stress

[Guest guest]

does anyone know how stress is related with RA? am going thru alot

of stress right now. my father in law is in bad shape he most likely

wont live much longer. right now i am holding alot in for my hubby

and family. i am doing alot of stuff for them.thanks guys. sessymama

[Guest guest]

I own my own business and am constantly under stress. I rely heavily

upon tourists and this summer is the worst I've ever had so under

more stress than usual. I have now idea how it affects my RA. It

seems to make no difference in my life if my day or week is going

real well or not. Sorry I couldn't help more and very sorry your

father-in-law is so sick.

Good luck and God Bless,

Jay

> does anyone know how stress is related with RA? am going thru alot

> of stress right now. my father in law is in bad shape he most

likely

> wont live much longer. right now i am holding alot in for my hubby

> and family. i am doing alot of stuff for them.thanks guys. sessymama

[Guest guest]

On the medical level I don't know how stress affects RA. I do know, in my case only, stress increased the pain. I've had so many surgeries it seems I've lost count. Each surgery was serious; most were life saving. In most all cases they brought with them a list of after-effects; some being those of joint pain, another new site of pain, or the addition of bone with gnarly teeth gritting shooting pain. I've gone the physical therapy route to no avail. They watch me and shake their heads. They try and it doesn't work. I try so hard to work, to exercise, to even crawl my fingers up a wall, or move my arm up high enough to comb my hair, I cry. I have found - in no uncertain terms - stress played a major role each time. I took the ball in my own hands as far as the stress thing went (to the best of my ability) and I do feel better, although people who know me do know there are times I hurt badly. I do my best to keep a realisitic outlook, yet look at the brighter and lighter side of things too.

You know, I watched, as my mother with her Parkinson's disease slowly got worse and worse. She taught me a lot of things. One of them I likened to Mohammed Ali when he said "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee." Mom fought Parkinson's by stinging it and then floating during the in-between good times. It was the hardest thing ever, watching as Mom slowly ebbed away, yet her spirit and love of laughter remained. She floated. She stung. She lived two or three GOOD (for her - for us) years longer than any doctor thought. She left this earth floating. I have no idea if you understand what I'm saying.

You cannot rid yourself of the sad, sad things going on in your life at this time. You can, however, when you remember, go outside, breathe in the air, look at a blade of grass or a smile on a child's face -- you will be floating, if even for a few minutes. Gradually, dear woman with more than RA pain, you will float for longer periods of time. You cannot stop the progression of your father-in-law's life ebbing away. You can put yourself in the place you belong. At nearly the highest rung of the ladder. When you think of things with regard to your family, think of the good things. Please don't dwell on the bad, even though you nearly can't help it. If possible, write your feelings and pain, anger, despair down on paper. Then write all of the good things in your life. Talk about healing!

Put on upbeat music. Sometimes stress leads to depression and progression of pain. Maybe it's time to start floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee. And get angry at the position you are in, right now, today - it's okay. Do write it down. Give it away. Don't keep it. I do know you feel you are up against a brick wall. I only know of one miracle worker, and that's certainly not me. Remember, sweet lady, there is laughter behind the eyes of your husband, your children and family, and smiles on their faces; if not now, think about the smiles that were there, for they will return.

And most of all, remember to give yourself nearly the highest rung on the ladder. Draw the picture of a ladder. Put names and things on all positions they belong on each rung (this includes your RA.) At the very top put your higher power, whomever it is. Next is always you. Without you directly under your higher power, you've begun your slip down the rungs of the ladder. I've been at nearly the bottom rung - and believe me the climb up each rung was a battle. But, by golly, I now float under the very top rung. And I will "Float like a butterfly and sting like a bee." Even while gritting my teeth - even while crying in sadness for others.

There is another way to think of it, and I'm not quite sure I'm quoting this correctly, but "When facing a difficult task, think of it as going after Moby Dick and take along the tartar sauce."

Someone said, "All you can do is the best you can." May God Bless you and bring your father-in-law peace. Your husband and family peace. And you more peace and less pain.

n

I own my own business and am constantly under stress. I rely heavily upon tourists and this summer is the worst I've ever had so under more stress than usual. I have now idea how it affects my RA. It seems to make no difference in my life if my day or week is going real well or not. Sorry I couldn't help more and very sorry your father-in-law is so sick.Good luck and God Bless,Jay> does anyone know how stress is related with RA? am going thru alot > of stress right now. my father in law is in bad shape he most likely > wont live much longer. right now i am holding alot in for my hubby > and family. i am doing alot of stuff for them.thanks guys. sessymama

[Guest guest]

Hi Connie

Sorry to hear you're having a hard time of it at the moment. My first and only major relapse was brought on by working 10-12 hour days 6 or 7 days a week for months. I ran myself into the ground and paid a very heavy price, eventually got signed off work because I couldn't really walk anymore.

Anyway, regarding this being an exacerbation - do you have *new* symptoms? I think a true relapse is new symptoms appearing, rather than old symptoms flaring up. Certainly overdoing it in almost any way will cause a flare up of old symptoms, but this isn't necessarily an exacerbation, or relapse.

I'd be disappointed to hear that you'd developed new symptoms while on LDN, but I suppose if you're really running yourself into the ground, the action of LDN could be greatly reduced or stopped. When I'm run down I catch all the colds I come into contact with etc... this would imply that my immune system was weaker at that time.

You don't need me to tell you that you need to work less hours is you're suffering like this. I hope it's possible for you to change your hours a bit, and also hope very much you feel better soon.

Good luck

Matt

-----Original Message-----From: CK Connie King (1452) [mailto:connie.king@...]Sent: 18 June 2003 16:46low dose naltrexone Subject: [low dose naltrexone] StressHas anyone experienced the impact of extreme level of stress while on LDN?Lately, I feel that I'm worse than ever with my walking, balance, etc. Butthe past ten days straight, I've worked 8 - 10 hours days and right now, Ican't get even a yard without my walker. I guess I should assume thatit's an exacerbation, just as they occurred before LDN, and that I'llgradually improve. THoughts?

[Guest guest]

I thought my daughter, , would have replied to this post.

Since she didn't, I'll tell you her experience. She had been on

LDN, 3mg, for quite a while when she started what was like her old

exacerbations. She call her pharmacist, Dr. Skip in Boca, and he

suggested she increase to 4.5 mg. Neuro approved and her " attack "

resolved itself in a couple of days. She's had some MAJOR stresses

and some LONG work hours since, but has never had a relapse. She

still will have weakness and some old disability flare-ups when she

pushes herself way to hard. Cutting back pushing herself physically

and a little rest take care of this. BTW, she's been on LDN for

over 3 years and Prokarin for 3.5 years.

> Has anyone experienced the impact of extreme level of stress while

on LDN?

> Lately, I feel that I'm worse than ever with my walking, balance,

etc. But

> the past ten days straight, I've worked 8 - 10 hours days and

right now, I

> can't get even a yard without my walker. I guess I should

assume that

> it's an exacerbation, just as they occurred before LDN, and that

I'll

> gradually improve. THoughts?

[Guest guest]

I so agree with JB! I like that 6 feet under analogy. In my line of work (I'm a professional musician), stress is just part of the daily routine. But I remember that what I do isn't brain surgery and if I miss by a little bit, no one will die. And in the end, what we do is to give pleasure and transport others away from stress in their daily life. And you can't do that if you are stressed out yourself. It also helps to be older (mid-40's) when you've been through some tough times and you're at a point in your life when you really don't care what others think about you (except those closest to you, of course). This is good for me to remember because tonight I have a big solo thing coming up in front of a couple thousand people. Oh well. It's not brain surgery, right?

[Guest guest]

the fatigue does become very depressing. but so will your life if you totally give up all of something that you enjoy. perhaps you could arrange with the school to take fewer classes over a longer range of time under the circmstances. talk to your school councelor before making any drastic moves. hoping the best for you.. love.. granny lee

----- Original Message -----

From: snowdrift52003

Subject: Stress

What life changes have you folks made to minimize stress? Has it been difficult to give things up? The reason I ask is because I started a master's program and had a challenging class last semester. I had to do a final group project with some classmates who were only available on week nights, so we had about 6 sessions of meeting from 5:30-9:30 p.m. (after a day's work); the whole thing was exhausting and of course it was hard to keep up with my homelife with that going on.I felt worse physically than I ever have (though adrenaline got me through). So...I'm assessing whether I want to continue with school in light of my physical health. I would be sad to give it up. I'm taking the next semester off to think about it and to rest. Thoughts?Sierra

[Guest guest]

<<tonight I have a big solo thing coming up in front of a couple thousand

people.>>

Excellent! Give generously of your music, and have fun!

JB

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[Guest guest]

I understand completely!

I was in a Ph.D. program but had to drop out because it was too much

for me. I am so not a quitter and hate the fact that I just couldn't

work and got to school. I worked really hard to get my Master's but

I just can't go any further. At least not right now. Your body may

be telling you something and you need to listen.

Good luck,

> What life changes have you folks made to minimize stress? Has it

been

> difficult to give things up? The reason I ask is because I started

a

> master's program and had a challenging class last semester. I had

to

> do a final group project with some classmates who were only

available

> on week nights, so we had about 6 sessions of meeting from 5:30-

9:30

> p.m. (after a day's work); the whole thing was exhausting and of

> course it was hard to keep up with my homelife with that going on.

> I felt worse physically than I ever have (though adrenaline got me

> through). So...I'm assessing whether I want to continue with

school

> in light of my physical health. I would be sad to give it up. I'm

> taking the next semester off to think about it and to rest.

Thoughts?

>

> Sierra