Strength&Weakness

within our weakness, is our strength. through our weakness we learn that we can battle the unthinkable. and from weakness grows something that not only inspires others, but ourselves. take you're weakness and turn it into strength. keep fighting the battles you are up against. charge forward with every breath you take. never give up on yourself. for you are stronger then you will ever realize.-Little Wurmie

The past week has not been an easy one for me. Last tuesday 11/20 I had to go to the ER because the severity of my lower back pain had become to much for me to handle. Living with RA, i've grown a high pain tolerance level. To understand what chronic pain feels like, you have to imagine living in constant, stressful, achy, stiff, swelling pain every day, all day. Every waking and sleeping moment, I am in pain. My body hurts, my hands become stiff, my knees burn, my feet sting, elbows are swollen, wrist hurts to bend, my back feels like there is a knife lodged in it, and of course the ever dreadful fatigue.  To some people they see me as a person who complains about the pain, about the suffering. But you cannot imagine what its like, unless you live with severe chronic pain or severe Rheumatoid Arthritis. 

RA is different with every person who has it. Some people can get by by taking painkillers and/or aspirin. Others use anti-inflammatory medications along with pain killers and can manage. There are also drugs known Bio-logics.  http://www.webmd.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/guide/biologics you can learn more about them with that link. Biologics are given to those with moderate to severe RA and are taken with Methotrexate which is a chemo medication but is used is lighter dosages for RA. Each biologic works in its own way. But the main focus is to slow down the progression of the disease and help the person live [or at least try to] a normal life. For some, those drugs are a answer to the pain and everything that comes with it. To others like me, it becomes a check list. In a span of less then 1 year, I have been put on 3. 

Now for some a certain biologic can work for years, but for the less fortunate they only work for months or not at all. Remicade worked wonders for me for 8 months, then my body rejected it. Which is common for biologics. Then I tried Rituxin which is known to work well for people when TNF blockers like Remicade fail. But it didnt do a damn thing. Now I am taking Enbrel which is a weekly self injection TNF blocker. So far i've seen minimal results, but slowly I hope that it will work better.

Now along with my RA I am suffering from chronic back pain. According to my ER doctor my para-spinal muscles are spasming and causing severe pain in my lower and mid spine. There is no known cause for this. I had 6 shots to my lower back [three on each side of my spine] full of cortisone and local antithetic. Which worked wonders for the following 3 days. They also gave me an anti-inflammatory injection through an IV which did seem to help [before the shots were given]. At first they gave me a dose of morphine, but it didnt do anything to ease my pain. Morphine has never had any kind of effect on me. So I knew that was going to be a bust, but i figured it would be worth a shot. But after they 6 shots to the back i was feeling much better so they sent me home w some Valium and Vicodin. I do not like painkillers, nor have I ever. They dont do anything but numb my pain for a short time and do nothing to help the underlying cause. I find them rather useless. But the Valium, has seemed to help more then just relaxing my back muscles from spasming, its helped my anxiety which I am truly grateful for.

As of now, my back pain is back in full swing but it lesser then it was a week ago. The Valium is helping a lot and tonight I did have to take a little bit of the Vicodin because it was becoming unbearable to sit, stand or walk. I had my first day of physical therapy this morning and they taught me some stretches to do throughout the day to help ease my ever tightening back and muscle issues. Next week I start aquatics therapy which is known to help people with RA immensely, so i'm looking very forward to that. 

Although I deal with a lot of pain and suffering I am still thankful for what little bit of health I have, hell i'm still alive aren't I? Each day is a new challenge for me. Never knowing if I will be able to get up out of bed, how my back is going to feel, how my knees are going to be. But some how I manage to pull through it. It's not easy, i can say that for sure. But its the biggest challenge I will ever face, and I face it daily. And each day I get a little more stronger.

Some people see my willingness to talk about my RA as a weakness. As a way to complain. Everyone has there way of coping with RA. Some people do not like to openly talk about it. And that is fine. But, I for one cannot sit in silence. This is a disease that not many people know about. I am an Advocate for Rheumatoid Arthritis. Through the Arthritis Foundation and also through Arthritis National Research Foundation. It is my job to raise awareness.  I am not ashamed of my disease and what comes with it. I share my story so that others like me can have a better life knowing that they are not alone! I share my story in knowing that one day, there will be a cure. And by raising awareness, the hope for a cure is closer.  

My strength is Rheumatoid Arthritis.
My strength is knowing that I can over come my pain.
My strength is awareness.
My strength is my inspiration from others.
My strength is fighting to live another day.  

-Little Wurmie-