The Silver Lining
Hi, I'm new here having been recently diagnosed with inflammatory arthritis. Probably psoriatic but my rheumy doesn't want to put a label on it since all my typical blood tests have been in the standard range. I'm starting Humira this Sunday and am equal parts nervous about it (why do I have to do my three-month trial at the exact time of year I always get a sinus infection?) and excited that it may work. But that's not really what this post is about.
Again, my being new to both this forum and psoriatic arthritis (been dealing with the pain for the last four year and, looking back, other symptoms probably longer than that) I'm not in a position to give anyone advice. But I will pass along my own mental approach to all this.
After going through the woe is me phase (and I still have my woe is me days) I decided to tackle my PSA like an athlete. I've been athletic all my life, so I know how to train, how to eat, how to push myself, etc. So I'm trying to look at this hand I've been dealt as the kick in the pants I've been needing to get myself back into shape and drop some bad habits.
I used to binge drink on the weekends. I don't do that anymore. I max out at about 3 drinks tops now. I'm back in the gym six days a week (one day light weights, three days on the elliptical machine and two days of stretching / yoga). I'm eating a low fat, healthy diet. And I've dropped 20 pounds with plans to drop another 20. Without psoriatic arthritis I don't know that I'd have done any of these things. So maybe, in a weird way, it's a blessing in disguise. That's how I'm choosing to look at it at any rate.
I'm 50 now and, even with this condition, if the Humira works and I continue to take care of myself, I plan to be in better shape than my peers into my 60s and 70s. And, as my rheumy says, in 10 years there will be even better ways to treat this. So that's my approach, for what it's worth.
Sean
Welcome to the community, Sean!
I LOVED reading this. It sounds like you have a lot of motivation and discipline! I often try to reflect on things in my life in a similar way - there are lots of things I have achieved that I don't think I would have had I not become unwell. There's definitely still difficult days though, as you say.
I was wondering, what kind of yoga poses do you do? I have got into it recently myself and am really enjoying it when I'm up to doing it.
Thanks so much for taking the time to share with us. It's great to have you here!
Hey Cathy,
The type of yoga I do is kind of my own hybrid. It's really more of a stretching routine with some yoga elements thrown in.
Because my psoriatic arthritis affects my neck and head, I had neck therapy for two months where I learned a bunch of stretches. I mixed those stretches into some things I learned watching a beginner's yoga video on YouTube and with three stretches know as the KEY THREE for lower back pain. So it's kind of my own personalized PSA stretching / yoga routine.
All in all it takes about 20 minutes. Actually all the types of exercise I do take only 20 minutes, including my weight routine and time on the elliptical machine. Studies have shown it's much more beneficial to work out with some intensity for 20 minutes than it is to work out at low intensity for an hour.
Another thing I do once a week on the elliptical machine is something called interval training, which is basically one minute of going really hard combined with two minutes of going really easy. It's great for your heart AND the science behind interval training is that it helps cells and muscles regrow.
What I do may not work for everyone because everyone is different and how PSA affects everyone is a little different. But it became clear to me that I had two paths I could go down when dealing with this thing. Feel sorry for myself and treat it passively, slowly letting it take me over. Or use what I've learned as a athlete to tackle it head on.
Taking that approach has led me to kind of this in-between place where I'm simultaneously afflicted with a chronic illness and yet in better shape, with a better diet, than most other people my age. I guess it's my way of keeping up with the my peers who aren't afflicted with an autoimmune disorder.
I'm also looking at medication (in my case Humira) as just one tool in my toolbox. Diet and exercise are the other two tools.
I've read that people with RA (not sure about PsA) tend to have shorter lifespans. But is that because of the disease of because the disease leads them to live more sedentary lives? Take my mom, for example. She was diagnosed with RA many years ago. She's 80 now. She suspects my grandmother also has undiagnosed RA (my grandmother won't go to doctors). My grandmother turns 95 in January.
Both have their struggles but neither one is in a wheelchair and both are vibrant and active in their old age. And I think the key word there is active.
I struggle with depression and the unfairness of it all. When I read the odds of having psoriasis and then psoriatic arthritis on top of that it sometimes feels like I've lost the double genetic lottery. But if I let the PsA get me down and let it stop me from being active and fit, I feel I'm letting it win. My own family is proof that it doesn't have to win.
