We Get It Too

[Guest guest]

Hello All!

I posted a message 2-3 weeks ago about Joining Forces...Joining

Members of your site and mine. I am not trying to sway your

allegance, I just want to get the word out to YOUNG ADULTS who have

ARTHRITIS, that we are NOT ALONE in this!! Which is one of the many

purposes of the site.

A majority of our members have Rheumatoid Arthritis and I am sure we

could all benefit from each others thoughts, ideas, stories, etc...

I have included several other links that you might find useful as

well as a Tracking Log (located in the " Files " ) that may help you

find trends in your disease. I have put a sample of one months

worth of my data so you can see how it works. Also, check out the

POLLS! It is very interesting to see what is going on with others

that have the same disease.

Here is the Group Name and Address:

Young_Arthritis_Utah

young_arthritis_utah/

I hope you get a chance to check it out!

Take Care,

Karin

[Guest guest]

Dear Karin, thanks again for writing. I went to your site, but couldn't

get the tracking log to work, unless I join. I don't mind joining another

group, but I am turning 50 next June. So I sort of feel like I'm almost too

old for your group. I've had PA or RA, depending on which doctor you talk

too for over 5 years, and Fibromyalgia for over 15 years. Let me know if

you think I'm what you are looking for...lol. I totally understand about

wanting young people in your group, since this is thought of so often as a

" old person's disease " .

Thanks again for asking. Sincerely, Fran

----Original Message-----

From: klt_ra [mailto:klt_ra@...]

Sent: Friday, November 05, 2004 6:51 AM

Subject: [ ] We Get It Too

Hello All!

I posted a message 2-3 weeks ago about Joining Forces...Joining

Members of your site and mine. I am not trying to sway your

allegance, I just want to get the word out to YOUNG ADULTS who have

ARTHRITIS, that we are NOT ALONE in this!! Which is one of the many

purposes of the site.

We have a few members that have Psoriatic Arthritis and I am sure we

could all benefit from each others thoughts, ideas, stories, etc...

I have included several other links that you might find useful as

well as a Tracking Log (located in the " Files " ) that may help you

find trends in your disease. I have put a sample of one months

worth of my data so you can see how it works.

Here is the Group Name and Address:

Young_Arthritis_Utah

young_arthritis_utah/

I hope you get a chance to check it out!

Take Care,

Karin

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 11/5/04 7:52:39 AM Central Standard Time, fran@...

writes:

I totally understand about

wanting young people in your group, since this is thought of so often as a

" old person's disease " .

Thanks again for asking. Sincerely, Fran

I am glad to see that there are individuals who are striving to make known

that destructive arthritis can even affect kids. I would also commend the makers

of Remicade for attempting to make that evident through their commercials.

When I realised that the pain I had been feeling for years was quite unlike

how my friends had felt through similar circumstances I experienced several

distinct emotions. 1 No wonder it was so hard to keep up. 2.I am tougher

than

I gave myself credit for. 3 In comparasin to my piers an equivalent hardship

aint such a hardship to me. Grind on my gnarlly friends. Orin

[Guest guest]

Dear Orin, I'm glad to see you are writing and reading the emails. This

disease sucks. I know that's not a great way to put it, but it's the best

way I can describe it. I remember telling my doctor that the first day and

he was shocked that a nice 45 year old lady would use such language..lol.

If he only knew...lol.

My daughter developed severe fibromyalgia at the age of 14 and it has really

changed her life. Before I couldn't keep up with her and she was super

active. When it hit she could barely move. The good thing is she is going

to college now and plans on either being a teacher or a counselor to

children who are ill. I think she'll be great with both, so I want her to

get a double degree. (I'm not a over achieving mother or anything..lol)

Right now making it to class everyday is hard, as is sitting in those darn

uncomfortable chairs that schools are so famous for. She has arranged her

schedule so she has Monday and Friday off and only has classes in the middle

of the week. That way she can relax and get her homework done and recover

from class. She has taken a ton of classes over the Internet which is

great. It hasn't been easy, but like you she has discovered she is tougher

than she thought.

it isn't fair when kids get sick. Shoot it isn't fair when anyone gets

sick, but being a mom I really hate it for my daughter. I'm sure your

parents are just the same way. Keep up the great attitude and you'll do

just fine. I'm not going to tell you it's makes you a better person,

because I never was happy when someone told me that. It's the last thing

you want to hear when you hurt all over. Just do what you can each day to

have fun and keep on smiling. Take care and tell your Mom hello. Love,

Fran

Re: [ ] We Get It Too

In a message dated 11/5/04 7:52:39 AM Central Standard Time,

fran@...

writes:

I totally understand about

wanting young people in your group, since this is thought of so often as a

" old person's disease " .

Thanks again for asking. Sincerely, Fran

I am glad to see that there are individuals who are striving to make known

that destructive arthritis can even affect kids. I would also commend the

makers

of Remicade for attempting to make that evident through their commercials.

When I realised that the pain I had been feeling for years was quite

unlike

how my friends had felt through similar circumstances I experienced

several

distinct emotions. 1 No wonder it was so hard to keep up. 2.I am

tougher than

I gave myself credit for. 3 In comparasin to my piers an equivalent

hardship

aint such a hardship to me. Grind on my gnarlly friends. Orin

[Guest guest]

hi fran,

could you be nice and let me know what is the

difference between pa and fibromyalgia?

how doed dr. decide between the two?

does your daugter fibromyalgis has anyting to do with

your pa?

thanks,

arie

--- Fran Mishler <fran@...> wrote:

>

> Dear Orin, I'm glad to see you are writing and

> reading the emails. This

> disease sucks. I know that's not a great way to put

> it, but it's the best

> way I can describe it. I remember telling my doctor

> that the first day and

> he was shocked that a nice 45 year old lady would

> use such language..lol.

> If he only knew...lol.

>

> My daughter developed severe fibromyalgia at the age

> of 14 and it has really

> changed her life. Before I couldn't keep up with

> her and she was super

> active. When it hit she could barely move. The

> good thing is she is going

> to college now and plans on either being a teacher

> or a counselor to

> children who are ill. I think she'll be great with

> both, so I want her to

> get a double degree. (I'm not a over achieving

> mother or anything..lol)

> Right now making it to class everyday is hard, as is

> sitting in those darn

> uncomfortable chairs that schools are so famous for.

> She has arranged her

> schedule so she has Monday and Friday off and only

> has classes in the middle

> of the week. That way she can relax and get her

> homework done and recover

> from class. She has taken a ton of classes over the

> Internet which is

> great. It hasn't been easy, but like you she has

> discovered she is tougher

> than she thought.

>

> it isn't fair when kids get sick. Shoot it isn't

> fair when anyone gets

> sick, but being a mom I really hate it for my

> daughter. I'm sure your

> parents are just the same way. Keep up the great

> attitude and you'll do

> just fine. I'm not going to tell you it's makes you

> a better person,

> because I never was happy when someone told me that.

> It's the last thing

> you want to hear when you hurt all over. Just do

> what you can each day to

> have fun and keep on smiling. Take care and tell

> your Mom hello. Love,

> Fran

>

[Guest guest]

Dear Artie, Well I'm no doctor, my only knowledge comes from experience and

reading as much as I can about the subjects. So if I'm wrong on any of this

please forgive me ok? Fibromyalgia is basically a muscle disease that

doesn't damage the bones. It causes muscles spasms and knots in the muscles

that are extremely painful to touch. There are several trigger points or

sensitive areas on the body that the doctors press on to see if there is

pain. If you have enough active trigger points they will diagnose you with

fibro. Fibro also comes with other vague symptoms like, migraines, IBS

(irritable bowel syndrome), dry eyes, thyroid problems, skin rashes,

frequent bladder infections or problems, fatigue is a huge problem, sleep

disorders, depression, heighten sense of pain, and other vague problems.

It wasn't even recognized as a true disease until about 20 years ago, and

some doctors today still don't believe it truly exists since there isn't a

definite test available for it currently available. A lot of people think

fibromyalgia is a catchall for when a doctor has no idea what is really

wrong, and they just want to give all your symptoms a name.

Psoriatic arthritis, and I'm not near as knowledgeable on this disease since

I've only had it a few years comes in many forms. PA does affect the bones

and damages them. It also causes inflammation in the muscles and tendons

which is why the pain is so bad. Fibromyalgia goes along with PA a lot of

the time, but PA doesn't occur with fibromyalgia. I don't want to say that

one is worst than the other, but there is more of a chance for permanent

damage with PA. Normally with fibro, the muscles are considered healthy. PA

also comes with psoriasis normally of the skin, which can be mild or

extremely severe. There is no accurate test for PA, but since there is

actual damage and doctors can see the damage on X-rays and some test

results, they are more likely to believe that PA does exist. They are

finding out that PA can also attack the organs, and other parts of the body

similar to RA.

My daughter and I both have fibro. I'm hoping that she doesn't develop PA,

but it can be inherited or at least the tendency for the disease. They both

are immune disorders, I believe, so in that way they are similar. Right

now my daughter has her hands full with fibro, but so far she doesn't show

any bone damage that would be there by now with PA. All her blood work is

normal, which as strange as it seems is extremely frustrating to someone ill

with fibro since they want so badly to figure out what is wrong with them.

So far her disease is only in the muscles at this time. I'm praying she

never gets any worse and one day gets rid of it somehow completely. I hope

this helped. Love, Fran

RE: [ ] We Get It Too

hi fran,

could you be nice and let me know what is the

difference between pa and fibromyalgia?

how doed dr. decide between the two?

does your daugter fibromyalgis has anyting to do with

your pa?

thanks,

arie

--- Fran Mishler <fran@...> wrote: