Sunday, October 12 was World Arthritis Day. This year's theme, "Think Positive," aimed to help people recognize and discuss the physical and emotional challenges associated with all forms of arthritis as well as positive things ...
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enjoy reading your article
Josette
Saturday, October 18, 2008 at 05:04 PM
You are a very big inspiritation for me; continue the good job in keeping my chin up. Sadly though, a positive attitude can only go so far when because as you know from one day to the next a change in mobility can occur. About a month ago you had posted an informative article on the FDA finding regarding Enbrel. I had also read about the warning a few days earlier published in an online newspaper. Because I have been active all my life, exercise is part of my life. Knowing that I have RA had made me even more determined to continue my working out routine, jogging, weights, stair climbing. My positive attitude I believe put me in the hospital for 8 days in the middle of September. I burnt myself out with over working, over exercising, and not having physical systems (warning signs) of becoming ill. I saw my rheumatologist as soon as I had fever. Thats the rule with biologics. He saw the infection in my blood. As we know this could be just a virus. So, I did the usual, wait for two more days to see if it would pass. Two days later I was in the hospital. Fever was out of control and I was so, so sick. I kept thinking that I had coccidio sp? menningitus. You know from the article. I live in Switzerland so the chances of that was slim. My dad died at the age of forty from that disease but that could of been when we were traveling through that Valley Fever kind of area in the U.S. I kept telling the doctors at the hospital that I had no systems until the high fevers came. CT scan, endoscopys, ultrasound, lung, blood, liver every test possible was given to me to rule out all possibilities of why my blood was so full of infection. As it ended up, my kidneys were just blown up due to a bad infection. I had no symptoms until it was almost too late. From what they say, its the drug not the disease that prevented me from having any warnings of sickness. I guess it is all about balance. Ignoring the disease and pretending to be well like the good ole days can be dangerous. I have learned this lesson the hard way. Now I try to drink a liter and a half of water a day and I am walking now, not running yet, and am working eight to nine hours a day instead of ten to twelve. I am not superwoman anymore ... and I hope never to pretend again.
re: You're absolutely right
Christine Miller
Thursday, October 30, 2008 at 10:17 AM
Thank you, Josette. Yes, you're absolutely right, you do have to be very attuned to your body and no, it isn't good to think like superwoman. It is difficult to strike the right balance of positive attitude and pushing yourself actively for a positive change and overdoing it. Over the years, I had often wound up in bed for days by ignoring what my body was telling me. Now I don't push nearly as hard. I'm sorry to hear about your scary ordeal, especially that you didn't have symptoms until the infection was very serious. That is an excellent reminder to be more aware and to take seemingly common illnesses seriously. Take care and be well.
Christine
You are a very big inspiritation for me; continue the good job in keeping my chin up. Sadly though, a positive attitude can only go so far when because as you know from one day to the next a change in mobility can occur. About a month ago you had posted an informative article on the FDA finding regarding Enbrel. I had also read about the warning a few days earlier published in an online newspaper. Because I have been active all my life, exercise is part of my life. Knowing that I have RA had made me even more determined to continue my working out routine, jogging, weights, stair climbing. My positive attitude I believe put me in the hospital for 8 days in the middle of September. I burnt myself out with over working, over exercising, and not having physical systems (warning signs) of becoming ill. I saw my rheumatologist as soon as I had fever. Thats the rule with biologics. He saw the infection in my blood. As we know this could be just a virus. So, I did the usual, wait for two more days to see if it would pass. Two days later I was in the hospital. Fever was out of control and I was so, so sick. I kept thinking that I had coccidio sp? menningitus. You know from the article. I live in Switzerland so the chances of that was slim. My dad died at the age of forty from that disease but that could of been when we were traveling through that Valley Fever kind of area in the U.S. I kept telling the doctors at the hospital that I had no systems until the high fevers came. CT scan, endoscopys, ultrasound, lung, blood, liver every test possible was given to me to rule out all possibilities of why my blood was so full of infection. As it ended up, my kidneys were just blown up due to a bad infection. I had no symptoms until it was almost too late. From what they say, its the drug not the disease that prevented me from having any warnings of sickness. I guess it is all about balance. Ignoring the disease and pretending to be well like the good ole days can be dangerous. I have learned this lesson the hard way. Now I try to drink a liter and a half of water a day and I am walking now, not running yet, and am working eight to nine hours a day instead of ten to twelve. I am not superwoman anymore ... and I hope never to pretend again.