Arthritis Wisdom

Inspired tips and information elevating autoimmune living

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RA Best Practices

office where RA Best Practices come from

The conference room where a company’s Best Practices are determined. Of course, I am the manager of my RA, so my RA Best Practices are determined most often in my easy chair or even driving in my car!

RA Best Practices

As you know I am a pharmacist.  I work in a psychiatric specialty pharmacy and my primary job is to check bubble packs, prescriptions and bulk medications filled by our technicians.  We have a bar code system that helps insure accuracy, which is of utmost importance.  I provide the last check before the item is dispensed and I am all about Best Practices.

What is Best Practices you may ask.  A great question.  Best practices are simply the best process to do things.  They have been worked out through trial and error, and are found to be the most accurate and efficient way to proceed to deliver a pharmaceutically elegant product and/or service.

So I was having a friendly chit-chat the other day with someone from my Pilates class.  We were comparing how our bodies were feeling after the suspension of our class for many weeks.  She seemed to be doing whole lot better than I was.

Well, I then shared how I’ve been doing a lot of weeding in my garden and confessed I wasn’t using RA Best Practices.  I was doing way to much bending over and not enough sitting on my padded gardening mat.

Yes!  That is the exact terminology I used to describe my method of gardening.  RA Best Practices.

So what specifically is an RA Best Practice?

It is, of course, the best process to do things since my rheumatoid arthritis (RA) diagnosis.  The process has been worked out through trial and error to be the most accurate and efficient way to prevent further stress and irritation on my joints.

Just to let you know the process may or may not be the most efficient way of doing something literally, but in the end it is most efficient to preserve my joints.

Let me explain.  When doing a task going up and down stairs, I will be sure to do so by consolidating all I need to do upstairs before going downstairs to limit having to use the steps more often.  Using the stairs too much tends to stress my joints.

But, as I do tasks on one floor I am not at all efficient with my tasks, intentionally.  I want to stretch and move around and that helps me to do so.

Yes, it seems a bit strange, but it makes sense to me and my body feels and moves so much better when I stretch it and keep on moving.

My family has learned not even to ask what I’m up to because of my unique and nonconventional approach to living!  It is my RA Best Practices!

That is what I am sharing with you on this blog.  The things I have learned and discovered to help manage my RA.  And also to preserve what is functioning and working well!

And that is using Arthritis Wisdom!

XXOO Cathy

photo credit: Benjamin Childs from Unsplash

 

 

 

From Space Discovery to Immune System Discovery

Space discovery is fascinating like immune system discovery

Space discovery and exploration is fascinating just as immune system discovery is.

From Space Discovery to Immune System Discovery

We are anxiously awaiting another manned space launch scheduled today from Kennedy Space Center.  There is nothing like a launch to get my imagination revved up.

Because of this anticipation, I’m thinking about a recent phone conversation with our son.  He is an aerospace engineer researching rocket propellants.  He does advanced imaging of propellants for his thesis.  I guess you could call him a radiologist for rocket fuel.

The topic of this chat was all about the challenges to safely make a trip to Mars.  Fascinating.

After hanging up from the conversation I was struck by his passion for exploring the unknown.  The desire to solve problems.  Go where no one knows what is there.

But because of MY passion my thought process shifted to the discovery of the immune system.  From the vastness of outer space to the intricacy of the microscopic immune system.  Fascinating.

Because of my rheumatoid arthritis (RA) diagnosis, I spend a lot of time reading about the immune system.  It is personal and I desire to get this problem solved.  Knowing the power of our mind, my initial thought was to visualize my body fighting this disease successfully.  My rheumatologist, a leading researcher at the time, responded to the idea with, “Where do you start?  It is so complex.”

Why this matters:

Because the cause of RA is the immune system gone awry and attacking your own body tissues, it makes sense to understand the workings of the system.  That is a tall order.

The book titled An Elegant Defense  by Matt Richter, a New York Times bestselling author, describes the immune system in a wondrous way by using the medical situation of four individuals to explain it.  Although something is amiss with my immune system, I want to support all that is going right with it.  That is where my *FRESH*™ strategy comes in!  Helping my biologic manage the disease.

How this applies to RA treatment:

The drugs used to treat RA that actually modify the disease course are called DMARDs (disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs).

An article authored by Onecia Benjamin; Pankaj Bansal; Amandeep Goyal; Sarah L. Lappin titled “Disease Modifying Anti-rheumatic Drugs (DMARD)” best describes the mechanism of action of DMARDs as follows:

“Each DMARD has a unique mechanism of action ultimately interfering with critical pathways in the inflammatory cascade. Methotrexate, for example, stimulates adenosine release from fibroblasts, reduces neutrophil adhesion, inhibits leukotriene B4 synthesis by neutrophils, inhibits local IL-1 production, reduces levels of IL-6 and IL-8, suppresses cell-mediated immunity, and inhibits synovial collagenase gene expression. Other medications in this class serve to inhibit proliferation or cause dysfunction of lymphocytes. Leflunomide inhibits dihydroorotate dehydrogenase resulting in inhibition of pyrimidine synthesis hence blocking lymphocyte proliferation. Sulfasalazine mediates its anti-inflammatory effects by preventing oxidative, nitrative and nitrosative damage. Hydroxychloroquine, on the other hand, is a very mild immunomodulatory agent that inhibits intracellular toll-like receptor TLR9.

Biologics, on the other hand, are very selective in their mechanism of action. The overarching functions of biologics include (1) interfering with cytokine function or production, (2) inhibiting the “second signal” required for T-cell activation, or (3) depleting B-cells or inhibiting factors that active B-cells. Tofacitinib is a small molecule inhibitor of JAK, a protein tyrosine kinase involved in mediating cytokine signaling.”

All these pathways are in some way a part of the immune system.

So, as I await the launch of the Spacex rocket to explore outer space, I am thinking about all the brilliant researchers exploring our microscopic immune system to advance RA management.  Both fascinating!

 

XXOO  Cathy of Arthritis Wisdom

photo credit:  Spacex

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Six Simple Spa-like Self Care Tips While Sheltering at Home

Spa-like Self Care Tips

Six Spa-like self care tips to bring relief to your soul during the Coronavirus Era…and beyond.

Six Simple Spa-like Self Care Tips While Sheltering at Home

Help!  Spa-like Self Care Tips, please.  My joints are telling me I’m stressing and I don’t like it.

These are highly unusual times.  This weirdness won’t last forever, but for now the undercurrent of stress is a part of social distancing and sheltering at home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Dr. Seuss

Be who you are and say how you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.

So realizing I was stressing about being stressed I’m taking Dr. Seuss’ advice to say how I feel and go about taking care of myself.  Especially because I have rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and stress can cause major problems with managing the autoimmune disease.

The coronavirus, or any infective for that matter,  is concerning to those of us with an autoimmune disease because our natural immune system isn’t working totally as designed.  It is working in overdrive in one way or another.  With RA, it is working in overdrive attacking the joints.  Many of us are on medications to treat our autoimmune that suppress our immune systems.

Nobody can tell by looking at me that I have RA.  Unless I’m not moving so well or my hands are not working, it isn’t evident I have an autoimmune disease.  So it is up to me to best keep myself safe and care for myself.

Of course, my family and friends know this and do what they can to help protect me.  But, I am the one living with RA and I know all too well what it does when not under control, so I’m the one motivated to stay well.

Because we are sheltering at home and only leave to get essential items, this spa is pretty bare bones and simple.  That in itself makes it a good thing.

Here are my Six Spa-like Self Care tips to bring relief to your soul during the Coronavirus Era:

  1. Soothing Bath.  Of course, a warm soak in the bathtub is number one!  It legitimizes getting away on your own to relax.  I have a favorite verbena foaming bath product I bring out.  You may want to add a cup of epsom salts to the bath water, if you have it around.
  2. Reach Out and Call an old friend you have been thinking about.  There is nothing like catching up with an old buddy.  Connecting with those that have meaning in our life is uplifting and feeds the soul.
  3. Movie Time.  I personally like the feel-good-happy-ending type.  Or a flick that is hilarious, or one that just warms your heart.  Hallmark channel comes to mind.  (Charlotte’s Web is one of my favorites from when our son was a little guy.)
  4. Reading.  Give yourself the A-okay to read that novel you’ve been putting off.  I like to read inspirational literature.  Once again, food for the soul.  These are times to enjoy simple, basic, and comforting thoughts.
  5. Hot Cup of Tea or Flavored Coffee.  Morning coffee can be made special by adding a shake of cinnamon to the grounds.  A cup of herbal tea in the evening can be very relaxing.  The warmth as it goes down can soothe the soul and feel so comforting.
  6. A Splash of Fruit Juice to Sparkling Water.  My favorite is a splash of cranberry juice to my sparkling water.  And if I have some fresh cranberries in the freezer I float a few!  It is happiness to watch the berries bob around as I drink the water!

These are very simple, but kind of right for a time such as this.  And when the Coronavirus Era is history, they will be good to remember and use when the soul needs to be soothed.

I’d love to hear your suggestions.  In the meantime, stay safe and healthy!

And that is using Arthritis Wisdom!

XXOO  Cathy

photo credit: Unsplash