Nothing Lasts Forever

Unless a cure is found, I will have psoriatic arthritis for the rest of my life. However, as I have learned since I first began experiencing symptoms back in 1999, living with it isn’t always the same.

Managing flare frequency and severity

Can you imagine if flares never ended? I will be honest, there were there a few years where I didn’t believe I would ever come out of the flare I was in, but it did eventually end. That flare could have been cut shorter had my doctors at the time been willing to treat my pain. But that is another story. For the sake of this post, that period of time taught me the importance of self-care and proper pain management. While I can’t completely avoid flares, I have been able to decrease their frequency and severity by pacing myself, avoiding trigger foods, and not waiting until my pain is unbearable before treating it. I also get through them faster by addressing my pain sources immediately and catering to my body’s demands.

Embracing the good times

Just as a flare won’t last forever, neither will the good times. I may have been able to reduce the intensity and duration of my flares, but I haven’t been able to completely stop them from happening at all.

Looking back now I am amused by how surprised I was every time a flare began. I knew that I wasn’t cured, yet some tiny part of my brain continued to hope that I would never have to go through a flare again. Later after I accepted that it was just a matter of time before the next one hit, I began living in fear. So not only was I losing precious time to flares, my fear of triggering another flare stole more. What I finally learned is that although the good times will inevitably come to an end, it is okay to enjoy life and make the most out of my good spells.

Changing how I manage my pain and get relief

Some of the pain I experience from PsA is the same as when it first presented itself and some are different. There are many reasons for this. Some are lack of treatment, adverse reactions to treatment, medications/treatments that had become ineffective, not listening to, and listening to my body. Moving to a different climate has played a role as has the injuries I have sustained from car accidents and surgeries. The areas that I treat and how I address them changes often.

Remembering that a flare won't last forever

No matter where I find myself on any given day is just that. How I feel and treat my condition today is and will not be the same in the years to come. How do I know that? Because nothing lasts forever. I feel confident that I will still be combating my chronic pain with the same treatments as I have been for the past two years next year. I am also aware that I may need to add other forms of treatment. This isn’t just because I will need more to fend off the pain, but because I will continue to seek out treatments that improve my life and health.

Living with the mindset that nothing lasts forever, except for my diagnosis, makes it easier for me to live with it. Flares no longer devastate me. I do what I have to to get through them and rejoice during the time I have in between.