Living with Arthritis

15 January 2009 @ 1.39pm

I've been diagnosed with arthritis since my early teens - 13 or 14 - after I started going to the chiropractor. Basically, all my joints hurt - all the time. My thumbs, my neck, my jaw, my knees, my back...

There are days when it's really bad. A couple of months ago, I had to take an emergency half day off work because I couldn't hold a pen. A couple of weeks ago, I couldn't eat because my jaw hurt so bad that I couldn't chew.

Today, my insurance agent called me and said that there's a problem with my application. I need to bring a form to my doctor and get her to fill it out. Eddie's has been approved. Mine is still pending - all because of my arthritis.

I can tell you this now - arthritis is no fun. I constantly need to move my thumbs. If I don't, they get stiff. I can't sleep in an aircon room for two reasons - my sinus and my arthritis. If I do, I'll wake up with a blocked nose and my knees and thumbs hurting.

I'm only 24 and I'm getting worried. I'm not allowed to take too much calcium because it makes me constipated (and I have enough problems in that area alone already). I can't drink milk because that gives me diarrhoea. (My God...I'm a walking encyclopedia of disease!)

What happens 24 years from now? Will I be able to move my thumbs? Will I be able to chew and eat? How can I get rid of this? Problem is... I can't.