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According to Reuters Health, recent studies support that moderate drinking may slow the progression of Rheumatoid Arthritis. A study of 2,908 Swiss RA patients followed for 4 years indicated less joint damage amongst people consuming one drink per day than their non-drinking counterparts. Who would have thought? I’ve been trying to convince my Rheumatologist to pass me the bottle for years! Can Reuters please call her ASAP?
To drink or not to drink? That IS the question. All jokes aside, this issue is overwhelmingly confusing. We’ve heard both sides of the debate a million times. Most rheumatologists will tell you that alcohol will poison you to death while many scientific studies seem to prove otherwise. OK, that’s a bit dramatic but seriously, which is it?! If I’m working out regularly and eating my fruits and veggies, can an innocent glass of wine with dinner be all that terrible?
SOURCE: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62O2TZ20100325
Come on Jesse James, really? You are married to the most beloved actress in Hollywood yet you still can’t keep your pants zipped? I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things about Sandra Bullock. There are millions of rumors of how nice she is to everyone, how fair and even keeled she is with her employees. This list of her “non-Hollwood-esque” attributes could go on forever. And I haven’t even touched on her beauty… or her acting talent. She is surely what I would call, “the total package”. Yet her husband still wasn’t satisfied…
Sandra and Jesse
Older generations often inquire.. why haven’t you married yet? Are you not in love? Have you not found your soul mate? I truly believe that I am in love and that I have found my soul mate… But don’t you think Sandra Bullock thought that too? Doesn’t every women think that when she gets married? Once the story book fantasy wedding takes place, doesn’t the princess and her prince charming live happily ever after? Why does it seem that not one single prince charming in this world truly is a prince? Sure people make mistakes, but these are BIG mistakes. These are mistakes that cannot be taken back, looked past or ignored. Grow up men and bring us ladies back to the times when you truly were gentlemen.
Pain can be a major drain
According to the Mayo clinic definition, Rheumatoid Arthritis is an autoimmune disorder which “occurs when your immune system mistakenly attacks your own body’s tissues. In addition to causing joint problems, rheumatoid arthritis can also affect your whole body with fevers and fatigue”.
Let’s think about this for a moment… That means my immune system really attacks my own body’s tissues? Yes, once you are diagnosed with this debilitating disease, you learn that your body will constantly fight YOU for the rest of your life. Imagine that… Your body has no control of your body. Scary stuff.
In my case, pain moves throughout different joints in my body, but it does so symmetrically. So if my left wrist is in agonizing pain, my right wrist is sympathetic and the pain in my right wrist becomes excruciating too. The same is true in my toes, my fingers and most often.. my hips. My hips burn constantly. When my disease flares up in my hips, knees or ankles, I can barely walk let alone make my way up the stairs to my second floor bedroom. When my fingers are affected, it’s impossible for me to wash my hair, brush my teeth or button my own fly. Thank God leggings are back in style!
While it’s true that research and medicine have come a LONG LONG way over the past 5-10 years, they haven’t yet come far enough. I started trying various drug cocktails about five years ago now. From Methotrexate to Prednisone to Humira to Enbrel to Sulfasalazine to Naproxen to Vicodin to Celebrex and still no 100% relief?! Unbelievable. My current flavor of the week is a combination of Humira, Methotrexate and Sulfasalazine. Who knows what’s next? My doctor recently mentioned Orencia which is given through transfusions once a month. Sure, I’ll find the time to spend an entire day at the doctor’s office once a month between working all day and going to school in the evenings…
All of that being said, I’m starting to get the feeling that I’ve painted myself as an absolute pessimist between my last two blog entries. I promise you dear readers, that is not the case. In fact, it’s amazing what happens to people when God throws some obstacles in their way. Nothing is impossible! More on that later.
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