I have read lately a lot of hoop-de-la regarding implants and joint replacements, and how they may be the cause of compromised immune systems. Being a 51-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis, this became a concern to me when facing my first knee replacement surgery.
Although many people seem to have suffered the onset of their immune system issues following some traumatic event, whether that be emotional or physical, I’m not sure if there isn’t some underlying issue that goes way back into our childhood, that was quite possibly seen as normal at the time.
When I was a young girl, probably only around six or seven years old, I remember sitting on the curb at Disneyland crying because my ankles were so sore that I couldn’t walk anymore. While all the other children ran from ride to ride from line up to line up, my dad was carrying me on his shoulders. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to have fun like the other children, I was thrilled to be in Disneyland, but my little ankles just couldn’t handle the stress of walking. My whole frame was tiny, I was underweight too, my mother even worried that I would be a thin spindly child and later on, a thin spindly young adult as she was. However, the strain still remained. It wasn’t until later in life that I looked back while talking to my mom, thinking wow, this rheumatoid arthritis was probably there looming, way back in my childhood. And I wonder how many other people, also have just not forgotten the tell-tale signs of Rheumatoid Arthritis during their childhoods.
Going back into my medical history, even as far back as into my childhood, answered many questions for me. I would always see the kids jumping off the stage in our school gym in elementary school, thinking how can they do that? If I would have done that, the pain in my feet would have been excruciating. But with a child’s mind, one doesn’t question why is that child able to do what I can not? I only accepted it as my normal.
Or, when I needed more sleep than my friends, I just assumed that that was just me, my sleep clock was just different than others.
When I got mono for the second time we just assumed that maybe my immune system was a little low.
Or when I got chicken pox for the second time, we assumed that I must not have gotten a full round of chickenpox the first time to inoculate my body.
It just isn’t something that we normally think about. A seven-year-old with Rheumatoid Arthritis seems ridiculous. Even though doctors did multiple blood test to check to see if I had Leukemia or some other immune deficiency, they never thought to check me for Rheumatoid Factor. Then again, as those of us with Rheumatoid Arthritis know, you don’t necessarily even have to have Rheumatoid Factor to have Rheumatoid Arthritis. It’s a complicated disease.
I too have had many surgeries, including a hysterectomy. My body has undergone many taxing situations. Situations that according to articles could have all started the beginnings of an unawakened Rheumatoid Arthritis.
So before choosing to shy away from moving forward from getting implants following radical surgery from cancer etc, maybe it’s important to really go back in time, over one’s medical history, to make sure that Rheumatoid Arthritis wasn’t always lurking in the background. After all, there are so many issues that can spur on a Rheumatoid Arthritis flare. I know that even an emotional upset, can bring on weeks of pain. I would hate to see someone avoid such an enhancement surgery that could change their life, solely based on the idea that it could cause RA or bring about a flare when it is already existing in their body, and some other small trigger could bring it about only weeks later anyway. Even pushing myself one day at yoga or having a family dinner can do that.
My purpose for writing this is to question whether we prevent ourselves from repairing our weak dysfunctional parts in order to avoid the onset of Rheumatoid Arthritis, that may already be there sitting dormant. One needs to really weigh out the consequences of living without those improvements and what emotional or physical repercussions one may need to ensue.
Do your research. Ask yourself those important questions. We need to fight and avoid this disease, but in doing that we need to keep on living. We need to keep on loving ourselves. We have to hang on to the fact that we can still be functional, attractive, motivated to live our lives. For most of us, our Rheumatoid Arthritis symptoms come and go, heighten and lesson, but the way we feel about ourselves can be a heavy treacherous cloud ever-increasing, knocking us down even more than are RA does. It can be the difference between staying in bed or getting out of bed and facing the day.
So Choose Wisely. Weigh your options. Dig deep into who you are and what makes you who you are… And then follow your heart.