RA and cycling performance

Craig Brossman said:

[...44-year-old with rhuematoid arthritis, taking strong meds for
it, enjoying cycling, fitness gains coming very slowly...]

Since I don't know anyone else dealing with this disease or similar
auto-immune diseases and trying to increase their performance, I am
finding it difficult to determine what is reasonable to expect from my
body.

While there are certainly others in a similar situation, your average
RA, MS, Lupus ... patient is not trying to ride 5 days a week or
decrease their climbing time in the mountains of CO, just like your
average American is not. My docs really can't give me specifics of the
affects of the disease and treatments on performance and performance
gains, it appears that they do not have other patients asking about it.

Any similar stories out there that you are willing to relate?

I have osteoarthritis in my left foot, bad enough to have undergone
a triple arthrodesis five years ago. Not the same thing as you, to be
sure. I'm also younger than you are (36), and my fitness gains come more
quickly.

Bear in mind that you live up where the air is thin. That you
are leading an active lifestyle in and of itself instead of surrendering
to your disease is itself a wonderful thing. Surely, keeping extra weight
off and keeping those joints moving are all good. Improving fitness is a
bonus.

I'm sorry I don't have any answers for you. I'm just glad to read
your story.

Good luck,
--
Chris BeHanna
'03 Specialized Allez Elite 27
'04 Specialized Hardrock Pro Disc

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In article <[email hidden]>,

Chris BeHanna said:

Craig Brossman said:

[...44-year-old with rhuematoid arthritis, taking strong meds for
it, enjoying cycling, fitness gains coming very slowly...]

Since I don't know anyone else dealing with this disease or similar
auto-immune diseases and trying to increase their performance, I am
finding it difficult to determine what is reasonable to expect from my
body.

While there are certainly others in a similar situation, your average
RA, MS, Lupus ... patient is not trying to ride 5 days a week or
decrease their climbing time in the mountains of CO, just like your
average American is not. My docs really can't give me specifics of the
affects of the disease and treatments on performance and performance
gains, it appears that they do not have other patients asking about it.

Any similar stories out there that you are willing to relate?

I have osteoarthritis in my left foot, bad enough to have undergone
a triple arthrodesis five years ago. Not the same thing as you, to be
sure. I'm also younger than you are (36), and my fitness gains come more
quickly.

Bear in mind that you live up where the air is thin. That you
are leading an active lifestyle in and of itself instead of surrendering
to your disease is itself a wonderful thing. Surely, keeping extra weight
off and keeping those joints moving are all good. Improving fitness is a
bonus.

I'm sorry I don't have any answers for you. I'm just glad to read
your story.

That was a very nice post, Chris. And to Craig, regarding how quickly
the performance gains come, I'll just say: hang in there. They'll
come. It's been my experience that performance gains don't come
linearly. Rather, you work & work & work at the same performance
level, and then all of a sudden you can take that "killer hill" in
a higher gear, or what seemed like a far-away destination is
suddenly a trivial milk run. And then you're at that new
performance level for a while, and then you'll get another
sudden improvement, and so on & so on. Like I say, performance
gains aren't necessarily linear -- sometimes they come in
plateaus like an ascending staircase.

cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

Quoted message said:

Craig Brossman said:

[...44-year-old with rhuematoid arthritis, taking strong meds for
it, enjoying cycling, fitness gains coming very slowly...]

Since I don't know anyone else dealing with this disease or similar
auto-immune diseases and trying to increase their performance, I am
finding it difficult to determine what is reasonable to expect from my
body.

While there are certainly others in a similar situation, your average
RA, MS, Lupus ... patient is not trying to ride 5 days a week or
decrease their climbing time in the mountains of CO, just like your
average American is not. My docs really can't give me specifics of the
affects of the disease and treatments on performance and performance
gains, it appears that they do not have other patients asking about it.

Any similar stories out there that you are willing to relate?

I am a 34-year-old with rheumatoid arthritis, and I try to ride 4 or 5
days a week in the warmer months. I started riding two years ago, and
began from a fitness level of zero because I'd been too sick and too
crippled up to exercise at all for the previous year and a half. I
started out on a hybrid, and could barely make it a couple of miles. My
fitness improved with regular riding, and last year I bought a road
bike, which is a lot of fun.

I can't really say how the disease has affected my abilities, because I
wasn't a cyclist before the illness. I am also on methotrexate, and
most of the time I feel good. I occasionally have flare-ups that keep
me off the bike for a few days, which is frustrating. I also find that
sometimes my feet ache all the time. Apparently feet are particularly
susceptible to inflammation, like the hands. I haven't particularly
discussed my riding with my rheumatologist, but I'm under the impression
that regular exercise can help keep the disease at bay.

Good luck to you,

Gail O'Connor