Author Davee Jones

My Medicated Mid-Life Humira- Injection #3 Today, I spent 30 minutes on the treadmill. I even jogged some during my more motivating songs. I logged approximately 2 miles. My right shin hurt on occasion during some foot strikes on the faster paces. Not enough to make me stop though. I also had to stretch my arms behind my back and retract my shoulder blades when it felt like my upper body was “balling up”. But, it’s been probably a year since I’ve been on the treadmill, and certainly at least a year since I jogged. I felt liberated from the bonds my disease had placed upon my body. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t one hundred percent, but, I’m learning to live with small goals and accomplishments. The Humira isn’t a miracle drug. I took the injection on Friday evening. Saturday, I woke with a slightly sore throat and fatigue. Sunday, I woke up around 3am with body aches. I took  Etodolac , an NSAID drug, and went back to sleep. I had a full day on Sunday at o...

My Medicated Mid-Life Baltic Amber Beads         Scrolling through Facebook, as I waste many minutes of my life. I found something NOT wasteful of my time. A Facebook friend asked about Baltic amber beads for her teething baby. Now, I’d never heard of such a thing, and me being the curious sort, and this friend having some pretty cool ideas, I decided to do a little research. Turns out, this Baltic amber could alleviate arthritis and carpal tunnel pain. HMMM…really? I found several sites to choose from, and finally settled on a website based in Dallas- my ‘hood. Baltic Essentials.Com “When you wear Baltic amber, and its primary substance, succinic acid, comes in contact with your skin, trace amounts of the oils are released and are absorbed into your body.  As Amber warms against your body the succinic acid is absorbed into your bloodstream which facilitates pain relief.” This has my attention. I take enough meds that any...

My Medicated Mid-Life Growing up, nothing scared me more than needles…well, maybe Bigfoot, but, I saw way more needles than I saw Sasquatch. After living with RA, fibromyalgia, and whatever else my autoimmune system decides to attack, pain became a greater fear. Well, maybe not a fear, but, it became dreaded and interfered with living my life. So, after trying a few meds that didn’t work i.e. methotrexate, leflunomide, plaquenil…my rheumy and I discussed biologics. So, I started on Enbrel. Hoping for success to mimic a pro-golfer, I agreed and quickly I received my first prescription. But, I had to inject myself…with a needle…to get the Enbrel. Well, crap… Now, at this point in my life and treatment, needles are a normal, routine part of existence for blood work, and flu shots, the occasional steroid boost to eliminate a nasty flare. I became accustomed to someone else administering the needle. It was my turn, and it freaked me out. Now, I’m not prou...

My Medicated Mid-Life There’s nothing more humbling than taking a child’s pose in yoga. For real. I mean, taking a break in a yoga class seems like the wuss way out. But, today, I had to do just that. Take a child’s pose. My feet were cramping up something horrible during balance poses. My hamstrings stretched crankily, balking when I folded over. FROM THIS     My eagle had landed. Pun intended. TO THIS In class, I was torn between feeling so much joy that I was there, at least doing what I could and crying because my body wasn’t cooperating. At moments, I felt like I was failing in a world I use to govern. A few years ago, I pushed myself, doing just a few more seconds in plank, running a few more minutes, lifting a stronger weight. Now, I’m lucky to sweat. I relish when I sweat. I’m ecstatic when I sweat. I’ll repeat what I said last week: “I try to remind myself to perform at least gentle stretching exercises every day. Living with RA and...

My Medicated Life I figured it out. I want to someday wake up like those women in the mattress ads on TV. So full of life and vigor, they boldly greet the day, challenging negativity with a spewing bottle of champagne, or a run across town. Simmons Beautyrest Commercial Opposed to how I receive the morning, rolling into the fetal position, fearful of what will hurt worse. I wish I could sit up tall giggling, leaping out of bed like Mikhail Baryshnikov , now that’s a goal. Instead, I look like some kind of cross between a peg legged pirate and slug. My mind immediately filters to the day before, scouring what I did to make fill-in-the-blank hurt, i.e. my shoulders, arms, back, you name it. I know I pulled something the day before, and my muscles and joints remind me with a reckoning. No joke, sometimes, it was something as simple as carrying in grocery bags, yoga poses, or even moving unassuming household items around.   I try to remind myself to perform at l...

Good morning!   I’ve decided to use my blog not only to writing, music, and other facets of entertainment, but, also to share my journey. I’ve had significant health problems for over three years. Initially, rheumatologists diagnosed me with systemic lupus (SLE), Sjogren's Syndrome, and fibromyalgia. However, none of the earlier prescribed medications provided any relief. Actually, I kept getting worse and developing new symptoms. So, after second, third, and fourth opinions, I finally found a wonderful rheumatologist, B. Rezazadeh in Plano, Texas. She determined through exam, medical history, and blood tests I have Rheumatoid Arthritis. (I test positive for ANAs in my blood, and also had a positive Vectra DA test.) Thank you for listening, each week I will have a new installment chronicling my journey- Which is sometimes more frustrating learning to live with this chronic condition.  Learning to live with the unknown has become my routine.There are several variet...

Ahoy Fellow Fathomers...My life took a turn a few years ago when I became sick and started a quest to find out what was wrong. Several doctors, tests, and what seems gallons of blood later returns the result as Rheumatoid Arthritis, commonly referred to as RA. Swelling between thumb and first finger web RA frequently attacks more than joints in the body. According to rheumatology.org : What is rheumatoid arthritis? Swelling below my ankle bone RA is a chronic (long-term) disease that causes pain, stiffness, swelling and limited motion and function of many joints. While RA can affect any joint, the small joints in the hands and feet tend to be involved most often. Inflammation sometimes can affect organs as well, for instance, the eyes or lungs. The stiffness seen in active RA is most often worst in the morning. It may last one to two hours (or even the whole day). Stiffness for a long time in the morning is a clue that you may have RA, since few other arth...

Ahoy Fellow Fathomers! This week our group writes to the word prompt, "nail". Would Marty ever change his mind?  From Steal My Heart, book 4 WIP from The Fantasy League series. “Good Lord, young lady, you sure make me feel my age.” “Yeah, old man, whatever, mid-life crisis years are still well ahead of you. Today is attributed to couch-itis.” The fifteen mile bike ride through an expansive nature preserve winded both of them. However, Sharlyn would never admit the truth. No breeze, the bright green leaves still in the heating, humid air, the day proved to be another hot one. “C’mon big brother, I’ll buy you an ice cream.” Suddenly, it occurred to Marty he hadn’t had ice cream, since, well, the last time with Lola. “Ice cream?” “Yes, you know, the frozen sweet stuff that adds pounds to your gut.” Recalling their goodbye, when she rejected him, she wouldn’t leave with him. She didn’t want a relationship. They were better suited as friends, blah blah blah. ...

Hello everyone... Living with autoimmune disease is a challenge.  I have RA and Sjogrens. The maddening part is sometimes the day brings a new challenge I didn't expect. Take Saturday for example, my body went into full-on itching powder craziness. I have a high allergy level to trees, weeds, grass, some pet danders, mold, well...you get the picture. Because the same processes that attack allergens also wreaks havoc with the auto-immune system. I also have neuropathy and a loss of sensation. Which I realize is an odd combination when I have the horrible itching, but, my skin lacks sensation. Huh? The itching is like an inside out hives, imagine deep under the skin all of a sudden, a thousand chiggers invaded. You try and try scratching to get to the source. but, you can't. Well, I sat in a tub of epsom salt and warm water trying to soothe achy tired muscles and joints. Then, I began scratching the insatiable itch. Here's the result, and I didn't know this w...

1/15/2014 I’ve decided to use my blog not only to writing, music, and other facets of entertainment, but, also to share my journey. I’ve had significant health problems for almost three years. Thank you for listening, periodically, I will have a new installment chronicling my journey- A DIAGNOSIS A LONG TIME IN THE WORKS Hello, Fellow Fathomers, I appreciate your kindness, inspiration, and support. As many of you know, I was initially diagnosed with SLE, systemic lupus, almost two years ago. After that, a specialist further tested, and revealed no signs of lupus. Another doctor believed I had fibromyalgia and Sjogrens Syndrome. Now after failed medications, not getting better, developing migraines, gaining almost 40 pounds, peripheral neuropathy, change medications, new medications…it’s a lot folks. But! I finally have conclusive blood results. I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and Sjogrens. I don’t know much about RA, I know the autoimmune disease, Sjogr...