I went to water aerobics twice in the past two weeks and here I am, on the sofa with my feet propped up because the baker’s cysts on the backs of my knees are so big and painful I can’t walk. What!? This is NOT ME!? Tears… I am so frustrated and just starting to realize that this is my new life. I was already annoyed that I had to do water aerobics to Frank Sinatra. Now ole Frank is lookin’ pretty good. :’(
It has taken years for me to understand this is my new life. And I still find myself slipping into the land of denial! Maybe i truly am not too bright!
haha! I hope I never completely give in… Just like you. You guys are my heros and I am so grateful for all of you who posted here and gave me courage to post. My daughter came home and gave me a pep talk and a hug which helped… A lot. I guess sometimes a pity party was inevitable. I’m still really down. The last day before my Enbrel shot is always the worst. Today has just been an eye-opener.
I was diagnosed 5 1/2 years ago. It hit me hard pretty early on, that it is a new normal. That said, the better the disease control is overall, the easier it is long term.
Do I ever have pity parties? You bet. And then I get my act together, and keep on going. Instead of feeling sorry for myself, I can work on a solution. So for example, I just found out that I can do temporary membership at a gym with a pool, for 8 weeks every winter, and get out of the house for that time frame. I'm also really looking forward to my son being in school full time next year. This way my whole day isn't shot by needing to rest, especially this time of year.
When I can't do the exercise that I really want, I find a substitute, because not doing any exercise at all isn't helpful, physically or mentally. Last summer it meant swimming laps and water walking at the town pool, as my ankle tendons were all so inflamed that I was having a hard time walking much at all.
I hope you have a better day tomorrow, TigerGirl. In the meantime, catch up on some good TV or movies.
Thanks, Stoney, for the advice. For some reason, maybe because I have never really been sick, I thought in the back of my mind that I was going to get better. It has slowly dawned on me… And now like a slap in the face… That this is my life. My gym has a pool and I love the aerobics. I can’t believe a little water aerobics put me out of commission. But my daughter and I worked out an exercise plan for my off days so I won’t get too ‘stove’ up. She’s the best I’m glad I posted here. A little encouragement helped in a way I never knew it could.
Lets talk about water aerobics:
There was a time in my life when i didn't worry about physical things. Wore a funny green hat and jumped out of airplanes yelling "ranger" went to water aerobics with my mother and several other old ladies from the neighborhood. I have only been TOTALLY humiliated a few times in my life. that was one of them.... never did it again until rehabing after a fall in which I broke 3 vertebrae, Figured I was doing well unttil the put me in the therapy pool............... to late did I remember my earlier aerobics experience They got me out of the pool with a crane.
The onl;y exercise i do these days in a warm water pool is bending my elbow with weight called "frozen margarita" If you want sympathy for an exercise failure FROM ME, it won't be water aerobics........
I do nothing aerobically but I do try to make it to the pool at least twice a week. I do yoga in the pool and a ballet type dance. But slowly with stretches all around. And I walk forewords, backwards and side ways. I do all the exercises I was taught in PT. I feel better after not worse. I also put a noodle under my arms and "hang" which gently stretches my back and hamstrings. Then I soak in the whirl pool. I think the short fast strides of aerobics are all wrong for this disease. I get tendonitis and bursitis everywhere when I become exuberent in the pool by mistake. So these days I pretend I am a ballerina in the pool instead of trying to cha-cha......
Maybe that is what I need to do. There is no class like that at my gym and I will miss the socializing of my class. Even though I am thirty years younger than all the other women, it was my one outing to get out and be with people. I am so tired all the time it seems. When my friends are getting off work and going somewhere, I’m ready to call it a day. People who don’t have this don’t seem to get it.
No they don't. Sometimes I alter my schedule, sleep late and save my energy to do something with my friends who don't have this disease. Sometimes I visit the aerobic ladies ( I too made friends in that class before I realized it wasn't the right exercise for me and sometimes I miss the blue hairs! They are older than I but not by that much any more!) But I am finding I enjoy the time in the pool alone. It is very quiet in our pool from 1-4 pm daily which is a perfect time for me to go. I am up and moving ok but not wiped out yet! I have told my son and husband all I need is music. Waterproof I pods or MP3 players are too expensive so I have threatened to put my MP3 player or walkman on my head with duct tape and top it with a shower cap to keep it dry. I wonder why they won't go to the pool with me any more!
you wont catch me with the ladies group at the pool :)I do laps,run through t:he water ,,paddle board. 3x week and yoga for the physically challenged 2 or 3xweekly to now. I was told by the rheum that I had to leave my old life behind ie:walking for exercise and move forward to yoga and swimming instead. yep I was told off but very nicely. that was a month ago and me with a matched set of steel knees. I hate this disease.
That shower cap idea is one way to make sure you have the pool to yourself! hehe I hate not having anything to listen to in the pool, too. And I’m ashamed to admit I can’t really swim… Except dog paddle. When I was little we lived at the beach and I had to take swimming lessons in the intercostal waterway. It was terrifying! There were jellyfish and we had to keep our sneakers on because of the oyster beds… Not to mention the boats going by. I really developed a dislike of swimming, although I am a real beach girl. I love walking on the beach, looking for shells, and the salty air. I can’t lay out anymore because I have had melanoma. I stay under the umbrella. You give me hope that I can figure this out. Today is a new day and I am up already because my shoulder pain woke me up. I don’t seem to have flares; I have certain joints that hurt pretty much all the time, hips, back, knees, shoulders. Night is worse for some reason. I dread it. I can’t believe I have something causing all this pain that I am going to have for the rest of my life. Even typing those words makes my stomach drop. I just have so much I need and want to do. I keep looking around thinking, “If I worked slowly I could probably paint this kitchen.” I have always been the girl who stripped rooms of wallpaper and sewed her own drapes and loved DIY projects. Now I can barely hold a pair of scissors. I feel like smashing stuff but I need to find the things I can do to cope and feel useful and happy.
I know what you mean. But remember you will have flares and remissions. Some people, with the help of the medications usually, go into remissions for years. They need to be careful and make sure to rest but they can do lots of things they use to do. One woman on here even rides horses.
I don't swim in the pool. I can't any more as I was undiagnosed for 30 years or more. I exercise in the "Program Pool". It is very warm 88-92 degrees and is 4 feet deep on all sides. We walk in it and do our exercises. Some of the older ladies ride a foam noodle like a horse and do their walking that way. I can move in ways I can not do on land as the water is supporting me. And I am walking and dancing with some resistance (the water) so I build more muscle with less stress.
I know what you mean about being a DYI girl. That is me all over. I have found I can do smaller or easier projects and it feels so good to be creating again. I just "made" a wreath for spring. It is so cute!. We had an old wreath I didn't like. I cut out the parts I didn't like with scissors endorsed by the Arthritis Foundation. Then I glued with a glue gun and wired with green wires I pre cut the new parts. I added yellow forsythia and moss, bird nests and little blue eggs. It is so cute. And feels so good.
My husband, long before I was diagnosed with PsA, banned me from painting. He said I didn't get enough on the walls! I only have one eye and PsA had made it hard to paint and he was right. I pick out the colors and he does the painting. I have had to develop patience as a result; I could get the bathroom painted before lunch and still get lunch on the table. He has taked 8 weeks to paint the same room......."grant me the serenity"..........
I love the satisfaction of stepping back and looking at what you’ve made! Please post a pic of your wreath! It sounds presh I do that a lot, strip down old wreaths and remake them. But right now I still have my Springy Eastery one on the door. One thing I have been doing that makes me feel good lately is going to the paint along classes at local galleries with my daughter. We also paint in our kitchen. I will post a pic of one of our paintings. Right now I am painting a tiger face for her dorm wall. Those are fun classes but expensive if you can’t get them on groupon. I have been in one big flare for two years minus the month I was on prednisone. Ahh I miss that month lol!!! My fam doesn’t though haha!! I was mean. I am gonna hit the aerobics class tomorrow and try to do all the exercises like a ballerina. This is my new strategy. That and to stop as soon as I feel I have reached my limit. No more exuberent bouncing for me! My other daughter IS a ballerina for real for real, so I should be easy for me. You have made me feel a LOT better!! Thanks!
You are very welcome. So do you need a tiara for your imitation of a ballerina?
So much prettier than an old shower cap!
When the embrel is delivered every month.
A tiara! That is just the thing!!