New Year, New Hope, New You!

How to cope with the cold, post holiday stress and daily activities*

*I have not a clue. No idea. There's no handbook, no coach, no social worker, and certainly no doctor that can tell you how to deal with winter and your autoimmune disorder. My form of arthritis, CPPD, deposits calcium crystals in all my joints in my body.

CPPD used to be called pseudogout. Mainly because crystals form like gout, but those are uric acid crystals. And like gout, it is extremely painful at times, making my joints stiffer with any amount of sitting. 

I don't know about you, but it is exhausting to be constantly battling these demons possessing your body. All the while, trying to get the things that need to get done in life. Cleaning up after the holidays can be especially challenging to those of us hampered by these painful forms of arthritis. 

But we push on, we persevere. What is the alternative? This is the third winter I have faced with this painful chronic arthritis. My doctor sent up all these warnings that I have to get on this medication or that, otherwise I will pay in my ability to move and damage to my joints. 

I have chosen not to take methotrexate, or any other biologics. In fact, if I had started when he recommended, I would have felt better. Because I did feel better this summer with the warmth and my regimen against this tough opponent.  Better is of course relative, and there were some tough times.

But I was able to travel, bike and exercise fairly regularly. 

Ah but then came the fall winds, then the cold air slipped in, chilling my toes and hands. I have chilblains disease, which is an offshoot of Raynauds Syndrome. The blood doesn't get to your extremities making my finger tips cold. But my poor toes show the effects of chilblains. Blisters form because when the toes do warm, the blood rushes back, bursting blood vessels on the way. 

Oh how I love winter.

So what do we do? Especially when there is bone chilling cold to go along with your exercise plan, plus all the other daily crap. 

New year, New Hope, New Doctors

I don't know anyone that likes to go to doctors, and your rheumatologist may be your best friend, or excruciatingly frustrating. If you are like me, you seem to think they are guessing and throwing the latest medications at you. 

So I did it, I left my doctor in search of one that was close, but in the same Yale Medical group. So when the 30 day head and chest cold just kept staying I went to Dr. V. in New Haven. 

First off, he got rid of my cold. I got antibiotics and by the time I was done with the regimen, the cold was gone. Being healthy is important when you have a chronic pain disease. But then he turned focus on my "allergies". Dr V took me off my claritan and now I use nasonex. 

Poof, gone. When my arthritis flares, it is usually accompanied by bad allergy type symptoms. Believe me, any improvement is one thing off your plate!

Then he switched my Celexa for Cymbalta. Take it in the morning he said. I was really flaring so I thought I'd give it a try. I won't take anything that makes me tired and then try to go to the gym. 

Nothing. No real side effects. For me, it makes me feel a little you've had a bunch of coffee, but other than that I have no reaction to it but the positive effect.

About 2 weeks into taking Cymbalta, my joints stopped flaring. I got more energy and felt like I get more restful sleep. And Dr V. wants to wait to see what I do on this regimen, before the next steps.

So far so good!

I hope that this New Year, if you battle a chronic auto immune disease, you can find some peace and relief.

Sometimes, you just have to break of out what was not working and say, What the &*#@!

Happy New Year

and 

Keep up the good fight!

Bart Connors Szczarba