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Let’s Go Walking! Join me for a virtual walking support group
Just Want to Talk | Last Active: Dec 4 7:56am | Replies (4374)Comment receiving replies
I drink lots of coffee and fight my way through the day. I work laboriously from 3:30 am until 9-10 pm. It’s tough. I cry. I pray. Today is super hot.. mid 90’s full sun so the heat makes it harder. I also am an animal rescue of 26 cats and dogs. I run a household with children also and cook and clean inside and out diligently for cleanliness reasons and overall health reasons . I have a swollen lower leg down to my toes which as of right now look like sausages and my ankle is throbbing. We are a self sufficient farm so weeding, pruning , mowing...gardening all hurts my hands and wrists. I feel like I’m being ripped apart seam by Seam. My doc has me on klonopin and vistaril as I am bipolar mixed with schizophrenia ..no RA drugs though?! She feels it’s all in my head. I also have osteoarthritis in my spine plus I’m beating oral cancer on top of all of this. I left my career as a nurse for my husband and his farm life so I became a veterinarian nurse and care for my animals also. I’m beat, whipped! I cannot to lay my head down but then the pain comes on full force and it hurts to lay on my bones. It’s only God that gets me through and that’s the truth . No RA doc or my primary have it will ever prescribe me with the correct drugs and my organs will all eventually be affected and I will die. You have inspired me to walk one if my dogs for a short distance because I do take many short breaks and drink lots of weather them I eat a full veggie meal with a slight 4 oz. of protein on the side. The water weight gain has added 12 pounds to my 101 I used to be a week ago. Yes, my “ disease“ is progressing rapidly .
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I don't know how you manage to do all those chores! They would tire anybody out. Have you ever seen a psychiatrist, in light of the drugs you are taking? I have a psychiatrist and take Elavil (a tricyclic) for OCD. I'm quite sure that the drug, which is calming and which I take every night, is helpful for the pain. I am also given a benzo to take if I get stuck in the middle of the night and can't sleep. I don't take it regularly and keep a record so if I find I've taken it for 2 weeks straight, I make myself take a holiday since it is addictive. Usually that's not necessary since I have nights when I sleep straight through. I am familiar with klonopin but know nothing about vistaril. Are you taking something for the oral cancer on top of all the rest? I'm taking daily vitamin K2 plus 2000 IU of D for bones. Daily yogurt is also supposed to help bones. I'm 75 and light boned. I hope that works but I need to get a DEXA scan soon to find out.
BEST OF LUCK and keep in touch. Hot weather really sucks, doesn't it?
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@susandenise, My goodness, you truly do define the term "daily warrior". Thank you so much for being an animal rescue good samaritan for so many left behind, sometimes ill and injured, cats and dogs. A good friend in San Fransisco does the same for feral cats in Golden Gate Park. That alone is a full time "volunteer" avocation. That you also live on a self sufficient farm spells another full time job. And then there are also those children who require 24/7 attention, meals and care. Another "super achiever" joins the ranks of so many others in these Connect forums who keep going forward despite their chronic pain and daily challenges. I am certainly not one of those but can stand to the sidelines with nothing but admiration for what you and they determine to do. I don't have RA and absolutely no medical background but a close friend does and I know it took visits to several docs before she found one who could help her. No idea what might be causing the large lower leg swelling but would encourage you to seek a consultation with a different doctor who could treat you for that. Sending you best wishes and hope you are remembering to also practice some good self-care.