Well, dunno why or how, but right now my joints are feeling gooooood!
Starting to think it may be the changes I have made to my diet taking some effect – see the Diet page for more info on this. This morning my joints felt better than they have done in a while and I only had to take 800 mg of Ibuprofen. If I can reduce my painkiller intake, I will be really happy 🙂
I’m also making a real effort to reduce my stress levels. This is not as easy as it sounds as I am a natural born worrier, but I am trying to take a more ‘let it wash over me’ approach. No doubt, this approach is helping, even if I am finding it hard at times and having to bite my tongue and remind myself that a lot of things just don’t matter.
It gets me to wondering why it is that I sweat the small stuff so much? And how to retrain yourself after a lifetime of doing so? Any tips appreciated !
Today, the kids had a short settling in period at their new nursery which went really well. They will be starting full days next week. I’m almost beside myself with excitement at the thought of having all that time to spend at the yard. So watch this space for lots more horsey posts, which is what this blog is meant to be about, after all!
Ride with PsA 
Hi Ellie! Just stumbled across your blog and am happy to find someone else I can read about who also conquers PsA on a daily basis. From what I read am I right in saying you’ve had it for about a year now? PsA sure sucks. I recall when mine was full blown I was so depressed, not being able to run around after the kids and being bent over like an old man. Argh. Luckily for me I got put onto biologics which has me arthritis free! It really is amazing. Before I started on Enbrel I went through the trial on methotrexate first, but like you had to frequently top up on pain killers, both analgesics and NSAIDs. I encourage you to keep a daily pain register if you aren’t doing so already, so that way you have a good record to show the doctor (and insurance company if you have health insurance) if the decision needs to be made to try out a biologic. Sure there are some studies which suggest that there may be some health risks to those on a biologic, but it really isn’t high. I did a blog about it a while back on my site if you are interested.
I recall when I started on methotrextate they mentioned that after ingesting a certain amount (1.5 gms I think) I’d have to have a liver biopsy to ensure my liver was ok. I wasn’t too happy about facing that!
I see that you are experimenting with your diet. If you haven’t seen it already, I follow another blog of someone with PsA and she recently did a write up of diet experimentation. You can see it here http://understanding-psa.blogspot.com/2011/07/green-tea-yes-its-for-me-but-only-after.html
Anyway, good luck with your journey! If you ever want to hear more about my time on methotrexate or experience with biologics, just pop me an email. Take care.
Hey Batman, Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences here with me. Its fantastic to read stories like yours – the thought of being arthritis free is just wonderful. From what I have read it seems that its a bit of a lottery as to whether one gets put on biologics or not due to the cost. But, I’m hoping I have a good chance as the PsA is still very active in my body and I am on the max dose of mtx. When I go to see my new Rheumatologist in November I am planning to ask about it.
I think I may have visited that blog you posted about diet. But I will revisit as I didn’t read it all and I am trying green tea right now too 🙂
Keep popping in here and sharing your experience with me and other readers, it really helps. Knowledge is most definitely power!