Yesterday I spent four hours with a friend totally focusing on ME. My friend is taking a class on homeopathy as part of her courses towards becoming a naturopath and her assignment was to complete a homeopathy intake and figure out the best remedy for me based on my answers. Since this was my friend's first time of taking an intake, it took about twice as long as it will once she is more experienced. However, wouldn't it be nice if all of our physicians spent two hours getting to know us as individuals before making life changing decisions with us? I always felt like I was just another RA patient with my rheumatologist rather than a complex individual that may follow many of the same symptoms of others with RA, but with my own unique makeup. In a homeopathy intake everything from your physical complaints to your childhood fears to your current spirituality to to the temperature you like to eat your food to your sex life are factored into the remedy. I love this! I love that your whole being is considered in the remedy because in reality, I believe our whole being - fears, emotional pain, physical pain, loss, joys, beliefs, etc bring us to where we are in our disease. In a few days to a couple of weeks I should know what remedy my friend has chosen (time depends on when she can talk with her instructor) and hopefully additional information on why she chose that remedy. Then I can decide if I want to try it or not.
Since a homeopathy intake is so detailed and personal, it is draining. After four hours of thinking and talking about myself, I was exhausted. At first it was also a little awkward sharing so much information about myself. But, my friend is someone that I confide in often anyhow and someone that I trust completely, so that helped. I did tell her that she will have to send me some answers of her own now so that we can even the score!
And now for the good news. For the last year I have had this rather large cyst like thing growing on my wrist. My chiropractor believed it was related to how I digest fats. The good news is while following the Body Ecology Diet, which focuses on how you digest fats, the bump/cyst has magically disappeared.
Lastly, I have a question for my RA readers. When you have a joint that is in pain, does it help to massage it lightly or give it a deep, hard rub? I have found that when I self massage my knee it is painful at first with deep massage, but within minutes it feels so much better. I tried the deep massage on my shoulder the other day and it worked wonders. My friend said that is something to consider in the remedy and asked if that is true for most RA friends because the pattern of a disease is also considered in the remedy. (Yikes! So many things to consider for one individual remedy.) I haven't heard many people talk about self massage so let me know. Does deep massage or light massage feel better on your joints?
For me, it depends on the intensity of the flare. If it's a "light" flare, gentle massage is soothing, though it doesn't affect the length of the flare. If I'm having a bad flare, though, where the joint is VERY painful, I can't bear ANY touch, let alone massage or, holygods, DEEP massage.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad, however, that it works for you, Katie. I guess this is another example of how individual RA is. We all react differently.
Have a great weekend!
-Wren
Wren,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. I appreciate it. Cathy
Kathy, for me during my recovery period spasms it has to be fairly heavy followed by a light rub!
ReplyDeleteVery light massage - somethings just caressing, basically, helps me a lot. Sometimes it's the actual movement that is involved, and sometimes it's just knowing that someone is touching me. I think that counts for a lot.
ReplyDeleteThat said, just this past Thursday while at physical therapy, my therapist decided to work on my hands and forearms. When she got down to my wrists, she (and I) realized that they were out of place. Normally I wouldn't want anyone to attempt to massage them back into place, but it's more than obvious that she knows what she is doing, and within a few minutes of focused massage my wrists were moving much more smoothly.
It depends on the intensity of the flare, and also the particular joint, for me. My wrists are usually the worst, and when they are really hurting, I don't want to touch or even move them. Sometimes even the feeling of my sleeve against my wrist causes excruciating pain.
ReplyDeleteWith knees, elbows, and the other "bigger" joints, though, I find that deep massage can sometimes be very helpful.
You amaze me at how much work you put into....well....you and your health. I think it's wonderful!!
ReplyDeleteSherry