Re: New Member introduction Marsha/Kathe

[Guest guest]

Hi Kathe,

I am on Hydroxchloroquine two times a day. I also have animals at home

parrots, dogs, bearded dragon and sugar glider so I have to get up.

I also teach dressage lesson and I train horses in dressage 5 days a week 3

days I ride 6 horses and two each day on the weekend as well as 6-7 lessons

also. So when this disease starts taking its toll I will lose my profession I

have been in for 20 years.

But I am not thinking that far away right now I am enjoying the day.

Thank you for your warm welcome and the Birthday wish.

Marsha

Kathe Sabetzadeh <lv2ryd@...> wrote:

Hi Marsha, and Welcome!~

This group has done me much good over the years, and I

am sure that you will be benefitting from it

immediately as these caring people let you know that

you are not alone. And Happy Birthday to you!

[Guest guest]

Hi Masha,

I hope things work out ok for you.

How long have you been on this medicine and do you see results? I just answered

another post on Plaquenil but I wanted to add another comment. It helps my

Raynauds but several people have posted that it is not for that. When the doc

gave it to me she said that it might help the Raynauds, my biggest problem.

I started to see results in about a month. When I get up especially in the AM

my nose is bright red. My husband is always up first as he is an early riser.

His morning greeting has long been " your nose is red " . The morning that he

didn't say that I looked in the mirror to see how bright and it had greatly

reduced the red. It has not reduced pain that I can tell except for the

Raynauds especially in my hands. But our weather changed and even though I am

inside it still hurts. Without the Plaquenil I don't know how much so my

observation is just subjective.

It did not cause a digestive problem as it does with some but about a week ago

suddenly it hit. I reduced it to just one a day and the 2nd day with only one

my husbands old greeting was back. Then I went back to 2 and my nose has lost

most of its brightness again.

And I planed to lead Santa's sleigh this year.

Betty

Re: [ ] New Member introduction Marsha/Kathe

Hi Kathe,

I am on Hydroxchloroquine two times a day. I also have animals at home

parrots, dogs, bearded dragon and sugar glider so I have to get up.

I also teach dressage lesson and I train horses in dressage 5 days a week 3

days I ride 6 horses and two each day on the weekend as well as 6-7 lessons

also. So when this disease starts taking its toll I will lose my profession I

have been in for 20 years.

But I am not thinking that far away right now I am enjoying the day.

Thank you for your warm welcome and the Birthday wish.

Marsha

Kathe Sabetzadeh <lv2ryd@...> wrote:

Hi Marsha, and Welcome!~

This group has done me much good over the years, and I

am sure that you will be benefitting from it

immediately as these caring people let you know that

you are not alone. And Happy Birthday to you!

[Guest guest]

Yay!!! Sorry that you're here because of RA, but glad we've got

another " horsey " person among us! Kathe and I both ride also. Kathe

can tell you about her crew.

I used to train and teach professionally up through 4th level, but

actually went back to my amateur status a number of years ago now

(been doing horses for more than 35 years now, at least 20 of those

professionally) ... Found it too hard to fit teaching in around

raising my own kids. People always want lessons when your own kids

are out of school.<g>

I now have one horse, Oliver that I've had since he was a baby. I

show him in dressage (1st level... he's perfectly capable of showing

2nd at this point, but things have slowed _me_ down a lot over the

last year with my RA) and also as a hunter. I was getting him ready

to start eventing, but then the RA hit, and while I still feel very

confident jumping in the ring, under controlled conditions, I am

afraid of a crash going cross country at this point. I have a

second horse, Dillon, who I ride some, but is mostly my son's horse

at this point. He's just a little Appaloosa " tanks " that will take

anyone anywhere. He's evented and done some low-level dressage too,

before I got him, and I suspect my son will start his eventing

career on him. I'll have to live the X-country stuff vicariously

through him.<g>

I was dx'ed with RA last Jan., and it's been a tough year. The

folks here are excellent moral support, but for me, especially

Kathe, because she " gets " how important horses and riding are in a

person's life. Fortunately, the Rheumatologist I had from the

beginning until recently was very supportive, and really wanted me

to keep riding as much as possible. I had to switch

Rheumatologists just last month, because mine moved away, and I hope

the new one will be as supportive. I've only met him once, and

there was so much to talk about that we didn't spend much time on

the specific challenges of riding with RA.

When things were really bad in the beginning, the rheumatologist

hooked me up with an occupational therapist who just happened to

also be a therapeutic riding instructor. While I'm not anywhere

NEAR needing therapeutic riding,<g> she was invaluable in helping

me find easier ways to do various things with hands that were

suddenly much weaker, and often stiff and sore. She has also been

really supportive about keeping going, even with the RA.

I have really found that riding (though I don't know if I could do

more that a couple of horses in a day right now) is not nearly the

problem as a lot of the " around the edges " stuff. Cleaning tack is

wicked on my hands, as are a lot of buckles. And my feet are really

badly affected, so walking around at a show is brutal. (which is

largely what has kept me home this year) It's cold here now, (we're

in N.E.) and Oliver was just clipped. So I decided to free lunge

him for a bit before I rode this morning, just for safety sake. I

probably would have been better off just riding through any

sillies... just following him around the ring with the lunge whip

was enough that my feet are KILLING me tonight.

I've also got both horses to where they know to stand really close

to the mountin block for me to get off as well as on. (something

that might be more of a challenge with client horses in training<g>)

Ican't possibly mount from the ground at this point, and my feet are

bad enough that jumping off is something I don't want to even

contemplate. Both are really good about me sliding down really

slowly if I have to dismount onto the ground, but between the

prednisone, NSAIDS and Mtx, I bruise so easily I make a mess of

myself every time I have to get down that way.

Anyway, this is getting very long. Welcome to the board. Sorry you

have to be here, but glad there's another horse person to share

our " woes " with.<g>

P.S. I think there are a couple of photos of " my boys " in the photo

section.

>

> Hi Marsha, and Welcome!~

>

> This group has done me much good over the years, and I

> am sure that you will be benefitting from it

> immediately as these caring people let you know that

> you are not alone. And Happy Birthday to you!

>

>

>

>

>

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