I'm kicking off World Arthritis Day with a look back at when I really began having symptoms that made me ask questions and seek advice from my doctor. I began to put things together and wonder if different symptoms and things that I had in my childhood that were showing up again were chronic conditions. I wanted to put a name to the way I was feeling. I knew there was no way I was wearing myself out with just my normal day-to-day activities and a lifestyle of no smoking and no drugs (I'd love to say no drinking, but I was in college at the time and was experimenting with drinking beer at parties and then going to class at 8 a.m. the next morning). So If you asked me when my onset of my autoimmune arthritis symptoms were, I would have to say that when I began college is when my body really started going crazy! I remember that during this time, I had several severe kidney infections. I had a staph infection that somehow decided to land in my outer ear and earlobe. My ear became double its size and filled with fluid. It was like all the poison was waiting to take over my body! I began having severe stomach problems. I always had problems with my skin. The next year, I had mononucleosis and missed an entire semester of school. I never got out of bed. I basically slept through a semester of my Sophomore year.
Then, my Junior year, I was hospitalized for unexplained fever, joint pain, and abdominal pain. Of course they found nothing. Figures.
Although I had been dealing with symptoms and vague chronic pain issues since I was a young child, my general health began to go down hill when I started college. I went to four years of college, and with each year that passed, my health became more challenging. I went to college from 1993 to 1997, and I sadly have to admit that during that time, no doctor was able to pinpoint what was wrong with me. Each doctor just thought there were many small things happening in clusters at the same time, which made it seem a lot worse than what it actually was. I began college when I was turning 18. I was still just a child! I didn't realize the importance of knowing my childhood medical history. It would have helped with a much quicker diagnosis. I wasn't diagnosed with my autoimmune arthritis until later as an adult because I didn't know all the details of my childhood medical history. It turned out that I had Psoriatic Arthritis, which led to a later diagnosis of Psoriatic Spondylitis or Ankylosing Spondylitis. It depends if it is in addition to the PsA or a part of the PsA. I was also diagnosed with Sjogren's and EDS. My diagnoses were not made until between 2002 and 2004. If I had known that I had Psoriasis as a child, that my mother also has Psoriasis as well as my brother, the diagnosis may have been made when I was a young child. Instead, I didn't seek a doctor to give me a diagnosis until the 90's, and it took nearly a decade to diagnose me.
There is a huge debate right now over whether or not being over weight can lead to autoimmune arthritis. No, it can't! It is that simple. There is plenty of information out there people. Read it! Osteoarthritis is different from autoimmune arthritis. Osteo is caused by the overuse or wearing down of the joint/connective tissue. Autoimmune arthritis is when something in the body causes the body to attack itself! It depends on what type of autoimmune arthritis it is to know what part of the body will be damaged.
I get very upset when people talk about moving your joints to keep them in shape or from getting arthritis. Don't be overweight and you will avoid autoimmune arthritis. These are terrible ways to educate the public about autoimmune arthritis. Moving the joints to keep them from being stiff can be helpful even for those with autoimmune arthritis, but it will not prevent autoimmune arthritis from forming. If it is in your body's make-up to have the autoimmune disease, then it will be done. Period. There are some myths floating around out there about weight and autoimmune arthritis. I just want to set the record straight so that all know; being over weight cannot cause you to get autoimmune arthritis!
My numbers: 85-18-36!
Please post your story of your onset of autoimmune arthritis in the comment part of this blog. Stress how you feel about weight and its affect on autoimmune arthritis. Also, post your numbers if you know what they are. And since we are on the subject of our numbers, if you know what I am talking about, please post your numbers as your facebook status, on twitter, and ask others to do the same.
Thank you all so much and enjoy World Arthritis Day!
Here are some links with information you may be interested in:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20812050
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7986867
http://rheumatology.oxfordjournals.org/content/50/3/450.abstract
This should be an exciting day for Autoimmune Arthritis…thank you in advance for your participation!
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