Life with Arthur

No, I don't have a new boyfriend. "Arthur" is a not-so-affectionate nickname for arthritis, so called by those of us who are unlucky enough to suffer its ill wills.

It's a common misconception that arthritis is an old person's disease. Not true. While the wear and tear on joints due to aging known as osteoarthritis is common in seniors, children can develop crippling juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, and younger adults in their 20's and 30's are diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis on a regular basis.

I personally have had some form of arthritis since my early 30's. It started out as mild discomfort in the top joint of my right index finger, and over the years has progressed, as arthritis is pretty much guaranteed to do, to affect both of my hands, my knees and toes, and more mildly, my hips and ankles. The worst, however, by far, are my hands, particularly my thumbs. Yikes.

So far, I've been diagnosed with "inflammatory osteoarthritis" (whatever that is), but thankfully not rheumatoid arthritis. The good news is that my symptoms are mostly controlled with medication. However, in times of major stress (hmmmm…now whatever could have been causing me stress lately??), or when I wear myself out trying to do too much, I can almost guarantee I'll have a major flare up of my symptoms…pain, fatigue, swelling, stiffness and warmth in my joints. At those times I just have to ride it out, making use of ibuprofen (may God eternally bless the person or persons who invented ibuprofen, because without it life would not be worth living) or Darvocette during particularly painful flares, paraffin baths and heating pads. Heat most definitely helps. Also I have to make sure I get lots of rest, which means going to bed early and napping during the day if possible.

So right now I am going through a flare up. It's hard to get out of bed in the morning because of the fatigue and stiffness, but once I hit that warm water in the shower….AAAAAHHHHHH!!! Sweet relief, at least for a while. Then after I have my breakfast, I take my ibuprofen and it goes to work, giving me the ability to function the rest of the day with mostly minimal discomfort. But I will admit the fatigue is tough to fight.

I firmly believe that attitude is half the battle. And so I do NOT allow Arthur to control my life. I go on with my interests, activities and my social life, and my work, at home and at the office, just as if I did not have this painful condition. Does it mean I run marathons, go rock climbing or bungee jump? No. But by and large I live a normal life, try to get enough rest, and take special care of myself during those times I need to. And if all else fails, there are new medications being developed every day to improve the quality of life for those of us who live with arthritis – medications that weren't available 10 or even 5 years ago.

This condition will not rob me of my passion for living or keep me from doing the things I want to do. It may kick me in the ass occasionally, but it will not beat me.