Winning with PsA - Finding What Works for You

I'm in my 11th year in this journey with psoriatic arthritis. Along my journey, I've gotten a lot of advice, some solicited and some not, some helpful and some hurtful. I've seen various doctors, some who listened to me and some who ignored me. I've experienced compassion and caring. I've experienced frustration and anger. I know the joys of a pain-free day and the tears from the pain and swelling that seems to last forever.

But what I've learned on this journey, is to keep being who I am. I'm not going to let PsA become my life. It's a part of my life, sure, but it is not my whole life. Sometimes it's hard to remember that when you can barely walk and you're hurting. I'm writing this as a reminder to myself and others that PsA doesn't define you. My motto is "I have PsA, but it doesn't have me". Some days, yes, PsA wins the day. It will. You have to accept that you are not going to win every day on the journey with PsA. And that's okay. But I am not going to let it keep winning. It may take a few days or even weeks to get back on top, but every day that I push through and fight, I win. Even if I can't do what I could 3 days ago, if I did more than I could yesterday, I won.

Items and choices that help my journey

There are certain items and life choices that help me on my PsA journey. These things make my journey easier, things I don't go without. You'll find some of them below. They may help you. They may not help you. The point is, I found some things that help me. You need to find things that help you. You may already have a list with different things on it than mine, and that's great! If not, see if something on my list helps you. If we all share these things that help us, we can help each other on our PsA journeys.
Here are some items and life choices that help me:

• A round stress ball. My hand swells every night and I found that simply holding a soft, round stress ball about the size of a tennis ball in my hand while I sleep minimizes the swelling.
• Compression socks. I check the weather every day before getting dressed, and if rain or storms are in the forecast, I wear compression socks to minimize the pain. It doesn't matter if it's going to be 95 degrees out, if there is bad weather coming, I'm wearing my knee-length compression socks.
• Supportive shoes. Anyone who knows me knows I'm terrible at buying shoes. I also don't care about fashion. I've learned that I require supportive shoes, no matter the cost. I look for sales, and I may not get the color choice that I want, but a solid supportive shoe is a must for me. Shoe inserts can help the life of the shoe, too.
• Knee pillow. I don't sleep without my stress ball and I don't sleep without my knee pillow. 1 knee stays swollen, and the knee pillow not only helps with the pain from the swelling, it relieves pressure on my joints as I sleep.
• Under-the-desk mini elliptical machine. I don't use this at work. I use it as part of my morning routine. Ten minutes of pedaling in the morning keeps the swelling and stiffness down in my ankles and knees.
• Lunch break walks. When your rheumy tells you that if you don't start walking at least 15 minutes a day, you'll be in a wheelchair in 6 months, it changes your life. Staying physically active is vital to keeping my PsA in check on a daily basis. I started taking my lunch break to walk 15 minutes at the county park. At first, 15 minutes was all I could do. I'm not gonna lie, it hurt. Sometimes it still does. But I had lost so much muscle in my legs, I had to push through the pain in order to build my muscles back up. Now, I walk 1.5 miles in my 30 minute lunch break. If I go 2 weeks without my lunch break walks, PsA roars back at me. My lunch break walks are necessary for my physical health. It also provides a nice mental break from work!
• Hot baths. I'd say we all get relief from the pain and stiffness with hot baths. Sometimes I'll take 2 or 3 baths a day to help dull the pain. Epsom salts are a great addition to a hot bath. I've even added apple cider vinegar to help with psoriasis breakouts.
• Dietary changes. I don't buy bread anymore, only low carb wraps. That doesn't mean I won't eat bread or pizza, but I try to limit the carbs and sugars that I put in my body. My joints swell the next day if I eat too many starchy things. But I will always make room for chocolate!
• Knowing the weather. I plan around the weather now because I've learned how it affects me. I can guess the barometric pressure when I'm hurting and I'm usually pretty close. But it's not always the low barometric pressure that causes me to hurt. Intense weather hurts me the most. Thunderstorms, hail, and heavy rain all send me into a flare. We had tornadoes close by a few days ago and we're under another tornado watch right now, so you can bet I'm paying attention to the weather.
• Fat ink pens. Yeah, they may not look as professional as the premium ink pens, but if you have to use one a lot, who cares what they look like. You can write without hurting your hand, especially if your joints are tender.

These are just a few of the things on my PsA journey list. I hope some of these ideas help someone as they have helped me. Please share what has helped you so we can all help each other on our PsA journey.

And remember, you may have PsA, but it doesn't have you!