Universal truth: No matter what the weather is at any given moment someone is going to dislike it. This is all well and good, but there's really no point in complaining about it because there's nothing anyone can do to change it. Georgia (where I live) went through a drought a few years ago and water reserves were at an all time low. It was hot and dry and ridiculous and the state's leadership's answer was to tell everyone to "pray for rain". Hint: It still didn't rain, at least not until the rainy season started. So I'd like to reiterate, there's nothing you can do so why complain? Or why even worry about it?
Well, there ARE reasons to worry about the weather, particularly when the weather affects your body as much as it does mine...
I've been experiencing joint pain in my right elbow for as long as I can remember. I've had cortisone injections, used ice packs, heating pads, and topical creams. Nothing has really helped. About two years ago I started having the same problems with my right hip. If your arm locks up you can usually still function just by using the other one. If your hip locks up (and then causes excruciating radiating pain) you can't walk. HUGE difference there...
After a few visits with the amazing Dr. Sutej at Arthritis & Rheumatology of Georgia we determined that my joint pain is caused entirely by Crohn's disease. He advised me to let my GI doc treat it as another symptom, since treating the pain wasn't helping.
So, I've switched GI's a few times since then and I'm now seeing Dr. Wolf in Atlanta. He views my joint pain as one of the largest indicators of how active my Crohn's is. Usually more pain = more inflammation. So if we get the Crohn's under control, we will get the joint pain under control.
I've been on Cimzia for six weeks now. Tomorrow is my 6 week check to see how I'm doing with the new meds. I'm participating in a research study so my treatment is a bit more intense and monitored than other patients with a similar level of the disease. The stomach cramps and nausea have drastically declined, and until Saturday so had the joint pain. Saturday is also when it started raining.
Apparently the cold rainy mess outside is making things worse. My elbow feels like it's in a vice and my hip feels like it's going to give if I stand for more than a few minutes, or sit in pretty much any position. Joint pain and inflammation are completely debilitating for me, and there are other things going on in my personal life that prevent me from being able to have any substantive "downtime" right now. I don't know when my four year old nephew will be foisted upon me with no warning, but I've had him for the past two days and for a few days last week. He's pretty low maintenance as far as kids go, but I still have to climb stairs for bologna and cheese sandwiches and sippy cups, or to supervise visits to the potty. He is patient, however, and understands "I have to walk slowly".
I wish the weather outside was just weather, but the bone chilling cold and damp actually impinge upon my ability to do something as simple as take a shower. I actually love overcast dreary days, but I would like to be able to climb stairs without pain more than I like clouds.
Someone always has to say it's too hot, or too cold, or too windy, too humid, etc. For me, today, the weather outside is painful. However, any day where the weather doesn't mean increasing my pain meds is usually a good weather day.
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