumy's nurse mentioned that a lot of the patients were experiencing low Vitamin D levels. This is something that Brenda had not even considered. It turned out that it was on the low end, of less than 20. She has managed to finally get it up to 50. Again, with being on the biologic, she has to be careful because of the kidneys and liver, not to get it too high. So much you deal with on a daily basis to keep as healthy as possible.

I hope this helped to give you, if only a little eye opener, to what it is like to navigate, not only living with RD, but everything else that is entailed. 

This is Trevor, barking off until next time.