hi andrew...thanx 4 the welcome. words cant express what it means 4
me 2 be able to write with someone about what im going through...:)
Its weird that for the 1st time I am able to cry about
my "disease"... every time I would think about my PA and wanted 2
cry..I would shove it in and not let myself cry... i feel better
already knowing that there is a site about PA and that im not the
only person in the world that has it :( u say u are doing better,
and I am really glad to read that...:) thanx again 4 the welcome :) -
-Lorena

--- In Psoriatic-Arthritis@yahoogroups.com, "Bergerson, Andrew S."
<bergersona@u...> wrote:
> Hi everyone.
>
> Let me also welcome those who are new to the group. It is not
always active, but a nice place to come when you are in pain:
physical or mental. I joined the group last summer when the pain was
the worst and my spirits the lowest. Just finding a place to talk
about this with others who understand-that it is NOT a cold-was a
great help. It is also great to learn from the experiences of
others, though I am often moved to tears to read some of those
experiences (like yours, Shirley!) I agree, also, that many doctors
do not know precisely what to do with PA or understand its many
variations, and we can often suffer the consequences. I empathize
with all the young people, like Lorena, who are faced with this
disease. At 38, I am somewhat older than 20 :-), but I also feel
cheated by this disease. My father just got diagnosed with it too:
he has the inflamation in his ankle and toes, so he can no longer
jog; and the psoriasis is spreading; but I have been dealing with it
for 9 years already. So it is useful to turn here to people who
understand what it is like, but as I have learned with my wife, it
is also ok to turn to people who love you. This seems like a lot to
throw into a young relationship, and your friend/partner may or may
not be able to handle it, and it is certainly not the way we want to
go through life; but your friend/partner may come through for you.
In the end, the PA is part of who we are, as much as I often need to
look at it like an alien invader.
>
> That all said, I personally am doing better than usual at the
moment. I had been taking celebrex and hydrochloroquine; they are
trying me on an oral gold treatment that seems to work. My case is
technically mild because I do not face the deformations and
inflamations that seem to plague many others; yet that seems to
underestimate the pain involved. And the colon doctor has seemed to
find the right drug to keep my IBS under control without losing my
ability to see. The oral gold has a risk of diahhera, but I will
take that over the pain if necessary. I actually woke up on sunday
morning and, for the first time in over a year, imagined practicing
tai chi again. The pain in my feet used to be so constant that I
could never even imagine standing in one position or moving slowly
for long. I was so surprised that the pain was not there that it
took me a while to remember what it was like to be normal. So for
me, I feel like I found a small oasis in the desert. I hope to stay
here for a long as I can. I hope that those of you who are in pain
might find your way here for a while too.
>
> yours
>
> Drew
>
> History Department - UMKC
> CH 205
> 5100 Rockhill Road
> Kansas City, MO 64110
> 816-235-5728 (-5723 fax)
>
> "Never underestimate the power of the Dark Side."