I remain positive because my treatment for PMR is working--not as quickly as I wanted, but it is working. My positivity is reinforced every day I am able to stand up, walk, and use my arms normally. With treatment, I can do all those things I once did but nor for as long as I once did them. For every four hours of energy expended, I may have to rest four hours. But . . . I am still as active as I can be, and I am mobile. Joy!

It seems to me that staying positive depends greatly upon self-talk, ie what we tell ourselves. Negative self-talk is extremely debilitating. I try to be aware of when I allow negative thoughts to enter my awareness, and I review the progress I have made.

In my view, knowledge is power. That is one reason I joined this group. There is no substitute for firsthand experience, and I have gotten a lot of insight and encouragement from reading others' experiences with autoimmune diseases. I constantly research autoimmune diseases because that is a fertile area of study, and the latest findings are often unknown to local doctors. I have, in the previous statements in this paragraph, laid the foundation for this statement: I do not waste my time with doctors who show little or no interest in serving a patient who has an issue that requires thinking outside the box. That is a lesson I learned the hard way.

By the way, in addition to Mayo, I have used my state's university hospital because they are, generally, on top of the latest medical practices. For me, making the extra effort to get access to more specialized and knowledgeable medical advice, has paid off.

Do I wish I could do all the things I did three years ago? You bet! Do I mope about it? No. I decided to make the best of each day.