Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Swell…
10.18.09
It’s getting cold too quickly. Weather.com tells me that there’s a chance of snow this weekend. Aside from the annoyance that we longer have seasons (it’s October, where the heck is fall?), a long period of cold is really bad news for my joints.
Rhuematoid arthritis is a condition of heighten and chronic swelling in the joints. And I’ve found that it’s particularly sensitive to cold and elevated humidity. With my doctor, we had worked out a cocktail of drugs that had my condition pretty well managed through the warmer summer months. I would wake up with the ability to use my fingers and toes, less swollen, less painful. Cold weather, especially a wet cold, completely messes up that well working chemistry system.
I didn’t need a weather report to tell me it’s getting colder. When I wake up, I’m swollen for longer. I linger in bed because the balls of my feet hurt. Even right now, I can’t close my hands into a full first. Even if the swelling wasn’t painful, it’d still be causing lasting damage to my joints.
Damn the cold I say. Every year I tell myself I’ll move somewhere warmer. Eventually, and despite the things that keep me here, I think I’ll have to preserve my joints.
