ASA Official Giller Prize Winner? McCavity Award Winner? Author Extraordinaire?

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Joan

Well, these are self-appointed titles. What do you want to be?

Kelly C.
(Mistress of the Catbox/Sandbox)

Your Royal Highness? :-))))

i need a title.  :-(

diane

how about being asa's official mistress or matron of the arts?--a title,
something along that line.  my reasoning:  you write, you sing, and john is
a photographer.

kate

Official word organizer?
GaryZ

Hello rk!
Welcome to the group! Seems you too are over the 3 disease limit and will
have to return some (of your choosing.) Looks like Rosie has some more
letters to take care of here. Raynauds, isn't that fun? Me too. Also OA,DDD.
Can't claim anymore, but I'm hiding them so no one knows (shhhhhhhhh!)
Two fusions is two too many, I have one cervical and that's one too many. Oh
well.
GaryZ

Hi RK,,,,   Long time welcome and you are not a newcomer.   We do kind of
suffer together but I know that you have noticed that this newsgroup is more
about other stufffff.   I hope you have supporting people around you at home
because your list proves you live with a great deal of pain and loss of
function.   We all need support and like you and this newsgroup, do not
always get it.  It puts calluses on our soul.  The thing that helps me the
most is to find the humor in the world around me and sometimes a person has
to look pretty hard to find it.   I have friends that have done the fusion
thing and I have never even been in a hospital for an overnight stay.  Sooo
I will take your and my friends word on how you survive with it.  I do know
what it means to have to slowly move backwards in motion because something
has pinched in my lower back which got better after about 2 years.  More
pain than I want to deal with and a daily basis.  I guess when it gets worse
than that a person lets them operate and hope for the best.
 There is one thing that I do not want you to forget about this newsgroup.
What you think,,, what you have lived with,,, what worked for you to make
things better is important and is needed here.
Harv

Hi, rk!  sorry if I've ignored you in the past, but I do go through phases
here.  Sometimes life is too overwhelming otherwise to be posting much and
sometimes I'm posting so much on other stuff, that I don't reply to messages
I know little about!  I've been fortunate to avoid any irreparable back
problems thus far, though my hypermobility means stuff slips and slids around
back there sometimes and my fibro gets stuff all knotted up (like now!)  I
don't envy you your alphabet soup.

Hi yourself, but please note the limit of three diseases, I'm afraid you'll have
to give some of yours back. If only we could......... :-(

Hang around, not everyone is up to answering every posting. Some days all we can
manage is to read, and think "I must answer that", then it's another day, and
you know....... anyhow, welcome.
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Joan

Well welcome to the group rk. Sorry your posts were not being answered. We
must have missed them. But this time I see you and I will welcome you to the
group. Sorry you have to be here. From your sig line I see your kid has OA
and hashimotos too. That is sad. I also have hashimotos.

Pull up a seat and join in, don't keep lurking. come out in the open and
have a good day in the sand box.

HI RK..you know this is the first time I have seen your posts...maybe my
news server didn't catch them I know I miss some posts and then see them a
week later . Anyways nice to meet you and welcome.
I am over the three limit too..RA,Lupus,spondylitis,hypertension,atrial fib,
my AKA name at our house is fall apart rabbit..hehehe
off that old cartoon show bonkers...this rabbit could never hold himself
together and his arm,leg,face ect.. always fell apart..hence the nickname.
My kids think it is funny to call me that and I think it is kind of cute so
no harm here.

HI, right back to you.  <g>   I don't recall your previous posts, so
I'll welcome you to ASA now.  Pull up a chair, stool, recliner,
whatever is most comfortable for you.

Did you mention your gender (can't tell from the initials), age,
geographical location, location of chocolate stash (dark or milk)?

We're all curious folks here, trying to pry data out of people.
<g>   Then we can sent birthday and  anniversay greeting (one very
good keeper of that data resides here).

1 THR in 2000, another on tap this fall; HLA-B27+, AS, OA, RA (so the
rheumy says)

... Inflation is when the BUCK doesn't stop ANYWHERE.

Letters everywhere. Ok, you got me, Reisa! Whut's IDDM? That's one to
add to the list.

    Listen, girlfriend. Here at ASA no one blinks twice over whatever pain
meds. anyone takes. And the Gimps know you gotta keep moving and you gotta
keep going no matter whut. So just lurk at the pain froup and really stay
here where there isn't the pain politics nor the bitchin' over the diseases
we all have that none of us earned. And ain't no one over there----------->
that understands AS or really knows that you MUST have the anti-inflams to
fend off the damage that these DD's ( Danged Diseases) cause.

   Please stay here where the ppl actually KNOW sumthin',ok?:-)

Reisa Hugs from Rosie

welcome to the sandbox, give the folks a chance and they'll include you
in a heartbeat

but i do haveta tell ya - you're over the 3 limit - gotta pick something
and discard!

Hi RK,
Sorry to hear people have given you no or few responses.  Sometimes we don't
have an answer, are busy with our  own problems at the time and are
answering rarely, or figure someone has more answers (and sometimes they
don't.).  Sometimes you have to ask a couple of times I am afraid - we
really don't mean to ignore you.

that said - welcome.  Tell us a bit about yourself and join in - sometimes
that helps.  The HLAB27 is a gene marker for the as but doesn't necessarily
mean you have a spondolaprothy - looks like you do - lousy.  Have you got a
good rheumatologist that is actively treating your as?  Also you don't say
what you are taking for this mix - do they have you on a dmard?  That might
help with the pain on the as as well as stop some future damage - we have
several people here on various treatments.  Make sure they also are giving
you adequate pain control so you can keep up with an exercise program - very
important to keep mobility and keep the joints from fusing.

More people will be around with more help - but mainly wanted to say welcome
and encourage you to jump in as you have.  We really don't mean to ignore
anyone but sometimes we do - always happens in a large group I am afraid -
we all have our problem days etc.

Kelly

welcome . good to meet you Rk
janice

I just wanted to say a HUGE THANK YOU!!! well this time
I really felt welcomed.. that really means a BUNCH.. To answer
a few questions.. yes, I had a rheumy, she's the one that sent
me to my neurosurgeon for my fusion who found my spine was
so degenerative that I'd broken a vertabrae. My bones aren't
fusioning themselves just yet, the doctors have all said, some
just dont fuse either, but they did say mine are full of calcifacation
(sp) or however you spell that word. lol ... basically my bones
are hard as rocks.. they said thats a good thing and a bad thing
so who knows.

For anyone not knowing, yes, IDDM is Insulin dependant Diabetes,
basically a T1.. not only did I have the Tshirt to prove it.. I got them
lousy antibodies too. <g> Prior to my last surgery, I was taking
Enbrel for a few months prior but I had to stop for at least 6 months
post-op to make sure I had no infection festering inside.  It's been
6 months now and I'm actually doing decent at this point with just
taking my normal Naproxen and Morphine IR when I over do things.
My doctor told me if I think I need it back to let her know.. I've dumped
all my other doctors and am just seeing my GP at my request because
my other doctors weren't all communicating between each other and
one would suggest something and tell one of the others and they'd
disagree then it was a fight to get anything done.  I've found it so
much easier to deal with just one doctor then 4-5.  My GP really has
been fantastic so far.

I thought the third disease was a charm?  OH wait! lol thats the third
time.. hmm oh well, anyone know where I can go return one and
get a health refund?

btw, I'm in mid-Ohio if anyone wants to stalk me <g> I'm 39.. soon
to be that dreaded 40 in a few months.. I've a 19yr old daughter,
my baby girl Nexy, who's a 2yr old black lab who's been trained as a
service dog to do things for me.. pick up things so I don't have to bend
over, get me a soda.. open doors and bring me the phone... I'm working
on her dialing now using speed dial. <g> then my daughters 14yr old
shepherd, Princess who we thought was about to kick the bucket last
summer and so I wanted to comfort the blow a bit with a new baby for
my daughter, so she picked out a Siberian Husky.. who was 9mons old.
She's black and white, with ice blue eyes.  And then we have 3 cats as
well.. before we moved here, we did have more animals.. <g> did I
mention, I've been married to the same guy for almost 18yrs... and he's
really my rock and soul mate.

Well, that's me in a nutshell.  Thank you again for the welcome and I
do appreciate the candle lighting suggestion.  I would love it!! I'll try to
participate as much as possible.

Hugs to all and hope you all are painfree.

RK (Reisa)

Nann wrote:

Do you yell, "SMILE!  You're on Candid Camera!" when you're observing
us?

... Lucky is he for whom the belle toils.

Oh, good one, Johnie! Just be careful your new friends don't teach you any
permanent lessons.:)

Hugs,
Kelly C.

Watch it rattlesnake wrangler,  esp. if you get a puppy.  Any luck
finding a pup?  Did you check into the service dog needing a home?

Hope it rains tonight.

Lyn