trivial post #8
I have an idiopathic autoimmune disorder called rheumatoid arthritis, which means that the white blood cells in my joints are attacking each other for no apparent reason. It started around the beginning of 2012, in my sophomore year. I first noticed it during my PE (which was swimming), when I tried to stretch out my arms and I felt a pain in my elbows.
It got progressively worse though, and it affected other joints as well. My knees, my ankles, even my knuckles and fingers. They would ache in random combinations (sometimes it was my ankles + knees, sometimes knuckles + elbows + shoulders), never really simultaneously (thank God). It was usually an ignorable pain, nothing debilitating.
Thinking it was manageable, I let it go unchecked for a year. During this time, my elbows started to lock up. They got stiffer and stiffer as the months wore on, up to the point where my arm is constantly bent at a 45-degree angle. I'm still at this point right now.
I got the thing diagnosed by a rheumatologist last summer (and I got a blood test, for the first time in my conscious life), and that was when I learned the name of my enemy: juvenile rheumatoid arthirits. An idiopathic autoimmune disorder for which there is no cure.
There is a way to manage it, however. I was given some steroids and stuff to take, which I did quite faithfully (even as I was in Leyte for my immersion). The swelling in my joints decreased, my arm straightened out a bit more, and, most importantly, the pain stopped. So I was happy.
The problem of course didn't go away after this round of medications, so I continued living my life with occasionally achy joints and decreased arm movement. It was a normal life, I just had to avoid heavy lifting and putting strain on my elbows.
This summer, however, I'm starting to despair about my condition. It used to be something I just put up with, but now I openly despise it. It's hurting more and more now. Now I'm waking up every morning and my left elbow is hurting so bad that I don't move my left arm anymore. When I want to pull the covers over my head, or brush my teeth, or carry a bowl of cereal, or shampoo my hair, I have to use just my right arm because my left has become too painful to do anything useful.
All of it is really stressing me out. I'm going to see a rheumatologist about it soon.
Okay, whine over. Next post for real: Singapore.
Update (April 11, 2014): I wrote this yesterday when I was feeling particularly achy. I regret making it sound like a bigger deal than it actually is. I'm okay now! I woke up today and the pain was not bad. With the help of my aunt I've already scheduled an appointment with another rheumatologist this Saturday. :)
It got progressively worse though, and it affected other joints as well. My knees, my ankles, even my knuckles and fingers. They would ache in random combinations (sometimes it was my ankles + knees, sometimes knuckles + elbows + shoulders), never really simultaneously (thank God). It was usually an ignorable pain, nothing debilitating.
Thinking it was manageable, I let it go unchecked for a year. During this time, my elbows started to lock up. They got stiffer and stiffer as the months wore on, up to the point where my arm is constantly bent at a 45-degree angle. I'm still at this point right now.
I got the thing diagnosed by a rheumatologist last summer (and I got a blood test, for the first time in my conscious life), and that was when I learned the name of my enemy: juvenile rheumatoid arthirits. An idiopathic autoimmune disorder for which there is no cure.
There is a way to manage it, however. I was given some steroids and stuff to take, which I did quite faithfully (even as I was in Leyte for my immersion). The swelling in my joints decreased, my arm straightened out a bit more, and, most importantly, the pain stopped. So I was happy.
The problem of course didn't go away after this round of medications, so I continued living my life with occasionally achy joints and decreased arm movement. It was a normal life, I just had to avoid heavy lifting and putting strain on my elbows.
This summer, however, I'm starting to despair about my condition. It used to be something I just put up with, but now I openly despise it. It's hurting more and more now. Now I'm waking up every morning and my left elbow is hurting so bad that I don't move my left arm anymore. When I want to pull the covers over my head, or brush my teeth, or carry a bowl of cereal, or shampoo my hair, I have to use just my right arm because my left has become too painful to do anything useful.
All of it is really stressing me out. I'm going to see a rheumatologist about it soon.
Okay, whine over. Next post for real: Singapore.
Update (April 11, 2014): I wrote this yesterday when I was feeling particularly achy. I regret making it sound like a bigger deal than it actually is. I'm okay now! I woke up today and the pain was not bad. With the help of my aunt I've already scheduled an appointment with another rheumatologist this Saturday. :)
This isn't trivial, Aims :( Get well
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