Happy Monday!

Hello everyone

How are you all doing? It is already the middle of November! Whoo-hoo!
I can't believe that next week is already Thanksgiving!

Well, with the cold weather, the hands are killing me not to mention my knees, and my feet.

The cold weather is a real nightmare for our bones (joints) and just our overall well-being.

I still have not been able to participate in my Zumba class now going on 5weeks because of the ankle sprain. Ugh!

Eventually, it will heal but goodness gracious....can it be any slower of a process?

I've started my Methotrexate shots...and now I have to fill the syringe myself...the medication is not pre-filled as it was in the Enbrel and with the Humira. So I have learned how to pull back the syringe to 60 mg and insert it into the little bottle of medication push the air into the bottle while pulling out medication with no air bubbles into the syringe.

So, do I like this process? I am sure you all know that answer....Heck NO!
I have a bruise on my right side of my stomach, two inches from my belly button for the past three weeks now! Even that takes forever to go away. As usual the shots need to be given on alternating sides and well I guess that I should just be grateful because I am still alive.

I really miss Zumba and can't wait to get back to it.
I miss my friends and the laughs that we have had.

It was my only sense of being free of Rheumatoid Arthritis if only for an hour. No matter how much I hurt afterwards, or how stiff I was the next morning...I loved going to Zumba.

Hopefully, my ankle will heal a little quicker and after some physical therapy I would be given the green light to do Zumba

Well until the next time...continue to pray for me while I continue to pray for you.

Technology has come a long way

It's amazing that someone can type anything into a search engine on the internet and find your information.
That could be a good thing or a bad thing...Today was a good thing.
A free lance writer from Atlanta found this blog while researching information on Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Pretty cool, huh? :-)

Anyway she wanted information about the Zumba classes that I've been taking with Mary here in Moorpark.

Go figure...

I explained that although there are days when I believe that Zumba can get the best of me for not using those muscles in a long time...how much I love Zumba and how it allows me a little bit of happiness if only for an hour a week to feel like a normal 44 year old again...You know the one, the one without the joint pains associated with RA or the one without the fatigue ...

How it allows me to hang out with my girls when they are home from college and it gives us something that breaks the barriers of age because we have a great time dancing and learning the new moves....it allows them to see their mom in a different light while allowing me to enjoy the energy that my girls bring....

I just wanted to thank Mary Jo DiLonardo for taking the time to interview me for the Arthritis Today Magazine from the Arthritis Foundation find information that may help others.

I shared with her that I was just trying to find information about RA from a real person's perspective when I began this blog. I was trying to follow some that were on the weight watchers website but no one ever really took the time to respond...so feeling somewhat alone, I began writing this blog whether anyone responded or not it allowed me to express my thoughts, feelings, fears, and successes all in one place...

Thanks to all who follow my blog for caring and sharing and calling to see how I am doing...
So until next time, I'll continue to pray for you as you pray for me....
God Bless..

PS... BE SURE TO LOOK FOR THE ARTICLE
Arthritis Today Magazine from the Arthritis Foundation coming out soon...

Still on Crutches!

Well when you think about it...which would you think is the one that you would struggle with more:

a) Having Rheumatoid Arthritis

b) Having a severe sprained ankle (the right) one which you use to drive

c) Having to use crutches for the past two and a half weeks

d) all of the above

e) a and b

f) b and c

Well I am choosing B & C this week! Gosh this really sucks!
Crutches really make you use muscles that you have not used in forever...
It makes you put all of your strength into your elbows and all of your weight and balance onto the other leg! Ugh! When you have RA, hello.....crutches make your RA flare up and your entire body is in overload! I wish I could scream but what good would it do.....

The swelling has come down on my foot near my toes but the area around the ankle...not so much. :-(
I have just begun to weight bare on my toes but not on the heel of my foot....too painful.....
Still working...which is kind of funny because using crutches to move around from school to school...well most of the classes that I need to visit are at the back of the school....and well I am getting my exercise....and since I usually rotate to the schools every other week...those that saw me the first week are seeing me again this week still using the crutches and they have to ask, "Are you still on those things?"
Ha ha ha....Hello....Duh.....and yes can't you see that I am coming in with them.....

Sometimes I wonder, who are we really servicing.....the kids or the adults....

Anyway....until the next time......Pray for me and I will pray for you.....

Tammy

Wow! Where does the time go?

It's been a while since my last post because I figured that I would give everyone a break from all of my RA issues.
Since my last post, I've continued to exercise weekly (Zumba), have had a birthday, gotten a Nintendo Wii (Yeah), gone back to work, and oh Yeah! Sprained my ankle like a dummy running using my new Wii!
Ugh! I don't know which is worse the RA joint pain, having to use the crutches, or the sprained ankle?
Hmm let me think....THE CRUTCHES!
Have you tried using them when you have a meeting at the back of the school? What the heck? It was like crawling to the back of the school as slow as I was going and I kept having to stop every few seconds because...well the crutches are awful to use....and I know come down the stairs like a baby on my butt (sliding) and crawl to go back up the stairs (like a baby) and I can't drive because it is my right foot and hmmm not use to NOT BEING IN CONTROL of my LIFE and this is bad! I hate not being able to do things when I want to do them! even going to the bathroom is a chore because we don't have those GREAT railings that they have in the bathrooms everywhere but in your house!
It makes my left leg have to bare the weight of my body which really send the joint pain through the roof....so....it has been a long week and I just figured that I would vent.....

I hope all of you are well and until the next time pray for me as I will continue to pray for you.

God Bless....

Here we go again!

Okay so the last time I went to the doctor's office which was last week, I was told again to discontinue my Humira shots because again something funny in my "marrow." Yeah no shots for right now....whoo-hoo.... but on the other hand "What the heck?"
I went to Zumba class last night with Tajah....Brittany flaked on us....and although it was a lot of bouncing ....I got a great workout! Go Tajah!!! My joints are still achy and it's a part of life....well at least for me.....I still Praise God each and every day no matter what because He is good to me! I praise Him every day....every night and in between! Amen! I found a new saying the other day which should be our motto:
I always knew that God would not give me more than I can handle...
But I wish He didn't trust me so much......(Great isn't it?)

So for those going thru....there you go...God is trusting you and He is allowing you to do the things that He needs you to do! It is through our testimony that we can reach so many others.
If for no reason at all, God has given me RA to tell of His goodness and to be able to praise Him more in spite of my illness....then so be it....That is why we have access to the internet where I can write a Blog update to tell everyone....I'm still here!

Well until the next one....continue to pray for me and I will continue to pray for you...

God Bless.....

Happy Tuesday

Good Morning everyone!
Wow! Can you believe that Labor Day has just past and kids are back in school!
Brittany is back in her dorm and has a great 4 room little place. She has 3 roommates and it is a great size for the girls. I can't believe that she turned 19 this weekend! Holy Moly! Where does the time go? Tajah is getting ready to go back in about a week and she's excited about going back to her "private" life where the parents keep their noses out.....hee hee hee....Love those girls! They are so funny with their "independence." But I will miss them both while they are gone until school breaks during the holidays.
Isaiah and Jasmin have had a great 1st week of school and I hope it continues.
Work has begun for me and yes there are days where I work about 10-12 hours but such life. School has begun for me as well and yes homework has kicked in too....Ugh....
Tonight is Zumba class and I excited to go work out...
My body is feeling kind of blah lately...still feeling queezy from the meds....and my legs/knees are killing me.....my wrists and elbows are hurting me as well....but God is good......because I am still alive and still mobile....

I wish you all a blessed week and as always, continue to pray for me and I will continue to pray for you....
God Bless..

It's September!

Hello everyone
If you have noticed my entries have been a little further apart so that should inform you that I am back at work full force and back in school. Started the 2nd year of the Doctorate's program! Yippee....It's official!
One of my co-workers has been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis! I feel so sorry for her because she is in the beginning stages and is in the depression state...and it's bad.. Her and I cried together and discussed the different types of medications that are out there. She is on Leflunimide which is the one I began two years ago that put me into liver failure!...She was amazed to see how well I am walking around and cried when I discussed all of the medications that I had been on over the past two years and my next option of having transfusions with different medications every 4 to 6 weeks that would take 4 hours each time.
I explained to her that I have a high tolerance of pain and that is why I can do what I do throughout the day. I explained my stiffness in the mornings and my exhaustion in the evening.
We discussed mood swings, weight gain and the depression....
I think that these past few days sharing my experiences with her have helped me remember that its okay to be sick but always find an outlet!
So until next time continue to pray for me as I pray for you and keep my coworker in your prayers.
My pain has not subsided nor have my levels dropped. I am not in remission but that is okay.
What is important is life itself and what we do with out life!
God Bless.