Venting

[Guest guest]

Well, it's about time for my annual Spring venting. Is it just me or does

it seem like most folks with any arthritic condition have more pain when the

seasons are changing? We've gone from twenty degrees below normal, i.e.,

freezing temps, to fifteen degrees above normal temps for this time of year.

I always have problems when a weather front comes in, but this is getting

ridiculous! Even with pain-relief medications that normally do well for a

few hours, now I'd have to take more than the pain clinic doctor will allow

just to get to my new " I can stand this much pain " state of mind.

This extra pain reflects itself quite readily on my face and in my speech,

causing several folks at church today to ask me numerous questions about my

condition. Usually I can smile for a couple of hours and go home for the

pained countenance. I can't hide the fact that I'm in pain any longer.

I went through old family photos of my mother recently. As her autoimmune

conditions progressed she went from a cheerful, smiling lady with a gleam in

her eye, to a sad depressed woman whose enormous pain was very obvious on

her face.

I look at her pictures before she died and I see myself staring back at me.

I'm the unlucky one, of four children, who inherited my Mom's autoimmune

response.

Well, thanks for letting me vent.

Ray in Virginia, 51, male, Reactive Arthritis/Reiters Syndrome, Sjogrens

Syndrome, Raynauds, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatique, and if that isn't enough,

Migraine Headaches.