Normal Hands vs. Arthritic Hands
Written by: Lisa (anonymous last name) Edited by: Sarah May
I have a wonderful group of well-meaning friends. They all know about my condition, which my mother and my mom’s mom also have (my grandma had all her knuckles replaced several years ago and has severely deformed hands).
Nevertheless, I keep getting these emails and such about WONDER DIETS that will PURGE MY SYSTEM of the RA. How if I eliminate fungus (mushrooms, antibiotics) I will heal. How if I give up this or that or balance my chi or add yin to my yang or take up underwater basket weaving that I will have a miraculous recovery. PUH-LEEZE!
Did I drink too much Diet Coke? Was it my years of smoking cigarettes in college? I didn’t start eating red meat until I was in my 20s. Maybe I never should have started?
I don’t know. I’m just so FRUSTRATED. I don’t want to waste time on wondering WHY or HOW the RA happened, because now I have it and I have to live with it.
I am all for trying anything to help. Hell, I’m even trekking to Montana to see a Native American shaman this summer to see if he can pull the negative stuff out of me :-)
But I feel like people are looking at me with question marks in their eyes, peering into my soul, wondering *if* anything is wrong with me.
Maybe this irritates me so much because I wonder the same things, too. Sometimes I wonder if anything is wrong with me.
I see my swollen hands and have dreams about pain when I’m asleep. When I have flares I cry. I feel defeated by RA. But I can’t help but wonder … what is it?!
I am sero-negative so far (dx’d six months ago). My sed rates were up, but then went down at my last test. I want PROOF. I just want to know WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME.
And I want the people I love to quit questioning it. I don’t have the energy to try every stinkin’ diet, fast, medication or method. I am TIRED (the doctors call it “fatigued”) and I am SORE and I just want to make it through the day and change my baby’s diapers and get dinner on the table and clean clothes in the drawers.
Can’t I do that in peace, without having to wonder if I CAUSED MY RA?
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Love you all, my kindred spirits.
Soft hugs all,
Lisa
Filed under: Arthritis, Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis | Tagged: antibiotics, basket weaving, chi, condition, diapers, diet, diet coke, dreams, eliminate fungus, fast, fatigued, fault, friends, frustrated, gentle hugs, heal, kindred spirits, knuckles replaced, medication, mushrooms, my mother, my grandma, Native American shaman, proof, purge my stystem of the RA, red meat, replaced knuckles, sed rates, seero-negative, severely deformed hands, smoking, soft hugs, sore, soul, swollen hands, tired, vent, what is wrong with me, Wonder Diets, yin yang | 3 Comments »
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