Full of lupus excuses

So I have to confess...I have had some joint pain recently. I've mentioned the occasional swollen digit I've experienced every few days over the last few weeks - caused, no doubt, by the rigorous travel schedule I've had lately. It's been one finger at a time, and not for more than a few hours every other morning or so. Of course, once my 5mg of prednisone kicks in, I've been fine, but no doubt about it, there's been some swelling.

Thankfully, my Spring book tour has come to a close (I do have one more local health fair to attend next week...but after that, I'm event-free!), and not a moment too soon. I've had the most spectacular time, and each speaking gig has been better than the last...but this pup is pooped!

Additionally, I've had some joint pain in my shoulder for the past few days. And of course, like any recovering lupus patient, I've come up with every excuse in the book (not my book, mind you...merely the proverbial book) for why the pain might be occurring. Here's my list of possible culprits - see if you can blow holes in these excuses as quickly as I did, once I took a step back and looked at them objectively:

Excuse #1 - I've been hauling a 15-lb retractable stand up banner thing around (and yes, my mug is right smack dab in the middle of it). Could that extra weight be causing the pain?

*Note that I didn't have any pain during or immediately after the time when I carried the banner. Just since I've been home.

Excuse #2 - Since I've been pregnant, I've taken to sleeping on my left side (the side where the shoulder pain is.) Couldn't it just be that I slept on it wrong?

*Note that I've been doing that for almost 5 months now. Curious that it just started now.

Excuse #3 - This week was busy in the shipping/receiving department at Gorman headquarters. For some reason, I had groceries, diapers, deck chair cushions, and a few other big items all delivered this week...and I've been tossing things up and down the stairs all week. Primarily, I've tossed because I'm trying to save myself a trip up and down the stairs, but could I have managed to throw out my shoulder in the process?

*Note to those keeping score - the shoulder that hurts is NOT my throwing arm. Ahem.

Excuse #4 - Allergies. I've had a little bit of a scratchy throat - so maybe my allergies are making my body a little more sensitive. (Boy, am I reaching, or what?!)

So - there you have it - 4 viable, honest contenders (in my convoluted lupus-denial mind) for why my shoulder joint might be hurting. But, let's look at the facts. The pain only happens in the morning, it gets better during the day (assuming that I've taken my medicine), and none of issues mentioned above have ever been the cause of joint pain in the past.

Hmmm. As my husband says to me, in these kind of situations, "You have lupus. The joint pain you're having? It's because of lupus."

Ugh! He's so right!!!

So it's time to get serious about my exertion levels. No joking around. No excuses. If you need me, I'll be on lupus lock down.

Comments

Popular Posts