Mark Rucker: “Adopt a healthier lifestyle”
When Mark Rucker was diagnosed in 2015 withrheumatoid arthritis (RA)at 44, he had mixed emotions. He was glad to know what had been causing the often unbearable pain in his hands, feet, jaw and toes for the past year. But, he recalls, “I always thought RA was a disease that only affected elderly women, not someone who was in the midst of training for their second Ironman competition.”
马克是肯塔基州列克星敦的一名房地产律师，过去他自称是一个“385磅重的沙发土豆”。2011年，他被告知自己太大了，不能和孩子们一起坐过山车，这促使他改变了生活方式。He traded in sugary sodas for water, cut processed sugar and addedfruitsandvegetablesto his diet, and began to walk a mile each day during his lunch hour. He lost 135 pounds, and those lifestyle changes led him in 2013 to complete his first Ironman – a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile marathon.
The following year, Mark was training for another Ironman competition when he developed pain in his wrists and hands that spread to his fingers, feet and toes. After a trip to the emergency room, blood tests confirmed that he had RA.
Prednisone andmethotrexate他的风湿性关节炎得到了有效的控制，但后来他被诊断为血管炎(血管发炎)，马克的医生让他服用生物制剂，这有助于控制疾病，缓解症状。
His healthy habits also play a role. “I made modifications initially to my diet tolose weight, but if I have processed sugar or gluten today and am not aware of it, I can feel it in my joints,” says Mark, who shares his story in speeches and in his book,Unleash the Beast: A Journey to Rediscover the Greatness Within(Silver Tree Communications, 2016).
Today, his exercise includesswimming,indoor cyclingandwalking. He left a stressful job to take a law position where he feels less pressure.
“I know that when you’re firstdiagnosed with RA, it can feel overwhelming,” he says. “I want others to know that it’s possible to successfullymanage your pain并采取更健康的生活方式，这对你的风湿性关节炎也有好处。”
Angela Alexander: “Have a doctor who listens to you”
It’s easy to see from Angela Alexander’s whimsical contemporary dog paintings that her love of canines has inspired her artwork. What isn’t as obvious is that her painting style has evolved partly as a result of the stiffness andjoint pain in her handsfrom RA.
“My earlier paintings featured a pop art style, featuring layers and layers of color on a black canvas,” says the Asheville, North Carolina, artist. “When I started havingpain in my elbow，我开始使用更大的画笔和粗犷的笔触。”
Inspiration for her first dog paintings was her Chihuahua, Sadie, who had mask-like markings. “My trademark became dogs wearing goggles similar to Sadie’s markings,” says Angela, 44. Since Sadie’s death several years ago, her inspiration has come from her two Chihuahua mixes, Maya and Frida, and she has become sought-after for her colorful pet portraits.
But there are days when her pain takes priority. “I don’t try to push through the pain. So on days that I feel well, I’ll paint a lot, and on days where I’m in pain, I give my elbows a rest,” she says.
大约七年前，安吉拉开始感到手和臀部疼痛。抗炎药也没用，和其他许多风湿性关节炎患者一样，她没有很快被诊断出来。Afterlab teststurned up negative for rheumatoid factor, she says her first rheumatologist “blew me off.”
It wasn’t until 2015, when her hands began swelling and her pain became worse, that Angela found a rheumatologist who listened to her, ran tests and diagnosed with RA.
“I cried when I learned I had RA,” she says, “The diagnosis offered me validation that my symptoms weren’t something just in my head.”
Her doctor prescribed methotrexate, which initially helped, but also made Angela, who has type 1 diabetes, feel sick.Corticosteroidswere also off limits. “[They] make my blood sugar high, so I’m limited as to the medications I can take,” she says.
To manage her RA, she walks, meditates and rests when needed. She’s working with her doctor to find a medication regimen that’s right for her; currently she is trying a targeted disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD).
“My doctor would like to prescribe [a biologic], but my insurance will only cover a portion of the medication, so right now it’s not an affordable option.”
Angela uses her experience to educate people about RA. And she’s learned how important it is to keep trying if you don’t feel you’ve gotten the right diagnosis or treatment.
她说:“有一个倾听你的意见并能监测你的风湿性关节炎的医生会带来很大的不同。”
Alyssa Pesesky: “I hope to offer support to others”
Alyssa Pesesky was 18 and preparing to go to college when she was hit with what she thought was a horrible case of the flu.
“I had a general achiness, and every time my hands or feet touched something, it was painful,” she says.
She was a student at LIM College, a fashion business school in New York City, but her arthritis kept her from taking a study-abroad opportunity.
“I was in the midst of going through tests to find out if I have Lyme disease, lupus or arthritis. I didn’t feel comfortable traveling outside of the United States when I didn’t know what was going on and how to control my pain,” says Alyssa, who still managed to serve as a student orientation leader and on the student council before graduating with a degree in business administration/fashion merchandising.
现年26岁的艾丽莎在纽约埃尔迈拉的一家珠宝店担任副经理。To manage her symptoms, Alyssa does low-impact exercises such as stretching,yogaand weight and elliptical machines two or three times a week.
She’s also become a leader in her local Arthritis Support Network group.
“It was a weird feeling to be in college and to learn I had a health condition that I would have for the rest of my life – and because it’s an invisible illness, not everyone would understand how I was feeling,” Alyssa says. She hopes, through thesupport group, to “offer education and support to others who have been diagnosed with arthritis.”
Author:Linda Childers
Related Resources:
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- Double-Take: Twins with RA Fight it Together
- Voices: How Has a Loved One Supported You?