Intro!

[Guest guest]

Hi and welcome to the club

Tema NoDoubt1920@... wrote:

Dear people: I'm Tracey. I joined last week, but I ws out of town 7 days. Just got back. I live in Chicago, I'm 40, and need to loose well over 100 pounds. I did ok with watching what I ate while on vacation. So time to get real serious. Went to St. Louis zoo and could barely walk. TRACEY 100-Plus Files page 100-plus/files100-Plus Links page 100-plus/links

[Guest guest]

Hi Tracey!

Welcome! Hope you had a great trip! I have well over a 100 pounds to

lose too.. thought it was time I get serious as well... wanna join our

group challenge? We need 1 more person! Nothing TOO difficult...

tonight I'm going to be putting us into groups of two... and then we'll

go 2 weeks to see which team loses the most weight... crowning them the

Queens of that challenge... then we'll do another 2 week period. Just

a little something fun to spice up the weight loss efforts.

Are you planing on weighing in every week or every 2 weeks... do you

have a plan you're doing... and are you planning on doing any kind of

exercise? You're not alone... its tough but we'll kick tail together k?

Shanelle )

373/360/195

~Your body will be what you make it... make the change!

> Dear people:

>

> I'm Tracey. I joined last week, but I ws out of town 7 days. Just

got back.

> I live in Chicago, I'm 40, and need to loose well over 100 pounds.

I did ok

> with watching what I ate while on vacation. So time to get real

serious.

> Went to St. Louis zoo and could barely walk.

> TRACEY

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone! Would you like to here my long drawn out medical

history? LOL I've been reading posts and it looks like we all need a

cart to carry our medical records

I'm a 34yo mom of 2 boys in the Phoenix area. My family moved to Phx

in January due to my steady decline of health while living in the

Seattle area for 8 yrs. We have no family here, but climate affects

me quite a bit (I grew up in the midwest, and have lived there,

California, Seattle, and now here). So we up and moved.

My long lead up to the present started with a cataract at age 5. It

wasn't there one year, the next it completely blinded me. It was

removed, and I developed severe iritis. Over the years that lead to

glaucoma. Multiple surgeries didn't help. So I was put on

Prednisone at age 8. At age 9, I was taken off it rapidly (these

were the days of not knowing how important tapering off was). At

that point, I broke out in psoriasis over my ENTIRE body. It was so

horrific (I was cracking & bleeding everywhere), eventually my

parents took me to the Mayo clinic and *left me there alone* for a

month at age 9 to treat the psoriasis. It helped somewhat.

While I was there, I started to get stiffness in a finger, that went

away. Then a toe, that went away. Back and forth, all around for

about 9 months. No one knew what was going on. The summer I was 10,

I had a massive full body flare up... finally diagnosed with

arthritis. I suspect the stress of being left alone for a month in a

strange place triggered the arthritis. My body was already stressed

by all these other things.

Anyway, the dx was either JRA or PA... it was never decided which.

The course of the disease would tell. I went blind in my eye that

had all the trauma at age 14... at age 23 I had my eye removed when I

injured it and it was so badly damage the pain was too severe. I now

have an ocular implant and artificial eye, and it is really wonderful

after all those years of having a painful blind eye.

My arthritis has come and gone, as has the psoriasis... periodic

remissions for no reason, periodic flares for no reason, some mild -

moderate joint damage. I've been on every drug under the sun, most

of them have made me ill. I've had arthritis for almost 25 yrs

now... and I'm only 34! <sigh>.

I'm currently on Enbrel, which worked like a miracle for several

years after my 2nd son was born, but now is only working moderately

well. Enbrel was most effective for my eyes... I pretty much have

had no inflammation since I started it, which has lead to me being

able to stop all eyedrops. I'd been getting eyedrops for 20 yrs. I

take tylenol 3 or percocet as needed for pain... I can't take the

other NSAIDS anymore since I had internal bleeding and lost an ovary

from it 3 yrs ago! I have a good rheumy who has no problem giving me

pain relief drugs as needed.

I've had joint fusion surgery on the last joint on each of my pinkies

within the past 2 yrs. My right knee is having minor osteoarthritis

issues.

Hmmmm, what else. Oh yes, the final conclusion is that I have PA,

but with juvenile onset. I haven't developed the severe damage of

JRA, and I never " grew out of it " like many with JRA do. Plus the

ever present psoriasis <gotta love it... sigh>.

So that's the whole sordid medical history

About the REST of me....I'm married to the same great guy I met in

college sophomore year. I have 2 boys, 9yrs & 5.5yrs. I was in

graduate school for library science when we decided to have our first

child (I was in remission) and I never went back. I've been a stay

at home mom for almost a decade <gulp!>. I'm at avid fiber

artist/quilter and a bookworm. I volunteer when I am able with the

Arizona Humane Society... currently I'm in a flare, so I'm fostering

a 4mo old kitten that needs to recover for 6 weeks from surgery

before going up for adoption. I can't walk the dogs or do adoptions

right now (too much activity). I'm trying to get back on a walking

schedule... it's tough to get motivated during a flare. Plus all the

kids' & house stuff takes all my energy.

Anyway, glad to be here! Hopefully many of you will relate to things

in my post, and understand some of what I've gone through.

-Marietta

[Guest guest]

Holy Cow Marietta! I think you win the prize for most astounding

medical history for what it's worth. Ya know...a few of us on here have

issues with Iritis (I'm tapering off of prednisone drops now) and for

us it came after the joint pain and psoriasis. Maybe you had PA to

begin with and just manifested the iritis part first. Maybe one did not

cause the other but it was all part of the whole. Just a thought. It

does not really matter I guess. It is what it is and now you are here

and you have survived quite marvelously from what I can see. You seem

to have a " go with the flow " attitude despite how your profile reads

and I admire that. We are all learning to make the best of what has

happened to us. And we help each other do that. Helping one another

gives us all a sort of purpose I think. Sometimes it is hard to feel

like you have a purpose when you are contantly needing help from the

people in your life. Here, we all get to be givers. I hope we can give

to you and I bet you'll be helping us out quite a bit too! -Betz

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the welcome Brent & Betz!

Yeah, my medical history is one for the annals of medicine <snort>

I have had so much " dr. stuff " in my life that I really try to

compartmentalize that off to the side and live my 'real life'. One

thing that helps is from the outside, thanks to the invisibility of

arthritis, I look pretty good. So unless I tell people why I have a

permanent disabled parking pass, or why I can't make it to a movie,

they wouldn't know. My psoriasis is limited to a few spots on my

hands, and unless they are in the peel stage, they are pretty

unnoticeable.

This is not to say my disease doesn't impact my life, my husband's

life, my kids' lives. It does.... every single day. On the days I

can't do anything... I can't. On the days I *can* I do A LOT.

I've gotten very good at being assertive over the years about my

treatment, if anyone needs support in how to demand something from

their dr, I can help! lol. I have no aversion to 'firing' a dr. who

doesn't listen, or creating a strong bond with one I love.

At any rate, I must get going, I have to make a zillion cupcakes for

my turning 9yo's birthday so he can eat some AND have enough left to

take into the classroom tomorrow. I have a baby shower this

afternoon, which will require some heavy duty pain meds to attend...

but I *will* go... a new friend here adopted a baby boy last month

(she has 2 girls of her own already).

Thanks again for the welcome Betz & Brent! I was a little nervous

when no one replied to my post after I posted it yesterday...

-Marietta

[Guest guest]

Marietta - Welcome! You may be young but it sounds like you could

teach this old dog some new and neat tricks. Glad to have you

aboard. I was just diagnosed a few months ago at age 53, but in

retrospect I can see that this has been going on since my late teens

or early twenties. I was one who had the intermittent joint and

tendon pain with no skin involvement for many years. The hands and

feet just started peeling a couple of years ago and still it took

until now for someone to recognize it as P.

How do you like Phoenix? I've visited several times and think it

beautiful.

best regards,

sherry z

>

> Hi everyone! Would you like to here my long drawn out medical

> history? LOL

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 26/08/2006 20:41:31 GMT Daylight Time,

mariettashirk@... writes:

Anyway, glad to be here! Hopefully many of you will relate to things

in my post, and understand some of what I've gone through.

Hi Marietta,

Lol Us understanding some of what you have gone through is right because you

have been through a lot more that most of us.

Welcome to the group. I am glad you found us but sorry that you have had so

many problems with your health, especially at such an early age. I was just

thinking that with me P started at the age of 23 and PA arrived 7 years later so

I have not had PA for the greater part of my life. You had already had PA for

more that half your life before I even had the Psoriasis. I really feel for

you and the others like you who had PA through childhood.

Having said that Marietta, I get the feeling you are not sitting around

feeling sorry for yourself, saying 'Woe is me!' lol It sounds like you have

dealt

with it and tried to get on with your life. A sort of................... " Ha! I

laugh in the face of pain! It cannot defeat me!' attitude. lol

It is good to hear from you. I hope the group is of some benefit to you. With

all the great people here, I am sure it will be.

Just checking to see if you have posted any more as I am a little behind as

usual.................................No Marietta, I said I am a little behind

not I have a little........................... Oh never mind. lol

I see Brent and Betz said hello. Yes, due to the administrators being busy

with their jobs, etc, or hopefully having the life of Reilly in Kathy's case.

lol the posts and/or replies can take a few hours to appear so that is all that

happened when you thought you were being ignored. lol

Regarding back pain, yes it seems to be pretty common as far as I can tell

although if I am wrong about that someone will hopefully say. I have damage at

the base of my spine and I was told that it was the PA. It doesn't cause me a

lot of pain but I always feel that if I move the wrong way I could really cause

myself problems.

Hope to hear from you again.

Take care,

[Guest guest]

Good luck with the cupcakes. Do you have to " bank " energy for

> the times that you'll need it? For example, do you refuse social

> offers just before a time when you KNOW you'll be busy with your

> children's schedule so you'll have enough energy for the occasion?

> Most of us on here are learning to save it for when we need it.

Some

> of us are better at it than others. lol. I'm learning and trying. -

> Betz

Oh my gosh YES. I'm always in that balancing act between needing to

get things done but also trying to plan out my week so I have enough

energy. I get intensely fatigued (I'm sure you know about that), so

I try and eat right, exercise (walking), and rest when I need to.

The problem is kids don't always let you rest when you need it!!

Like right now, I know I have to get through the week, and I'm in a

nasty flare, so I'm spending the time the kids are in school resting,

reading, and in between that pacing my household chores. Then I pick

them up from school, we play hard & have snacks & dinner, then

bedtime, then I collapse again.

Luckily I have 3 snuggly cats, who are more than happy to sleep next

to me while I rest & read in bed... purring like mad from a little

petting

-Marietta