Shameless plug...

 Buy Tickets to Rock Party II for March 9th in Long Beach CA My twin son Kevin (above) and his bro Tyler's band will be there.  They are called Revolt With Reason. !!!  You can go running during the day by the Queen Mary :) :)  Then go back and listen to one of 75 bands that will be there from 11 am to 2 am.

AS far as running.....

I'm  accept the challenge :)   .....  to run one mile a day EVERYDAY in March click on link below...

https://www.facebook.com/events/613387078678652/?fref=ts

WHY?  just because


Who's in ?  :)  :)

Sorry, just realized, I haven't written "my first symptoms" post yet like I said I would.  I will get to it.  I know when I first was diagnosed , I was very interested in hearing about other people's firsts symptoms of RA and how they were finally diagnosed.

Most likely get this done by the end of the week?

Getting sleepy fast.... fading...

good night again,

Marie

Good Evening.

Workout Today:  3.1 miles/treadmill at 5.0 to 5.5 mph
Pain scale during workout of 10:   4
Pain scale after workout:   1


Frequent Stretching seems to help me get through the workout...

Whenever I start to hurt while I run on the  treadmill,  I stop by putting my feet on either side of the belt, stretch my back, hamstrings, calves and rotate my ankles.... that helps me get through the workout.

Bought new running shoes...

Shoes are such a big thing when you have rheumatoid. I 've had 4 surgeries on my feet and two of where they removed "Rheumatoid Nodules" (tumors). I have very little padding left on the balls of my feet.  So, I usually wear Asics with a "hard gel" insert.  This seems to work for me. 


But this time I am going to try a pair of Nike.  They bend real easy, and are lighter weight.  We'll see. I'll take a picture of them and post it sometime this week along with a review.

"Keep on, keeping on" 


Goodnight :)

Marie



I will think about what I can do, not what I cannot

STUDIES, STUDIES, STUDIES.... for what they are worth.......



HERE are some rheumatoid and exercise studies I promised (hard to find ones just on running and RA) so here is what I came up with....

Here is a 2011 study (somthing more recent)...

concluding that

"Conclusions The present group-based exercise and educational program for people with RA had a beneficial effect on aerobic capacity but not on muscle strength, health status, or self-efficacy"

　

http://www.physther.org/content/91/6/879.abstract

For those of you who love the water...

A 1995 studied RA patients in the water on a bike and running and it states that you can achieve the an exercise level necessary for the "aerobic training affect" in the water. Which means improved cardio fitness. :)

http://www.physther.org/content/76/10/1058.short

A 2007 study stating strong evidence suggesting that exercise fro low to high intensity of various modes is effective in improving disease related characterisitcs and functional ability in RA patients.

http://rheumatology.oxfordjournals.org/content/47/3/239.abstract


Good bye......

"I will think about what I can do, not what I cannot"

Wow I need to use spell check!

Hiked up to the Aqueduct yesterday with the hubby. 

One straight climb up hill. Did about two miles.

We decided to walk this one and it was tough to slow down and smell the roses (or the flowers on the cacti in our case). We both have this belief that we are NOT doing anything for ourselves unless we RUN.

We will get over ourselves ha ha!

Wow, you wouldn't believe how green Joshua trees can get.  It was beautiful. We saw a panoramic view of the Antelope Valley.   Breathtaking!  Good for the soul. 

My dog Buttons loved it too.


Regarding ENBREL:  Hope it is not wearing off... woke up in pain last night in my hands and shoulders.  Somehow, the pain resolved by morning.





Random pic of my boys band who played in Hollywood at AMPLIFY last year.....

Revolt With Reason..

Well, I made an appointment for the "gait analysis" at Sports Chalet an hour away from me.

I was about 3/4 of the way there when I realized I might be a little late.  I phone the store to let them know and they told me...

"well are gait anlysis machine is broken... you will probably have to wait until March 3rd"............"

just thinking...
gee thanks for telling me..

ugh!!!



Random pic... Son Kevin's first day at college :)

Good morning peeps. : )  : )

Today's subject: FEET! 


SHOES!:  I just rec'd an e-mail from Sports Chalet on a "Free Gait Analysis".  "In 15 minutes a running expert takes you through a gait analysis process to uncover your running style" that will help enable them to recommend the best shoe for your gait." 

This is something I always wanted to have done!  So I will be calling them today to make an appointment.  I may video tape my visit if they allow me to and I will post it here so you all can see what is all about.

MY FEET HISTORY (haha)   I've had FOUR surgeries on my feet.   One to re-align my bones from a previous horse riding accident when I was around 12 years old (never healed correctly) also a bunion. 

The second one was because I DIDN"t listen to the surgeon and wear the "ortho shoe", so I stepped on my boys' Lego and it hurt so bad that I put my weight on my post op foot and knocked the pin out of the bone.  So it was back to surgery for repair.

The 3rd surgery was because I felt a marble sized growth inside my foot. Turned out to be a RHEUMATOID Nodule (Tumor).

4th surgery was another rheumatoid nodule and neuroma (where your nerves bundle up and become one painful lump) removed from my other foot.

I am left with minimal padding on my right foot which had the 3 surgeries.

I am very fortunate to have the Podiatrist that I have.  :)

It's chilly here in the High Desert 30's.... hope everyone is keeping warm!

Random picture below...

Below my sister Theresa (She's a doctor :))   and my Mom who is 81 years old has all her teeth, no hearing aid, and no glasses!!  Isn't she beautiful?! :) :)

5 K on treadmill despite back pain.  Back pain went away after stopping.  Felt fantastic afterwards and able to handle stress at work tonight.  :)



Next post, when I have more energy, I will write the story of my first symptoms and how I was finally diagnosed with Rhuematoid Arthritis.  I am writing this to help people who may not know, or if or suspect that they may have RA.



Random:

Below random pic of my hubby finishing the 5 K at the Santa Anita Derby Day 5 K last year 2012.

Good night for now. :)

Thursday my shoulders hurt.  Ran on treadmill at 5.5 mph for 30 minutes and 4.0 mph for 6 minutes.  Completed just over a 5K.  :)

Wondering if Enbrel causes weight gain. ???   Up 10 pounds since starting it despite running. 

I eat healthy for bursts at a time.  1 week  I eat healthy then 3 days I do not eat healthy.  Need to get my buttunia in gear and eat more healthy. :) 

Just figuring out this whole blog thing.  Wondering how I can post pics.

THIS WEEKS GOAL: By next week my goal is to look up medical studies on rheumatoid and running as an exercise. I will post my findings.

PHILOSOPHY:  1)  The more you DO the more you can DO.  :)

                            2)  Do not look at what you can't do , but what you CAN do.  :)  (this means to me..... if I can't lift my arms one day then I walk, if I cannot walk one day then I do arm exercises)


Today I can run :)

For those who are curious....


My Medications:  Self inject Enbrel once a week,  Vicodin on occasion for break through pain. 


Past Medication I've tried:

NSAIDS:  Due to the fact that I thought I would be a "bad person" if I used narcotics.... the first 3 years after being diagnosed, I used different NSAIDS for pain including... Motrin, Naprosyn, and Toradol .......  Well, because of the NSAID use////  my kidney function has gone down ... so now I am unable to take NSAIDS for pain :(  I learned those so-called  "harmless" and "better than narcotics" over the counter and prescription medications CAN damage your kidneys. (A risk I knew about but never thought it would happen to me).

PLAQUENIL: THE first medication I was given after RA diagnosis, seemed to work at first then it stopped working.

PREDNISONE:  It was a love/hate relationship with Prednisone as I know the side effects of its use, but nothing can take away the inflammation and pain like Prednisone. It is like a deal with the devil.
It took away my pain, gave me energy I never knew I had, but gave me personality changes, I became very moody, angry at times,  and high strung with much anxiety.  Not too mention the weight gain side effect.

Methrotrexate Injections:  Seemed to work at first like most medications. Then for some reason I ended in the hospital for 5 days after a 45 minute swim with Rhabdomylosis.  My liver enzymes were high, my CK was through the roof at 47,538 (supposed to be less than 170 ) and my kidney function tests were abnormal as well.    The doctor blamed it on the Plaquenil and the fact that I was on Methotrexate injections so he took me off Plaquenil and started me on oral Methotrexate.


Methotrexate (Oral tablets):  I soon became very short of breath every time I tried to run and the Rheumatologist blamed it on the Methotrexate so it was stopped.  My breathing improved tremendously!


Lovefloxurine (Spelling?) :  Can't remember but I refused to take it because I read that it stays in your body for "years"


That's it for today


Waiting for my husband to get off the treadmill so I can run :)

Have a great day  :)

RA RA Runners! 

Hi My name is Marie and I love running.  I am 49 and when I was 44 I was diagnosed with a condition where my own body attacks my joints and they become painful, swollen and debilitating. So, on any given day I was either fine OR I could not walk, dress myself or brush my teeth.  One of the first things the rheumatologist told me was I could keep exercising but the only thing I shouldn't do is run.  WHAT?!!

Of course being the stubborn person I have always been I have chose to keep on running. 

So this blog is there for those of you like me ,who do not want to give in and let the auto-immune disease ...Rheumatoid Arthritis (different from Osteo Arthritis) control your life.

5 years later I continue to run and these blogs are to motivate anyone out there that is going through what I went and continue to go through.

RA =rheumatoid arthritis

............. therefore I named this blog RA RA Runners!!!