Lived with RA as an Athlete since 1983
Hi RA family,
I am new on this forum. .I have been living with RA since 1983, most of my adult life. Just started a blog site to share my experience, information and reflections inspired by my life with RA. Don't give up! I am currently an endurance athlete and race outrigger canoes. I know RA affects each of us in different ways and each of us respond uniquely to "treatments". Currently I take Enbrel and it has been very effective the past 15 years. My inflammation is relatively controlled. Comparatively, Enbrel is a "low-risk" drug that has agreed with me. One of my intentions for a blog site is to shine light on living with RA and to give hope to those who have recently been diagnose and likely feel overwhelmed. I am interested in hearing from you.
Check out my newest blog post: http://www.itsaboutthriving.com/ouch-6-lessons-worth-sharing/
With compassion, Priscilla McKenney
Hi Priscilla,
Thank you for your post and for sharing encouragement with the community. Your blog looks very interesting, and I can certainly agree with your 6 tips for living with RA. I am a lifelong athlete as well, going on two decades of cycling and acrobatics. Like you I move everyday, and try to stay as fit and strong as possible since it really helps preserve the body, joints, and mind. Unfortunately in the first 6 months of RA, permanent damage occurred in my left foot, but through custom fitted cycling shoes and trial and error I have found that I can still stay on the bike. I wrote a post for this site about some of the extra difficulties of being an athlete with RA. Perhaps it will interest you. https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/athletics/At the time I wrote the post, bike racing was just too much, but since then I have had a successful winter of training with a few weeks of RA related setbacks, and am ready to go for it this year. Good luck with the outrigger canoe racing, that sounds really fun! I'm very glad to hear you have been able to keep at it and are going strong. Best — Michael (Rheumatoidarthritis.net team member)
