Clinically Diagnosed

[Bishka]

Wow---I didn't realize you had arthritis. *hugs to a fellow sufferer* Do you mind my asking what kind?

Not sure. It was a college doctor who diagnosed me with it, so they didn't tell me much. I get it when REALLY cold, and in my knees, finger, and ankles horribly.

Do you know what kind that is?

 

[ayani]

Not sure. It was a college doctor who diagnosed me with it, so they didn't tell me much. I get it when REALLY cold, and in my knees, finger, and ankles horribly.

Do you know what kind that is?

i have that as well, though not as severe as you describe. rheumatoid, maybe?

winter's difficult, i know. :hug:

 

[Hope]

Not sure. It was a college doctor who diagnosed me with it, so they didn't tell me much. I get it when REALLY cold, and in my knees, finger, and ankles horribly.

Do you know what kind that is?

Like gracie said, it could be rheumatoid. Cold weather, or sharp changes in weather, definitely affect my joints. But I believe weather affects other kinds of arthritis as well. Is there any swelling or tenderness in your joints that are affected? Usually, that's what indicates it's rheumatoid. Sometimes my joints swell to nearly twice their size, when I'm having a bad flare-up. I would find out what kind it is, if possible. If it's rheumatoid (which I hope it isn't, for your sake), you might need treatment of some sort. It's not a disease to take lightly. Is there anything now that you take for the pain?

 

[evearael]

i have that as well, though not as severe as you describe. rheumatoid, maybe?

winter's difficult, i know. :hug:

My baby sister's been diagnosed with arthritis (not sure what kind) and I suspect I have it as well since our symptoms are the same--fun! Similarly, she shows the symptoms of one of my heart issues, but she refuses to get tested for it.

...and there is also PTSD which I've been avoiding dealing with...

 

[Bishka]

Like gracie said, it could be rheumatoid. Cold weather, or sharp changes in weather, definitely affect my joints. But I believe weather affects other kinds of arthritis as well. Is there any swelling or tenderness in your joints that are affected? Usually, that's what indicates it's rheumatoid. Sometimes my joints swell to nearly twice their size, when I'm having a bad flare-up. I would find out what kind it is, if possible. If it's rheumatoid (which I hope it isn't, for your sake), you might need treatment of some sort. It's not a disease to take lightly. Is there anything now that you take for the pain?

I take Tylonel, because I do not want to take anything stronger (just because I'm trying to get pregnant).

My mum had rhemuatoid at 19, so that's probably what I'll be getting, unfortunatley, it runs in my family, as does breast cancer, diabetes, colon cancer and mental illness.

 

[ayani]

My baby sister's been diagnosed with arthritis (not sure what kind) and I suspect I have it as well since our symptoms are the same--fun! Similarly, she shows the symptoms of one of my heart issues, but she refuses to get tested for it.

...and there is also PTSD which I've been avoiding dealing with...

ach. get her tested. my father was the same d*mn way. never got anything checked out, never saw a specialist or took any advice. he was of the "i'm fine, leave it, i can take care of myself" mentality. i hope your sis gets tested, Evearael, but i know it can be a pain trying to get someone stubborn to check into their health.

the PTSD is a b****. taken me ten, twelve years to get alot of stuff out of my system. but it is possible, and do-able. it's your own battle, and unfortunately what others do to you becomes part of that battle you didn't ask for. do this at your own pace. it takes a while, it's a process, but little by little it gets lighter.

 

[Hope]

My mum had rhemuatoid at 19, so that's probably what I'll be getting, unfortunatley, it runs in my family, as does breast cancer, diabetes, colon cancer and mental illness.

Ouch. I hope things turn out better for you!

Well, if you do have rheumatoid, I'm here if you ever need someone to talk to, ask questions, etc. It's been my long-time companion.

 

[Hope]

My baby sister's been diagnosed with arthritis (not sure what kind) and I suspect I have it as well since our symptoms are the same--fun! Similarly, she shows the symptoms of one of my heart issues, but she refuses to get tested for it.

...and there is also PTSD which I've been avoiding dealing with...

:hug:

 

[Bishka]

Ouch. I hope things turn out better for you!

Well, if you do have rheumatoid, I'm here if you ever need someone to talk to, ask questions, etc. It's been my long-time companion.

Thanks April. :hug: You are too kind.

 

[Snowbear]

Is there or has there been anything that you have been clincially diagnosed with?

A couple of messed up discs in my back. One herniated, the other ruptured and degenerated.

How has it helped you (or not helped you) in your life?

Got me surgery for the herniated one - HUGE improvement with complete alleviation of the neurologic sysmptoms and a significant amount of the pain. It also allowed me to keep doing my firefighter job.

Eventually I'll probably have a disc replacement on the other one, but the first surgery helped so much that I can deal with the pain from that one a bit longer...

How would your life be different if you didn't have it?

Less physically painful.

I would probably be diagnosed with PTSD and depression if I ever went to a doc for it. Instead, in the last 6 months or so, I've found that by not only praying, but living by:

Phillipians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.
7 And the peace of God which passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
​

I have found Peace with God. Finding this undescribable inner Peace has not cured my depression, but it sure is making it a bit more possible to plug along through life... It's also allowed me to forgive the person(s) who caused the PTSD.... which has been a burden lifted in a different way...

 

[standing_alone]

the PTSD is a b****. taken me ten, twelve years to get alot of stuff out of my system. but it is possible, and do-able. it's your own battle, and unfortunately what others do to you becomes part of that battle you didn't ask for. do this at your own pace. it takes a while, it's a process, but little by little it gets lighter.

If you don't mind me asking, is there anything special or specific you do to help deal with PTSD? I wasn't really told about things I could do to help it, I was more just told to take my meds (and since I don't take meds anymore, I can't really do that).

 

[ayani]

If you don't mind me asking, is there anything special or specific you do to help deal with PTSD? I wasn't really told about things I could do to help it, I was more just told to take my meds (and since I don't take meds anymore, I can't really do that).

yeah, no one ever tells you really what to do. save for a medication regimen.

what has helped me is writing. remembering things and writing them down. not things related to the trauma- re-hashing the event itself isn't what i want to do. but writing little things i remember about life before the event, little details about what i felt and saw afterwards, that helps. even little pictures like "i'm sitting in the back yard, i'm looking at a little pile of leaves, i'm feeling empty" and going with what that feeling brings back. what feels empty, and why? how is it related to the trauma? what can i do to address that feeling, and what is out of my control? my mother has said, we're still the same people we were __ number of years ago. part of me is still ten. part of me still feels the things i felt at ten. those feelings and ways of seeing and connecting don't really leave us- they are still a part of our psyches, and they can also be tools that we can use to reflect upon how we're dealing in the present.

 

[standing_alone]

yeah, no one ever tells you really what to do. save for a medication regimen.

what has helped me is writing. remembering things and writing them down. not things related to the trauma- re-hashing the event itself isn't what i want to do. but writing little things i remember about life before the event, little details about what i felt and saw afterwards, that helps. even little pictures like "i'm sitting in the back yard, i'm looking at a little pile of leaves, i'm feeling empty" and going with what that feeling brings back. what feels empty, and why? how is it related to the trauma? what can i do to address that feeling, and what is out of my control? my mother has said, we're still the same people we were __ number of years ago. part of me is still ten. part of me still feels the things i felt at ten. those feelings and ways of seeing and connecting don't really leave us- they are still a part of our psyches, and they can also be tools that we can use to reflect upon how we're dealing in the present.

I think I kind of understand you. So I got to try to remember things before whenever event caused me to develop PTSD? And write them down? Guess it sucks my memory is crap. Ha ha.
What sucks for me is I'm not sure what event in my life is responsible for the PTSD (I have my ideas, but I don't really want to talk about them with councilors to figure out which it is, I just avoid them). I don't even know if the stuff I experienced was really that bad. This crap is so confusing. I wish it wasn't so complicated. Maybe my diagnosis is wrong?

 

[evearael]

Minimizing your experience is not a healthy coping mechanism. I highly recommend The Courage to Heal. It really helped me identify and connect various bits of my experiences and how they affected me... and once identified it's easier to work through. I've come far on my own with minimal therapy, but I still have so far to go... and I REFUSE to take medication. That said, I just don't feel like dealing with it right now, so I'm not. I'm just focusing on the present and building up a good reserve of happy memories to help me through. I know I can't avoid it forever, but it just is so intense I need a break now and again. If I focus on it for too long, I feel like I'm suffocating, which is somewhat literal with the panic attacks it brings...

 

[standing_alone]

I highly recommend The Courage to Heal.

I've heard that that book was criticized, basically, because of a false memory-type deal, if I recall correctly. I don't quite recall the specifics of the criticisms.

 

[ayani]

I think I kind of understand you. So I got to try to remember things before whenever event caused me to develop PTSD? And write them down? Guess it sucks my memory is crap. Ha ha.
What sucks for me is I'm not sure what event in my life is responsible for the PTSD (I have my ideas, but I don't really want to talk about them with councilors to figure out which it is, I just avoid them). I don't even know if the stuff I experienced was really that bad. This crap is so confusing. I wish it wasn't so complicated. Maybe my diagnosis is wrong?

no, of course you don't *have* to, no. it's one thing that is helping me, that's all. and again, no one's trauma is like another's. the incidents may be scattered, blurry, hard to remember, or there might be one big thing that sticks out. Evearael suggested a great book- "The Courage To Heal". i've read through it, and while my trauma was not sexual and while the book is aimed at survivors of sexual abuse, the book's insights into memory, experience, trauma, and the confusion of PTSD are incredible. i hear you on the question of "maybe it wasn't that bad", cause i ask that, too. pin pointing what things or impressions you associate with the trauma might be helpful- and writing some of that down might be a way to focus on that.

here's wishing i was better at describing this stuff. :help:

 

[standing_alone]

I've heard that that book was criticized, basically, because of a false memory-type deal, if I recall correctly. I don't quite recall the specifics of the criticisms.

Ack! I didn't mean to come off antagonistic. I will try to look into the book! Thanks for the recomending it!

 

[evearael]

I've heard that that book was criticized, basically, because of a false memory-type deal, if I recall correctly. I don't quite recall the specifics of the criticisms.

They are probably referring to parts which say you should go through the process if you are exhibiting symptoms even if you aren't entirely sure it happened... that doesn't apply to my case so I ignored it. I really think a therapist or psychologist would be necessary in that case to help sort things out.

 

[standing_alone]

They are probably referring to parts which say you should go through the process if you are exhibiting symptoms even if you aren't entirely sure it happened... that doesn't apply to my case so I ignored it. I really think a therapist or psychologist would be necessary in that case to help sort things out.

Ah, I see. Thanks. I guess it will be confusing for me because I don't know if what happened to me even constitutes sexual abuse. But perhaps, regardless, I can still get something out of the book. Thanks for recommending it.

 

[Snowbear]

here's wishing i was better at describing this stuff. :help:

Actually.... you're doing just fine :hug: