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Autoimmune diseases are believed to be caused by your bodies immune system misfiring and attacking your own cells.
One of my conditions Psoriotic Arthritis is an Autoimmune condition affecting joints, tendons or any organ in the body. My condition is mainly controlled by weekly injections of Methotrexate and Entracept. Both drugs are classes as DMARD which is a disease modifying antirhematic drug. They work by reducing your immune response. This leaves you immunosupressed but hopefully with better joints.
Although I did some research on PsA when I was diagnosed I didn't take notice of stress being a factor. Its taken me a few years to realise that stress does affect my condition.
Here is the science bit. Now I'm not a doctor so this is my own interpretation. When your body faces suddenly stress the body produces adrenaline which causes a fight or flight reaction. If you are facing extreme trauma thi such as being chased by a lion this will help you escape. Your body switches off the adrenaline production as it needs to. However when faced by continual stress the production isn't turned off which affects the immune system and increases the immune response.
So let me talk about how this affects me. Since starting entracept which is a biological medication 6 weeks ago my joints have improved. The pain and swwlling has been reducing.
Over the last week we have been having a stressful event with poorly elderly parents. This has also been a really tiring time trying to work and look after them. The following photos show some of the problem.
Aologies as they aren't the best photos but hopefully they show the puffiness and swwlling in my hands and my ankles. This is accompanied by pain and stiffness throughout my body especially my back.
I am also completely fatigued. I awake up and I'm not refreshed. I just feel so tired which leads to brain fog as well.
One of my other conditions is inducible laryngeal obstruction which causes choking and severe coughing episodes due to your voice box going into spasm. Inflammation in the voice box can set off a spasm and each cough makes the inflammation worse. Although the research hasn't confirmed it is thought that this could be another autoimmune disease. This week I've had some of the worse spasms that I've had where I can't breath without coughing and each breath causes the voice box to close over. This is really scary but I know that when it happens I need to keep calm but it's hard when you're choking.
A few years ago if I was like this I'd be upset and worried at what was happening. Through the skills that I have learnt I now know why this is happening. There is no need to retreat to bed with loads of painkillers as that doesn't make it go away.
My technique is to acknowledge and embrace the pain and swelling. Panicking and fighting it seems to make it get worse. Don't get me wrong some days I just want to cry and hide under the covers.
By acknowledging the pain its easier to cope with. I also believe in mindfulness as that helps me stop and concentrate on the moment, giving a break from thinking about the pain. Walking around the garden looking at the flowers works for me as well.
Now I know the reason why my pain and swelling is going up what else should I do. Its important to kind to yourself. The source of the stress isn't going to go away in the short term. I need to be kind to my body and find small things to do that bring me joy, such as out garden. I need to be careful what I take on. Some jobs have to wait. I acknowledge that I can't do everything I want to and I remind myself often that taking a break or having a nap is good as it's helping keep me going. Eating well is also important as it's so easy when you are stressed to reach for the comfort food.
I really hope that after reading this blog you will find some information that can help you. If you want to find out more about life coa hing with myself please get in touch at angelamarielifecoach@gmail.com for a free 20 minute session.
Good luck with coping with your condition.