Tanya Martin
Living with Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid Arthritis Flare
Sorry I have not been posting but I have been dealing with a flare. I usually deal with more pain and stiffness in the winter months. Right now I am in California and the pain and stiffness has went down. The stiffness has been in my shoulders. My back was swollen when I got here. The swelling was visible in the muscles in my back. I would say I was at a 7 or 8 on the pain scale when I left Indiana, it dropped to a 4 after about 24 hours here and now I’m down to a 1 or 2.
Heading back to Indiana on Monday, will see how long it lasts.
Rheumatoid Arthritis Health Log
It has been awhile since I did an update. I have been feeling good, not much pain or stiffness in joints but I have still been dealing with my back. I did finally get off the Flexeril in the last week. 
I have added a this stuff called take charge that I can add to my yogurt and it gives it some crunchiness, it is a multi vitamin. I did notice there was not any Vitamin D in it so I picked up some Calcium Plus Magnesium and Vitamin D-3 from GNC. While I was there I grabbed MSM, Omega Complex and Glucosamine the non shellfish kind. A few days after starting them I noticed my back pain went down some but not all the way. I tried no Flexeril and the pain was down enough that I did not need the Flexeril, but I did need to do more stretching. I found doing enough stretches at night before going to sleep and I wake up without any pain. If I do not do enough then I wake up with stiffness so I do more stretches. It has worked so far!
Rheumatoid Arthritis Health Log
Thursday already! I did finally get to do my enbrel shot on Tuesday and I am feeling pretty good. I went for a massage yesterday and that helped with the stiff muscles in my back. I am still on Flexeril, I did try to go down to 2 pills a day over the weekend but it did get worse so I went back to 3. No other pain or stiffness going on besides my back.
Rheumatoid Arthritis Health Log
RA health log. This week I am still taking the flexeril for my back pain and stiffness. I did get 2 massages in this week and have one scheduled for tomorrow morning. I only exercised once this past week. I did get some walking around in while taking photos.
I have been preparing this past week for a trip to Europe. Tomorrow I pick up my boyfriend from the airport and Sunday we head back to the airport to head to Dublin, Ireland. Then we will attend a conference in Spain and one in the Netherlands. I know I will get some walking in and less desk time while I am gone. Good to be moving but since I won’t be online much I probably only get this blog updated once a week.
Rheumatoid Arthritis Health Log Day 93-94
Day 93-94 of my RA health log. Still doing good with no pain or stiffness. Yesterday I reduced the Flexeril to 2 pills instead of 3, so far my back still feels good. I did call and leave a message at one place for massages, I hope to hear back from them tomorrow.
Yesterday I did do 30 minutes on the Wii Fit, 1 round of boxing which is 13 minutes then a variety of stretches and other exercises. I have not done any exercise today.
Yesterday I had a latte for breakfast, Starbucks venti mocha and cinnamon swirl for lunch and a cheeseburger and fries from Steak n Shake for dinner. Today I had a Starbucks venti mocha and cinnamon swirl for breakfast and will be making a salad for dinner.
Rheumatoid Arthritis Foundation
