Swimming is the best!!!

I went swimming yesterday and felt so fantastic.  I was reluctant to go as it's a public swimming pool and the last time I went there (about 4 years ago) there was one main pool.  After lots of indecision I went and so glad I did.  If you suffer from R.A swimming is most definitely the best form of excercise.  I loved the fact that the water was supporting my body and it didn't hurt!!!! The baths had been revamped and had a log flume, smaller pool and even a jacuzzi and sauna!!! First thing I did was go on the log flume as I love anything like that.  Although it was a bit tricky getting down onto my bottom but it was great fun when I did. 


I stayed in the smaller kids pool, I prefer to just swim anyway I like and get bored going up and down the same swimming lane which is why I stayed where I did.  I swam about like a little child paddling for the first time.  I was doing breaststroke and found it quite easy to do.   Another good thing was that the cost for disabled people is £2.20 instead of £3.70 so this is going to be affordable for me to do on a regular basis.  As with most new things my head ran away with itself and I started trying to organise coming 3 times per week and bringing a friend with me.  However from past experience I know I was running away with myself a bit so decided to try once a week for now, which is more likely for me to stick to if it's managable.


We came home and I felt sooo much better totally revistalised.   This morning was a different story and parts of my body ached from using muscles for the first time in a LONG time.  Still I am glad I did it.  I went to bed at 2am as I am a bit of a night owl so on weekends like to stay up late watching trashy tv.  I awoke at 1.30pm feeling like I haven't even slept for an hour.  This is normal for me at the moment, I am soooo tired even when I wake up.  I am starting to wonder if I may have thyroid problems.  I recently went to the doctors and spoke about my weight gain and he gave me a blood test form to test my thyroid.  So I have a check on the net today and would seem I have many symptoms similar to hypothyroidism like fatigue, flaky scalp, hair loss (though not major) and weight gain.  I am going to book an appointment with nurse tomorrow to get some bloods done.  I am panicking a bit about it but it would actually be a relief to find out these symptoms had an actual medical cause.


My joints hurt today, I am coming down off predinislone (steroids) slowly but still having flare-ups.  I decided to pull my old book out the bookshelf.  It's called Margaret Hills 'Treating Arthritis'  She was a sufferer of R.A that found a cure through diet and went on to open a clinic and cure thousands of people.  She is no longer alive but her daughter runs the clinic.  I feel a bit of a failure that I didn't manage to stick to the diet and only lasted 3 months but it involved drinking cider vinegar 3 times a day. 
I am getting desperate though.  I don't want to waste my life sitting around watching tv, I want to start a family at some point.  BUT food is such a huge source of comfort and relief for me that it feels very bizarre to stop doing the one thing I really enjoy in life which is eat food that I enjoy.  Having RA it's one of the only comforts I have is to munch on a delicious jacket potato with cheese and coleslaw.  I have never been that good a disciplining myself when it comes to food.  I seem to thing I 'deserve' something naughty but nice too much.  Or I deprive myself which then leads to bad habits.


But I need to do it this time.  My partner has promised me he will pay for me to live in Barcelona for 3 months. (I lived and studied there years ago and am in love with this place)  I have every incentive I need BUT I know what I am like.  I will try very hard I know but the diet has to be taken for about 2 years.  This is my last hope I feel. 


Now I am going for a small stroll in the woods to clear my head of these headaches I have been having.  Bye for now.