Living with RA and Osteoarthritis
A little hard to plan a day when you wake up in pain, go to bed in pain. Sometimes (when I do sleep) I wake up just out of pain.Which you can image it's difficult to go back to sleep, not much on tv at 3-4am. I found as mines has progessed too much heat hurts.No hot showers either. And the cold hurts too but of the 2 I think I'd rather be a bit cold. I do alot of my household chores myself which can be tricky at times especially when your hands cramp up and you drop stuff frequently, and some days it's difficult to walk or stand for any period of time. I find myself not going out on outings because the pain kind of creeps up on you. I think its a good ideal to have someone with you as often as possible not just to help out but for emotional support. Living with these 2 diseases can be emotionally draining as well., spending too much time alone can put you into depression, which i suffer from frequently. I can't do the craftwork i use to do very often, but crocheting occassionally helps keep my hands flexable. And I started writing and reading alot more. They both serve as good ways to take your mind off of your pain.Although i am unable to lift weights and use other gym equipment I find a gentle swim can make you better. I'd like to here some ideas on improving the quality of living life with RA and osteoporosis.
I have RA. Was diagnosed in my mid 30's and I'm 40 now. It used to take me 30 minutes to get out of bed in the mornings because I hurt so badly. I didn't do much outside because of pain. The doc put me on a med but I came off of it a couple of months ago and now I don't take anything for it.
All I did was changed the way and things that I eat. Very, VERY little processed food, minimal dairy products, fresh organic produce and we grow/process our own chickens and buy our meat by the animal directly from the farmer but I limit how much of that I eat. I eat meat maybe 3 times a week and watch the portion size. All organics, no exceptions. I learned how to read labels for the few things that we still buy at the grocery store.
I've been amazed at how much better I feel, how much energy I have and that I am able to not spend 30 minutes trying to get out of bed in the mornings. I work out in the gardens most days with no trouble. Occasionally I have a tinge here or there of pain but it's nothing like what it used to be!
I think what we eat has a lot to do with how we feel and our medical issues.
