Good Morning

tillytot41

Hello as im new(first post yesterday)i wanted to say good morning to you all and wondering how everyone is.
Im not good at all,took the children to school,have to drive them to the next town but that is my limit for driving at the mo i find it exhausting.Feel very dizzy today and am in alot of pain.Its very windy and i found it quite hard walking my dogs but i feel its so important to go out every day and get some fresh air and i love seeing my dogs running about without a care in the world.
Im now at home in the warm,have done the washing up and put some washing on,i know it doesnt sound much but at the moment anything i do feel likes a big achievement.
My 13 year old daughter was trying to give me some reiki healing last night bless her,just sitting holding her hand sometimes just helps,i am so blessed with my kids they are my absoloute rock.
Sorry feeling a bit emotional with the pain and am so glad i have found this place.
Ali xxx

elnafinn

Hi Ali

Welcome to the forum. I am sorry you are feeling emotional but you will find help and sympathy here as we are all in the same boat to a greater or lesser degree with other burdens perhaps to add to an already heavy burden with arthritis.

It is good you have your children to help and love you so much. These sort of things one really notices when one is down and it does help one immensely. We do change our order of what is important in life, as we get older, don't we? We appreciate such little gestures of kindness and love, they mean so much to us, well they do to me and so I do try in my daily life to give some of that back to others.

At least you get out walking the dogs. We do often need an incentive to get on with things. some days I really have to motivate myself to at least get a couple of tasks done which have been lurking and then I feel better in myself. As long as we get the basic, essential jobs done, that is the main things, isn't it? Giving love and attention to our nearest and dearests is more important than a pristine house or other superficial things,isn't it?

I hope to see you posting more on the forum. It can help.

Luv
Elna x

wibberley

Hi Ali,

Sorry to hear you're not having the best of days. I told my husband last hight that I felt better than I have done in ages. Big Mistake! Feeling very achey today! My 14 yr old forgot her chemistry folder so off I went to school with it only to find I didn't have the strength to open the door there. Luckily a very well brought up lad was walking up behind me and opened the door. Not good - it was a glass door and am sure the receptionist just thought I was being lazy!

I don't really feel up to my weekly walk with best friend and dogs but it's such a lovely day, I'll go for it! Nattering will distract from the pain!

Ali, for now it might be worth treating your worst bits to a bit of warmth from a wheat bag? They're great - just pop them in the microwave for a couple of mins and place on sore areas. I got mine from the chemist. Saves putting the central heating on too!

Fingers crossed you get together with the rheummy too. You might want to keep a record of how you feel each day and show that to him/her?

Lets hope tomorrow's a bit more comfortable!

Lois x

ritwren

Hi Ali, just wanted to add my welcome to the board. So sorry to hear you're having such a rough time of it. When my foot became painful and swollen I used ice packs and raised my foot up as well as taking the strongest pain killers I could. I found the ice packs helped a good bit. I'm glad to hear you're seeing your GP regularly and they do seem to be on the right track with the steroids but are you taking anti inflammatories and pain killers too? I ended up in hospital for a week when I had a bad flare up and could have slept 24 hours a day if it was'nt for the pain.
I do hope things start to settle down for you. It's great you have support from your family and that you've found this site. At times like this you need all the support you can get. Don't try to do too much when you feel like this, and don't be hard on yourself when you can't do the things you used to. Hopefully as this episode passes you will be able to regain some of the independence and strength you once had.
Best of luck.
rita

sharmaine

Hi Ali

Where do you have arthur...sorry didn't see your first post. Make sure you wrap up well during these winter months. I really feel the cold since I've had arthur. I've invested in some thermals and they're a godsend. I also bought some good quality gloves. My daughter-in-law's grandmother made me some woollen socks and they are fabulous. They keep your feet cosy and warm and your feet never sweat in them.

I had a flare at the start of the damp weather. Make sure you take your medication. If you are still in pain go back to the GP. I think my meds are now right. I sleep better and can manage the pain better. I still have trouble walking but I can cope with a lot when I know I can sleep!

It must be hard coping with arthur with a busy young family. I would suggest that you rest when you get tired. Listen to your body. You can buy aids or get certain aids to help in the house - I went directly to the Occupational Therapist who has sorted out lots of things in the house such as hand rails. One of my favourite things is the perching stool for the kitchen. I cannot stand for any period of time so this has made cooking a lot easier. I position myself near the kitchen sick with the chopping board - do all my prep, tidy up and all I have to do is assemble the food. I invested in a steamer which means I can set the timer and not worry about veggies boiling over and the need for digging out pans etc.

I hope your pain subsides.

Welcome and take care.

Sharmaine

jaspercat

Hi Ali, bit late today but good afternoon to you, I normally have a bit of a lie in so I am not up too early, not to worry about being emotional it gets to us sometimes, just make sure you get some rest, if you can love Jaspercatxx

tillytot41

Thanks again everyone for your posts and Sharmaine what you said about the occupational therapist was a big help as i am really finding cooking hard at the moment,a stool sounds a great idea and the steamer as well.
Its interesting about the wrapping up warm when i had my florist shop the cold used to make me cry i was in agony and when i got home i had to get in a hot bath as soon as i got home to stop me shaking,i think that must have been the onset of this illness.Working with freezing cold water did me no favours either as my hands were incredibly painful,its starnge when you look back and realise thats when things were getting bad.Its all making sense to me now.
Ali xxx

woodbon

Hello, Welcome to the forum. Gosh, working in the cold with my hands in freezing cold water, just the thought makes me want to cry! It must have been nice to see the lovely things you created though and the smell of fresh flowers um, lovely.

I don't suppose the cold helped, but I expect it was more than just that to make you ill. Is it RA? Thats an illness, so I expect the cold made no difference. Some people use cold to get rid of the pain!

Take care, love Sue

angel1

So sorry to hear all that you are going through Ali. As the others have said, this is the worst possible time until everything is sorted out, and you get some good pain relief.

You are trying to be as positive as you can be, and that is so good - albeit very, very hard.

You also know what matters most in life.....your kids, and your dogs. Treasure them, and they will always be there for you.

Things will get better for you soon, I promise.

On a lighter note, how is at that no matter how much I pay for my favourite flowers - freesia - they have no smell anymore!.........Ange

tillytot41

Hiya Sue and Ange.Sue the doctor has says she thinks its rheumatiod but i need to see specialist to get it confirmed but i am extremely poorly and i dont think the cold caused the illness i think it would have come anyway its just the cold makes it sooooo much worse.I remember having 5 layers on in the shop and i was still freezing.
Ange the trouble with flowers these days is they are mostly forced to grow which is totally unnatural and in freesias mostly removes their smell which is such a shame.Often when i had expensive wedding freesias in they had a fragrance but you could never bet on it,its like roses without a scent,it doesnt seem normal does it?
Ali xx

wibberley

I used to quite like cold weather but am finding it unbearable just now - no matter how many layers I have on, I'm still freezing and my neck tenses up a lot and takes ages to relax again once out of the cold.

I never used to like warm weather but we were in Florida recently and I couldn't get enough rays! My body craved heat so, so badly!

I'm sure it's the RA that's making me less tolerant of the cold.