Monthly Archives: March 2008

Low on Spoons

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Things are pretty busy here. The taxman cometh soon and we’ve had an interesting year. Our entrepreneurial nature is making our taxes extremely complicated. I’ve always done the taxes on my own using TurboTax software, but this year when it came down to the wire, I realized that things have gotten too zany to do on my own.

I’m also starting a small business, since I didn’t have enough to do after a day of work with my real job. Honestly, I’m very excited to start working on it. It’s just a little scary.

I just wanted to let you know what was going on here. My wife is hanging in there, and all is well. Her RA is terrible right now because we’re having odd weather, but that should pass soon I hope.

Hot and Cold

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icepack.jpgIn our house, we’ve got about four heating pads and at least four ice packs that are in an almost constant state of use.

For rheumatoid arthritis, heat is generally considered best to soothe aching joints and muscles, but cold is better for dealing with swelling and inflammation. My wife is often trapped in a constant fluctuation of temperatures. In many cases, I’ve noticed that cold first, followed by heat seems to help her when things get really bad. I’ve also noticed that cold packs seem to help when she’s got a headache, and heat seems to make a headache worse.

The heating pads are pretty basic. I wish they would automatically shut off after a while, though. I occasionally find that one has been left on all night. It’s also important that they have a removable cover that can be washed.

The cold packs are pretty basic, but I recommend getting a couple of big ones. They can be expensive at that size, but they are totally worth the cost. The only problem I ever have had with them is that they don’t always get put back in the freezer.

Holistic Medicine

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I’m in the middle of writing a longer post, but LupyKatie made a comment that I really wanted to discuss as its own topic.

She writes:

I have lupus and I have a very well intentioned husband who thinks that holistic medicine will cure me. Everyone tells me to that multivitamins, exercise, smoothies, will be the way! If that were the case…why hasn’t the medical doctors said anything??? My husband is very agitated that my primary doctor hasn’t recommended “natural” cures…maybe because there aren’t any!!!!!!

I have very strong opinions on this matter, which I can sum up in one sentence. Most forms of alternative medical treatments are a load of crap and are specifically designed to cure you of having any excess cash in your bank account.

Please note that some activities like yoga often fall under the umbrella of holistic medicine, and I think relaxing your body and stretching is a good thing and will probably make you feel better in the long run; however, if your yoga instructor says that yoga will cure your lupus, then that person is making a claim that is not supported by evidence.

That being said, I believe that the phenomenon referred to as the placebo effect may very well be something that is not just a psychological reaction but also a physiological process. If you believe that a treatment is helping you, your body reacts by producing chemical substances like endorphins and adrenaline that do actually make you feel better.

I share LupusKatie’s frustration. My wife has many well meaning friends that are positive that their multi-level marketing juice product or herbal treatment will cure her lupus. You may be thinking, well, what’s the harm? In my opinion, any belief or endeavor based on false assumptions that may prevent a patient from receiving actual medical treatment is harmful. If you stop taking your Plaquenil because your chiropractor says he can align your Chakra, well good luck with that. Now if you continue to follow the treatments prescribed by your rheumatologist and it makes your muscles feel better to get a massage, then that’s a wonderful thing.

Catching a Cold

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istock_000004192796xsmallr.jpgI think I’m getting a sinus infection, which really stinks because I’m already tired and stressed out. However, that’s not really a very interesting or useful topic to discuss.

What I do think is worth talking about is what we do when we are ill to prevent our immunosuppressed significant other from getting sick? My wife has enough health problems. She doesn’t need a sinus infection as well.

Here are some things we commonly do to try and keep from spreading infection.

  1. Wash your hands. This is where all the germs go for their travel needs. Those hand sanitizers are good too, but I just like the feeling of soap and warm water. Also, make sure your kids sneeze or cough into their elbow instead of their hands. It looks odd, but it helps.
  2. Don’t share. Even when nobody is sick, we have a standard rule that no one shares a cup with my wife.
  3. Buy lots of tissue. For the price of another package of cold medicine, I can buy half a dozen boxes of facial tissue. My daughter enjoys making giant snow-like mounds next to her bed when she’s sick. Cleaning this stuff up is not a chore for the immunosuppressed.
  4. Sleep on the couch. We aren’t always so good about this, but we always talk about doing it when one of us is sick.

I have just run out of tissue as I type this.