The Girl With Arthritis

 I have been told I'm a patient person when it comes to dealing with other people. I especially received a lot of compliments on my patience when I was in college and worked as a tutor and as a teacher's assistant. I loved working with students, appreciating their effort and dedication to learning, even when it was hard or took awhile. Why, oh why, isn't it easy to be patient with myself? I can acknowledge that I have psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and should be patient with myself, especially during flares. But I also have a life and responsibilities to care for, and I can't just wait around for better days. Click here to read the full article at Psoriatic-Arthritis.com.

I was lucky enough to have about a year-and-a-half-long remission from psoriatic arthritis (PsA) - and it was just as you would think - absolutely fabulous. It fell right around my senior year of high school and first semester of college, letting me spend those times like any other teenager. But it would be a lie to say PsA wasn’t still a concern during this blissful period. Click here to read the full article at Psoriatic-Arthritis.com.

The whole goal of trying medicines and treatments is remission. The 'R' word. The big 'R.' Remission for arthritis is defined as no findings of arthritis what so ever- pain, inflammation, stiffness, and absolutely no evidence of the disease being active (including things commonly found in arthritis patients, like related eye problems). The inactivity of the disease must continue for 6 months continuosly  while on medication OR 12 months while off of medication. So yes, while some patients can be in remission and never have to worry about taking medicine, others will have to continue to take medicine. Perhaps forever. I hope I'll go into remission. People around me seem to be more hopeful about remission than I am. In reality, I would love to go into remission and it might happen one day but I don't want to get too excited incase it just doesn't happen. Some tell me they have a 'good feeling' I will go into remission, that I should just trust them. ...

Today was a rough day. I had to go see my rheumy today. We found out some very reasuring things: (1) The fever and  stuff I had earlier could've caused me to go into shock and I would've been in hospital for a very long time, and (2) that because of the fever I'm more likely to have a flare up. A flare up is when Arthur gets really agrivated and annoys me to the point of being in too much pain to move and probably causing fevers and such. I'm very, very blessed I made it through it all at home: I guess it was a way to tell us it's nowhere close to my time (Not that a kid should be thinking that way). These next few weeks we're watching for anything close to a flare. I'm so scared: I've only had a flare once when I was eight and I was sick for months. I don't want that to happen again, especially as I am so close to getting ready to go into remission. I just hope everything will be alright. If it be I'm healthy, I'll hope to get ready to start...

That's the biggest joke between my friends and I. They find it amazing how often I'm at the hospital: Once a month to see My rheumy, once a month to get blood drawn, and sometimes because I'm ill. Since I take the day off to see my rheumatologist as I have to travel by train to see him, I naturally have many funny or amusing stories for my friends to help pass the time in school. One of my very good friends understands the severity of Arthur and he has said the most memoriable things about it: "One day I'm going to make a charity for whatever you have so it can get cured (Me: 'Awww') so I don't have to hear it anymore." "Why don't you just live at the hospital?" Granted, these sound very mean but they were said comically and I was dieing laughing. Honestly: He's one of my best friends and we are always teasing each other. Speaking of which, I'm seeing my rheumy soon: Hopefully he'll say I'm getting closer to re...

Updated October 2022 Truth is, I take powerful medications to treat Arthur. It's called Methotrexate and in much high doses it is used to treat cancer. In small doses it is used to treat arthritis - it is not considered chemotherapy when used for arthritis. We use it to treat arthritis because it suppresses your immune system, which does not work properly in many arthritis cases, except in the case of Osteoarthritis (arthritis you get due to wear and tear). Though I take it in small doses once a week in pills (people with cancer can take it in pills too), it does not mean I do not get the side effects. Sure, it's much less worse than a person taking it in high doses but no doubt it's still there. I've lost some hair (most people won't lose all their hair), especially eyelashes much to my annoyance. I get mouth sores too and whilst they don't hurt, I do get that odd taste in my mouth. I get nausea too, as most people do. Fatigue happens too. In fact, when I fir...