Mitchell, you and I were about the same age when I found out I had DISH. However, I believe I had it for a lot longer than that. I think all mine was setting up in my late 20s early 30s . The first bone spurs I knew about were on the bottom and back of my feet. I don’t know whether or not it was a trauma induced situation for myself, or not, but no matter what, I am in this. I agree that there are things that we can do to help to a certain degree but not everybody has this disease the same way. There are some people who get it only in their spine. And others have it in all their other joints, which I am slowly, but surely figuring out that is the case with me. I am a bigger girl, and have always been a bigger girl , since I’ve been very little except for a short period of time in my mid 30s where I lost a lot of weight with diet and exercise. I don’t know whether that help me or did more damage to have to do that amount of exercise to lose that amount of weight. I was at the gym seven days a week for about five years with very few days off. So after all this time, I have not put back all the weight and I kept off over half which has been a great feat for me. Like I said, it was a significant amount of weight and people couldn’t believe what fortitude I had.
But with this disease, at times, I feel very helpless. Little by little I am being stripped of doing things that a have always done. I have not been able to play golf for the last three years and the other activities that I did including mowing my own lawn and tasks I used to find easy are now difficult. But I do challenge myself often to try to do things, and sometimes I pay for it frankly. But it’s the type of person I am and being a single person who owns two homes I have a lot that I need to do. So when I have my good days, and I do as much as I can. I do get joy out of doing things for myself.
As many of you know, I wish everybody well who has this disease or any other chronic diseases. But you, my fellow DISH patients, we, and only we know what this feels like. There are some physicians who are coming around to understanding, but they were told it wasn’t anything other than arthritis. Well, it’s more than just arthritis and people like myself have both osteoarthritis and this, maybe that’s why I feel as bad as I do. Anyway. Just do your best. 💕