Sunday, June 6, 2010

Bubble Wrap

Well, I really hate to admit it, but I think it's official: something is not right with my joints and the medicine doesn't seem to be helping.  I just did an Enbrel injection yesterday, but I don't feel any better today. Actually, I feel worse.

::sigh:: 

In particular, my toes, ankles, elbows, and knees have been aching a lot. Oh, also my wrists and fingers. And shoulders. And hips. (Do I have any joints left that don't ache? Hmmm...knock on wood)

None of these joints are particularly swollen, which seems a little weird to me, but they all hurt. My knees are also hot to the touch most of the time. And my joints have also been cracking whenever I move. When I walk downstairs, it sounds like the stairs are covered in bubble wrap - which is a pretty hilarious thought until you actually think about it.

I also spent all day on Friday, laying on the couch feeling...icky. I can't really think of a better way to describe it. I just felt gross all over. In every, single way. I couldn't really get up or accomplish anything. Even watching TV felt like a little too much effort. I thought I might have had a fever. I believe this is the delightful feeling that doctors term "malaise." APL calls it "feeling like balls." Excuse the language, but at least it makes me smile.

I also did something this morning that I generally try to keep myself from doing, especially when I'm feeling unwell: googling RA. Through the magic of the interwebs, you can convince yourself you have any disease or syndrome in the world if you google it enough. Particularly since there are so many blogs and websites offering health advice - generally with all the best intentions in the world but without medical degrees. 

This blog, of course, is not intended for use as a source of health advice. This blog is nothing more than a record of my personal experiences after being diagnosed with RA two years ago and my own, personal thoughts about my RA experience. I hope it comes through in my writing that these are my experiences, and I recognize that others with RA will undoubtedly have different ones.

But if I can offer some advice?  If you have RA (or any illness, for that matter) don't google it. Particularly on a day when you're already feeling icky (or dealing with "malaise" or "feeling like balls.") I promise google won't make you feel better.

7 comments:

~kelly marie~ said...

Big hugs to you, Mariah! I hope you start feeling better.

KCFitch said...

You weren't kidding on the cosmic connection thing... that's about how I felt for most of the weekend too! And the crazy part is just like you said... lots of hurt... very little swelling. mrph...

Sarah Z said...

i love you and i can't wait to see you! we can lie on the couch together and watch musicals.

~Mariah~ said...

KELLY MARIE: Thanks. ~;o)

IBS: Have you ever had hot joints? My knees are hot to the touch. Not swollen, just painful and actually hot. It's bizarre.

SARAH: Sounds AWESOME. Only, let's throw in a bottle of wine too.

Skye said...

:( hope you're feeling better!

superbitch said...

Love it. Love the bubble wrap description, and your honest description of "feeling like balls." HA!

~Mariah~ said...

SKYE: Thanks. Hope you've been doing ok too.

SUPERBITCH: I thought the bubble wrap part was pretty funny, until I started thinking about it too much. And, to be fair, it was APL's suggestion that I felt like balls. ~;o)