Sunday, January 24, 2010

Weekend Woes & Happiness

Ten little teeny tiny toes – not happy campers. OK, not all 10 of them, but the alliteration sounded good. Them and my hands and wrists, left knee and elbow, too. Toss in my left ankle...damn, that! My ankles have been the only joints not affected to date, and starting to feel one of them through the 20mg of Prednisone I'm on daily doesn't make me happy.

But, having said that, the weekend was pretty good. Being able to walk the Toronto Interior Design Show on Friday was great. Total bonus: for the first time since this started, on Friday evening my hands felt normal! I actually thought, Maybe this is going away. Course, Saturday the aching was back, but whatever...the brief reprieve was nice.

Then yesterday I went to the gym, biked for 10 minutes and did strength stuff using – get this! – 5 lb weights for bicep curls, triceps and shoulder presses. Woohoo! I'm feeling so much less weak than I have been. Later, it was out for dinner (Okinomi House – yum!) and a movie ("The Young Victoria" – very good + fab costumes) with a friend. A fantastic time was had by all!

4 comments:

  1. I'm sorry you're feeling the rheuma pain right through the prednisone -- that truly, well, sucks. And pain like that, even when it's not huge, is really hard to ignore. And in so many joints. Dang. My heart goes out to you.

    But I'm also impressed with how you're handling it. There's a difference between whining about feeling cruddy, and simply acknowledging that pain while shaking your head and moving on with life, taking each day as it comes doing your all to smile and be positive. To hurt but still find joy in living. THIS is courage. THIS is extraordinary. Good on you, Laurie.

    MTX and the other DMARDs, as I understand it, takes time to build up in your system and can take three months or more to show actual results. One of the biggest obstacles rheuma faces all of us with is learning to be patient. It's hard to wait around while everything hurts. But you're doing it. Your attitude is making -- and will continue to make -- a huge difference in how you feel, regardless of the course of the disease.

    I'm smiling for you.

    -Wren

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  2. That's terrific, and I am glad the steroid is helping. I have been cautioned to go easy with exercise during a flare, especially while on Prednisone. Of course your physician will guide you on this-and my joints are much older, but you might want to mention your exercise routine to your Doc if you have not done so already. Sorry if I am being "mother-henish"- you are a sweetheart.

    Sue.

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  3. Thanks, Wren. The pain isn't that bad, more achy than anything...I think coping with excruciating migraines has made me pretty resilient on that front (and, thank god, due to those meds, it's been ages and ages since I've had a panic-inducing migraine!).

    Hey Sue! Thanks so much for your concern; it really is appreciated to know so many people care; makes me feel good through a rough time! My doctor knows about my workouts, and I'm being extra careful to only do what's comfortable at any given point in time. I work with a personal trainer and will also be consulting a physiotherapist shortly in tandem with my trainer (who has a degree in kinesiology and a certficate in athletic therapy, ie. working with injured people) to make sure I'm doing everything right, so no worries on that front.

    Have a fabulous week both of you!

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  4. The design show sounds like fun. Time at the gym - impressive! I hope your meds kick in soon. Hang in there!

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