From Ironman to now - the update

The following is a generalization of what I have been through since Ironman. I will expand on some of the time points as I move forward in this blog.

December 2012-June 2013
I was having neck pain which evolved to tingling on both sides of my body. I had difficulty standing for long periods of time and dropped about 10 pounds suddenly because I was too nauseous to eat. i eventually had an MRI done to rule out a neurological dysfunction and the diagnosis was inconclusive as to what caused it. It eventually "sorted itself out and these symptoms never presented themselves again. I started increasing my activity again, but by April 2013 foot pain started and I couldn't weight bear for that long. I was still teaching fitness classes and that was about the limit of my activity. I did start to walk more during the summer.

July 2013-January 2015
My activity level slowly increased to the point where I was starting to be able to run and eventually built up the endurance to complete a half marathon in May. Unsatisfied with my result I took advantage of another race opportunity in October. I had an amazing training cycle setting a PB in the 10k en route to my first ever sub 2 half marathon. I was looking forward to an amazing off-season which I was going to use to increase my speed and aim for a better half marathon time in the spring

January 2015-May 2015
I was starting to notice foot pain creep up again, and it escalated quickly. I was having difficulty being on my feet and even though I was still teaching fitness classes, I started teaching more by sitting on an exercise ball or in sandals, because I couldn't stand having my feet enclosed. i was noticing pinpoint blood blisters on my feet and was starting to uncontrollably gain weight. My doctor referred me to a rheumatologist. At that first appointment, she looked at my knees and feet and diagnosed me with rheumatoid arthritis on the spot and prescribed medication to help control the pain and reduce swelling. I was on prednisone for 2 weeks and then started Methotrexate and Plaquenil. I dropped 20 pounds in a very short time on that initial therapy and have put about 5 of that back on.

May 2015-May 2016
I spent a lot of this first year getting used to the medication and building myself up again from the inside out. My activity was limited to the classes I was teaching and outdoor walking. I was also noticing changes in my feet, however at that point there was no physiollogical damage. I spent a lot of time researching medication, holistic treatments and basic activity recommendations.

June 2016-today
I have been well controlled with medication. October 2016 was my last MTX injection because I was tired of the nausea so she switched me to Arava and that continues to work well. I started running again but built up too quickly and then had to take a break because of overwhelming fatigue. I restarted again in August very slowly based on the advice of my physiotherapist and have not had to restart again. I have since completed a 10k and a half marathon and I continue to run..