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Showing posts from March, 2020

Fatigue is a common complain in autoimmune diseases

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“Doc I feel so tired like I have the flu all the time”…..  Fatigue is commonly described as a feeling of tiredness, exhaustion, lack of energy that not only that affects their well-being but it affects their emotional health and their relationships. Here are a most common causes of fatigue in autoimmune diseases 1. still active or poorly controlled disease (if you still have symptoms, signs and elevated markers of inflammation, most likely the disease is still active  or sub-optimally controlled) 2. if you have anemia 3. vitamin D deficiency 4. medication side effect (e.g methotrexate) 5. thyroid dysfunction 6. long term use of steroids What patients can do to improve energy levels? ➢ Eat a healthy diet. Choose to eat fresh veggies and fruits, low-fat dairy, lean protein and avoid processed food. Drink a lot of water, more than 2 liters of water/ day (8 glasses of water a day). Stop drinking soda drinks. Avoid sugar or processed sugar. Better choose fresh fruit...

Good SLEEP is vital for your HEALTH

SLEEP  Sleep is very important in patients with autoimmune diseases and inflammatory arthritis.  • Make sure you sleep at least 8 hours a day.  • Make a strict schedule for your sleep and go to bed at the same time every night. • Try to have the same routine: take a bath/ shower, listen to the same music. • Remove the TV, your tablet or the mobile phone from your bedroom. Read a book at bedtime • Take melatonin every night. • Don’t exercise before bedtime. • Drink your caffeine in the mornings, not in the afternoon.

Exercise will not hurt your joints

Exercise will not hurt your joints Exercise is important in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Schedule a regular exercise program at least 3 times per week. You may start by walking 15 min/ day and try to advance to at least 30 min at least 3 times per week.  Aquatic programs are the best choice for people with any form of arthritis.  Warm water/ rehab pools are the most friendly for arthritis programs. The water will take all the pressure of your body on your joints and will help you achieve a good level of exercise and will improve your mood. Even if it sounds hard to do or hard when you start to exercise, at the end of the program you will feel so much better.  https://www.sciencedirect.com/…/arti…/pii/S1297319X15002390…