We all struggle
From Beth Axtell, research communications specialist for the Arthritis Foundation:
I liked your blog entry – here’s a response from me:
Like you, I have been struggling with changing my lifestyle. Actually, I succeeded in changing my lifestyle, but I’ve been slipping back into old habits lately. I know exactly what I should eat, I know exactly what kind of exercise program works best for me. I know what I need to do to feel good. But, life throws curveballs and there are decisions to make about priorities.
Spend an hour after work helping my daughter with her homework or go to the gym for an hour? Who’s more important my daughter or me? Spend Sunday afternoon baking cookies with the kids – a wholesome family activity – but one that results in cookies being available for consumption (a temptation I am not able to forego). Have date night with my husband (which usually involves dinner and a glass or two of wine) or skip date night because I shouldn’t have the rich food and alcohol. Play pirates with my son or do the laundry, or scrub the toilet, or go grocery shopping, or go for a run, or make a healthy dinner – or forget it all and load the family in the car and go out for pizza and ice cream.
I know, I know. There are compromises I could make. I could help my daughter with her homework then go to the gym after she goes to bed at night. Rather than baking cookies with the kids we could prepare a salad together (that’s likely to happen!). Spend time with your husband at the bookstore rather than out at dinner. Sometimes it all just gets to be too much work.
Some days I wonder if it would be better to ease the burden off of myself and live my life a little more fully. On my deathbed, will I regret that I was a size 12 rather than a 6? Maybe it’s better to have a glass of wine in the evening or a few cookies with the kids – enjoy my life rather than being ferociously dedicated to my health regimen. Will it make it worth it if my health program – with its quadriceps strengthening exercises, fat-battling cardio and joint-aligning foot orthotics – prevents me from developing painful OA or diabetes or heart disease? Where is the balance? Can someone tell me exactly what weight I need to be or exactly how often I need to exercise or just how many cookies I’m allowed to eat?
posted by DRSiegfried @ 1:55 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Today choices and future choices. Boy can I relate to that. I am a 42 year old mother of two just getting ready to celebrate finishing my first year of diagnosis. I've always been impulsive so I choose to do the things with the "people" in my life rather than the lifestyle management work I know I need to do to manage the disease.
As for future choices, I wonder using all my "gas" now will leave me empty later physically. Nothing worked for me med wise until I got enbrel/mtx and when I have had to go off it for illness, I can see that my body is teaming with RA just waiting to get out of control.
My doc said I would never have my life back. And she was right. I don't. But I have enough of the good to survive.
It's been one year on Dec. 7th. In that year I've had one day where I felt like my old self and had the energy and stamina to charge through life like the old me.
But it's a day. And I've had at least 30 since August that I feel about 85 percent.
Yes, we have choices to make. I know RA is usually companioned with other nasty diseases, so I don't wait. I'm charging every day I can!
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