I was sitting in the waiting room day after Christmas, I got 2 cortisone shots ( one in each shoulder) fun... anyway on the Arthritis Channel they were talking about the benefits of Yoga. That night my girlfriend emailed saying her Yoga Class was starting back up. I have been to 4 so far - Mondays and Wednesdays, I had to skip a week cause I over stretched my chest and my Costochondritis started back up. BUT am better now. I take my pain meds mosly at night now, I have noticed that I am feeling a bit better.
I made sure to talk to her before I started (and my Rheumy) so that she knew what I was dealing with. She always tells me alternate ways I can do a pose so I don't hurt my shoulders, hips or wrists. I make sure to not do a pose if it hurts my joints ( they all hurt my muscles, lol)
I almost didn'd go to class yesterday, but then realized it was my muscles that were sore not my joints... I so wanted to sleep in!
I like that her class is small, some days its just me and one other, some days I am the youngest, and some not.
I have a friend who convinced me to try Yoga. i bought a mat, but after lying down on my side several times during the poses in class i realized it was impossible for me.
Problem is with this arthritis it is hard to distinguish between radiating pain from the joints or recouperating exercised muscle pain or even when you are sick and have a fever! Two times I was ill this winter and both times i thought the joint pain was from the arthritis unti I took my temp!
Just something to keep in mind. . . A flare can cause increased temperatures as well. Not a high fever, but can cause a low fever. There have been many times that I have not been sick, but have been running a fever, along with a flare.
Marie said:
I have a friend who convinced me to try Yoga. i bought a mat, but after lying down on my side several times during the poses in class i realized it was impossible for me.
Problem is with this arthritis it is hard to distinguish between radiating pain from the joints or recouperating exercised muscle pain or even when you are sick and have a fever! Two times I was ill this winter and both times i thought the joint pain was from the arthritis unti I took my temp!
Good for you!!! For trying and that sounds good. Is the medication that you take working for you, are you satisfied...do you do anything else to help yourself, like diet and well I see you exercise. Exercise is really good for us all...but the problem is exercise is hard to do when you are in any pain or fatiqued or maybe depressed. If it's not one thing it's another thing. Everyone has their limitations. You just have to find an exercise that works for you, even if it's just light walking. I dont exercise but I try to keep active...the activities I do are for leisure only. I stay at a good pace and dont do more than I can or should. Im not trying to lose weight, I just want to stay active. It really helps my arthritis foot which is all stiff to keep fit. Walking really helps me. But I dont walk too much otherise I feel pain in my hip and Im limping. Everything in moderation. I really enjoy keeping active and it keeps my mind free of stress too. Id be even more tired if I didnt keep active. Exercise reduces fatique ...you just got to push yourself. As for depression, it can relieve some of it too, as per what Ive read. Good luck to all. Keep moving. It's good for us. I would really like to know if there are any exercises I can do with my toes and with that part of my foot to reduce stiffness and soreness and swelling. As well as my ankle.
I did six miles on my tread mill the other night. I would have done more but one of the wheels on my skate board froze up.
Actually beecreek you might be surprised at what I do...... Every morning when I wake up I do a series of stretches. I have the same high protein breakfast evrrymorning (2 eggs, 4 slices bacon, and a flaxseed muffin) At 10:00 I walk either 2 miles around campus or on my tread mill and have a protein shake, Lunch I have either chef salad or some kind of a lo-carb meat cheese wrap. At three I do my yoga routine (I have several including one I can do while seated if I'm flaring) Depending on my work load I may go to the pool. I follow up with another whey shake (or smoothie) At home we normally have a pretty light supper. I have been essentially gluten free fo 5 years and have limited my daily carb intake to around 40. Ihave done some elimination diet stuff, but haven't found anything that makes a difference. After supper I either spend some time in my shop or when its light walk down to the river for some fly fishing (my shoulders don;'t always allow it so I bait fish some deep holes) I come into the hous and my wife and I do our Wii balance board stuff. About 10.00 I watch the news, while in the hot tub I do my last set of stretches and have a drink (Wine Mon - Fri, beer on Sat and scotch on Sunday)
I treat the disease and pain as separate issues (they are) The disease is treated with Enbrel and presently dicloflonec. I have the spondylitis version so its pretty easy to follow whether or not the disease is under control (it is.) pain is a different matter. I treat it with TENS's, heat pad, stretching,injections, patches, posture, position etc. I have not used a pain pill in 15 years. There was a time when I could not get through the day without them. I learned that they can (and do) create their own pain. But then this wash up Army ranger gets tears in his eyes from the exercise as often as not.
Anyone who has been around here has heard me say wht you don't use WILL rust. Yeah it hurts but rusted joints hurt more.
Once I was in a wheel chair, now I'm not. I got out of the chair with exercise (I'll not beat around the bush extensive and painful PT, eliminating the narco's, weight loss (150#) etc.
All the stuff we do diet exercise supplements etc is like farting in the wind until the TNF production is curtailed. That is because of a DEFECTIVE autoimmune system NOT an reaction to stimulus. Eliminate the antagonist and the system is still overproducing TNF's.
Thank you for your reply. I can learn from your experience, &routine. It's great you are active, and that is an understatement. Do you also get a good night's sleep, I mean do you get enough sleep? Is that important? I also do not take a pain pill. I dont have to. I do feel pain at times & it is bad pain , the pain cripples me, but it doesnt last long. I describe them as shooting pains and then they are over with. Thankgod! But then again not everyone is in a lot of pain with this disease, and can not get out of bed. For dull pain, I use warm heating pads & warm baths, too. What i find frustrating, is I never know when the bad pain will come on. I would think it would be worse the more I do, but thats not the case. I'll walk the dogs at the shelter where I volunteer and I'll be doing it for a good few hrs and no pain...or some days I'll have an issue but it's not every time i go in. Other times just a short walk up the street gives me the worse pain.
I hear you Bee. The first time in years I sleep through the night. I'm a believer in Melatonin BUT you need to take a vacation from it every once in a while. But what finally allowed me to get all the way through the night was Amitriptyline. Its one of a number of Tricycylic antidepressants. There are volumes of studies of the help these are to inflammatory arthritis patients in terms of not only sleep (you take them at bed time) but the huge effect they have on pain control. Some docs are good about offering them others will Rx an antidepressent for the antidepressent effects and use one of the modern ones (which actually exasperate pain) so ask.
I have a standard mattress with a gel foam topper so I am fully supported. (my sleep number bed is at the dump read the reviews, I'm not the only one) With and electric mattress pad on top turned on hi about 30 minutes before I go to bed, an I'm in heaven.....
Regular stretching (done right) can eliminate a lot of those shooting pains. (if they are enthesitis which most of us have) although they could be spinal which also needs to be stretched out..... If you get them walking (and I do) I turn on my TENS (if I'm hiking) and keep going and they pass OR i buy a new pair of shoes Because its a pretty good indication the support is gone (it goes before the rest of the shoe.) and boy do the shoes we wear make a HUGE difference.....
@tntlamb, I am so impressed with what you do to keep moving. How does one get that motivation ? I posted yesterday about having surgery etc,. but as soon as I am given an ok ( likely another 4 months) I HAVE to get back to exercise. You are inspiring, I sincerely mean that ! I have no idea of how you do it, but completely understand why you do it. Thanks for showing us all that sometimes you have to get up, get going and keep at it :0) Wow, be proud of yourself, awesome. I want to me like tntlamb, my new inspiration !
tntlamb said:
I hear you Bee. The first time in years I sleep through the night. I'm a believer in Melatonin BUT you need to take a vacation from it every once in a while. But what finally allowed me to get all the way through the night was Amitriptyline. Its one of a number of Tricycylic antidepressants. There are volumes of studies of the help these are to inflammatory arthritis patients in terms of not only sleep (you take them at bed time) but the huge effect they have on pain control. Some docs are good about offering them others will Rx an antidepressent for the antidepressent effects and use one of the modern ones (which actually exasperate pain) so ask.
I have a standard mattress with a gel foam topper so I am fully supported. (my sleep number bed is at the dump read the reviews, I'm not the only one) With and electric mattress pad on top turned on hi about 30 minutes before I go to bed, an I'm in heaven.....
Regular stretching (done right) can eliminate a lot of those shooting pains. (if they are enthesitis which most of us have) although they could be spinal which also needs to be stretched out..... If you get them walking (and I do) I turn on my TENS (if I'm hiking) and keep going and they pass OR i buy a new pair of shoes Because its a pretty good indication the support is gone (it goes before the rest of the shoe.) and boy do the shoes we wear make a HUGE difference.....
Actually beecreek you might be surprised at what I do...... Every morning when I wake up I do a series of stretches. I have the same high protein breakfast evrrymorning (2 eggs, 4 slices bacon, and a flaxseed muffin) At 10:00 I walk either 2 miles around campus or on my tread mill and have a protein shake, Lunch I have either chef salad or some kind of a lo-carb meat cheese wrap. At three I do my yoga routine (I have several including one I can do while seated if I'm flaring) Depending on my work load I may go to the pool. I follow up with another whey shake (or smoothie) At home we normally have a pretty light supper. I have been essentially gluten free fo 5 years and have limited my daily carb intake to around 40. Ihave done some elimination diet stuff, but haven't found anything that makes a difference. After supper I either spend some time in my shop or when its light walk down to the river for some fly fishing (my shoulders don;'t always allow it so I bait fish some deep holes) I come into the hous and my wife and I do our Wii balance board stuff. About 10.00 I watch the news, while in the hot tub I do my last set of stretches and have a drink (Wine Mon - Fri, beer on Sat and scotch on Sunday)
I treat the disease and pain as separate issues (they are) The disease is treated with Enbrel and presently dicloflonec. I have the spondylitis version so its pretty easy to follow whether or not the disease is under control (it is.) pain is a different matter. I treat it with TENS's, heat pad, stretching,injections, patches, posture, position etc. I have not used a pain pill in 15 years. There was a time when I could not get through the day without them. I learned that they can (and do) create their own pain. But then this wash up Army ranger gets tears in his eyes from the exercise as often as not.
Anyone who has been around here has heard me say wht you don't use WILL rust. Yeah it hurts but rusted joints hurt more.
Once I was in a wheel chair, now I'm not. I got out of the chair with exercise (I'll not beat around the bush extensive and painful PT, eliminating the narco's, weight loss (150#) etc.
All the stuff we do diet exercise supplements etc is like farting in the wind until the TNF production is curtailed. That is because of a DEFECTIVE autoimmune system NOT an reaction to stimulus. Eliminate the antagonist and the system is still overproducing TNF's.
Yes i do know that but the thermometer and sore throat was the clincher. I cannot imagine sleeping on a gel foam mattress though. .I like it to be cool under the covers as well as outside of them and the gel and foam make me sweat.
I am surprised someone here posted the benefits of Amitriptyline given the hepatic and weight gain side effects.Probably offset by six miles on treadmill and rigorous skateboarding.?
Stoney said:
Just something to keep in mind. . . A flare can cause increased temperatures as well. Not a high fever, but can cause a low fever. There have been many times that I have not been sick, but have been running a fever, along with a flare.
Marie said:
I have a friend who convinced me to try Yoga. i bought a mat, but after lying down on my side several times during the poses in class i realized it was impossible for me.
Problem is with this arthritis it is hard to distinguish between radiating pain from the joints or recouperating exercised muscle pain or even when you are sick and have a fever! Two times I was ill this winter and both times i thought the joint pain was from the arthritis unti I took my temp!
Is there anyone who DOESN'T monitor their liver enzymes on a quarterly basis? Amitriptyline has far LESS liver effect the any of the pain meds, not to mention an occasional run of Predi. I dunno about weight gain, that just one of those things you monitor, but I hate to point out pills don't make you fat - food does so as everything else we do to combat the effects of the disease we monitor closely our diet. You get all your medications from a doctor (preferably one doctor at a time) So yes it works for me amazingly well. And as opposed to some of the other ways to get a decent night sleep and certainly preferable to using opiads to cause the release of serotonin and noradrenaline for pain control.
I used to use rollerblades on the treadmill but ankles aren't what they used to be.. (its alot harder to skate board on a treadmill than you think let go of the support handle for an instant and you shoot off the end - very dangerous stuff. (I'm thinking the suggestion of an office chair make sense. I could lash that bugger to the handle bars.)
Remember "fever" is function of the immune system so the minute you start into the medication part of this disease all bets are off..... We take drugs that suppress fever, we take drugs that cause fever (all at the same time) and we have a disease that causes fever. Its no wonder we have screwed up thermostats.
I dont need any medication to help me get a better sleep as Im not in any pain...sometimes dull yes but never to interfere with sleep..What i need is peace lol...my 2 young children keep my husband and I, as well as it is our fault we go to bed too late and wake up early. I think a good night's rest could be helpful so I should and have been trying to get more sleep at night.
I think you misunderstood I dont get shooting pains from working out or when Im active, they are arthritis pain..that's how I describe my arthritis pain. Like shooting pain, like joints on fire but it doesnt last long. What does last long for me, what is there 24/7 is the swelling the inflammation the stiffness. Just in my feet, mainly left foot. ankle, toe area, soles etc... When Im active it helps the stiffness/swelling..i dont feel it or i forget it. I was wondering besides walking, what could allieviate the stiffness in the toe area that i experience...stretching..? Anything else. How about the rest of the foot? I dont have arthritis anywhere else. Apparently. My dr thinks my hip and lower back pain that i do get is frm the foot.
tntlamb said:
I hear you Bee. The first time in years I sleep through the night. I'm a believer in Melatonin BUT you need to take a vacation from it every once in a while. But what finally allowed me to get all the way through the night was Amitriptyline. Its one of a number of Tricycylic antidepressants. There are volumes of studies of the help these are to inflammatory arthritis patients in terms of not only sleep (you take them at bed time) but the huge effect they have on pain control. Some docs are good about offering them others will Rx an antidepressent for the antidepressent effects and use one of the modern ones (which actually exasperate pain) so ask.
I have a standard mattress with a gel foam topper so I am fully supported. (my sleep number bed is at the dump read the reviews, I'm not the only one) With and electric mattress pad on top turned on hi about 30 minutes before I go to bed, an I'm in heaven.....
Regular stretching (done right) can eliminate a lot of those shooting pains. (if they are enthesitis which most of us have) although they could be spinal which also needs to be stretched out..... If you get them walking (and I do) I turn on my TENS (if I'm hiking) and keep going and they pass OR i buy a new pair of shoes Because its a pretty good indication the support is gone (it goes before the rest of the shoe.) and boy do the shoes we wear make a HUGE difference.....
Actually I shouldn't have said shooting pain but likley the same pain anyway. What you are describing is pretty classic PsA stuff. Its usually enthesitis at the hips and spine as your doc suggested. In addition to stretching and good shoes some other things that help:
Stand on the edge of a step (or Wii balance board) with just the ball of your feet and toe on the step and while holdin to the rail lower your heels so they are well below the plane of the step and and raise yourself back up on your toes and back down. Get to at least 10 reps without having to swear
Roll a frozen pop bottle back and forth on your foot while sitting with your back staright
Consider some injections
Dr Schulls foot bath with the foot massager and/or parrafin bath
The best good old fashion crunches. While in the up position flex your foot forward and back Do the same in the down position. Breath properly or it won't work. If you aren't used to this type of breathing believe it or not the F word is perfect cadence "F*** - Lamb" F*** as you go up and Lamb as you go down. Flex foot once while up (no more) Do NOT hold longer
And believe it or not invest in a good pedi on a regular basis.......
If you are waiting for a pill (with the possible exception of valium) forget it. It won't get better without the stretching and exercise even if th meds you are on are working. (There wouldn't be training rooms any any athletuic facility if it were any other way. You have a lot of damage to undo
beecreek said:
......................Just in my feet, mainly left foot. ankle, toe area, soles etc... When Im active it helps the stiffness/swelling..i dont feel it or i forget it. I was wondering besides walking, what could allieviate the stiffness in the toe area that i experience...stretching..? Anything else. How about the rest of the foot? I dont have arthritis anywhere else. Apparently. My dr thinks my hip and lower back pain that i do get is frm the foot.
Thanks for the tips! They sound like good ideas. I was thinking the other day about my shoes..they are my size but because my feet are swollen, i take off my shoes to find my feet so red esp were it was rubbing. Then on the top of my PsA symptoms, I get achy feet. My mild vein problem (insufficiency) in the one foot adds to it. I dont want to take any more medication. Im ok with going on enbrel now and im still waiting. In the process. But I dont want any pain meds or any other meds on the side. Just what i need to control the disease. And Ive tried the steriod injection & trust me it made me worse. I limped for 3 days after and was in a lot of pain...and normally Im not. I dont know why i reacted like that. when my dr asked me I told him. He wasnt surprised. I am because I talk to other people and it seems to work for them or at least do nothing..for me it made my symptoms worse!
I now have an extra cattle prod to make me exercise, If I don't do a fair bit of walking my SI joints are too painful the next day!
I spent a few days in hospital recently and on the 2nd day was in pain from the resting the day before so I walked the ward and the corridors. Some days I don't feel I have enough energy to do so, but I think about the pain I will have if I don't, so I walk. Every cloud?! :)