Facing Facts

Each morning for the past few years, I have woken up, gotten out of bed and winced just a titch because my feet felt extra puffy and a bit hurty walking on the hardwood floors. I blew it off and blamed it on my boney feet on hardwood floors.

In early January, I injured both feet. WaRnInG: Don't jump up and down and run around with the Primary kids for two hours while wearing 3" high healed boots. Anywho..... Once I was "grounded" from working out, my feet really began to hurt. So so painful. I assumed it was the injury that caused the increasing pain. Although I noticed that if I worked out through the pain, I was okay for the remainder of the day. But, lo and behold, the next morning the pain was back.

Sometime during this "down time" from running, dancing and working out, I began to notice my hands beginning to ache as well. A few joints a day. It varied with each day and I didn't think much of it. The pain increased both in my hands and feet throughout the next two months. So, I made an appointment with my Family Practice Doc. He ran some blood tests and ordered x-rays. What was he looking for? Osteo-Arthritis or Rheumatoid Arthritis.

I freaked a bit but figured it was probably a little Osteo-Arthritis. Osteo is joint pain caused by tissue deterioration from aging and over use. We doubted it was Rheumatoid because that is very different from Osteo. It's hereditary and it's an Auto-Immune disease in which the body recognizes the joint tissues as a "foreign body" and begins to attack itself. Rheumatoid is the disease that has the ability to cause severe joint deformation. Rheumatoid increases in severity with stress and causes fatigue.

The bad news is..... It's Rheumatoid. The good news is....... we caught it early. Another piece of good news is that I do not have Lupus! So, now I'm on the search. I want to take this thing on from every angle. I need to get educated about it. I meet with a Rheumatologist this week. Am I okay with taking modern meds? Absolutely. Am I okay with taking herbs, supplements and dietary restrictions? Of course! Another awesomely awesome thing about handling Rheumatoid is that exercise is very very good for it. Do I need to rethink how hard I push myself, how much I worry, how much I take on...........Totally. I suck at that part. For now, I'm jacking up on Ibuprofen to control the inflammation and it helps somewhat with the pain too.

Every day is a day of learning. I get up hurty and get my muffin top to the gym. That 3 months without working out was a killer! I feel a ton better after working out.

Does it suck that I have this. Yes! Yes! Yes! But, I am determined not to let it deform my joints, make me immobile and blah blah blah. So, my journey begins through this auto-immune disease. Some days are good and some not so good. But, this will not keep me down.