Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Not Ending

My joints were so bad today. I got up and got dressed to go to class. I even walked out the door, but then I turned right back around and got into bed until my third class. I called my doctor and she said to rest for the day and ice/heat my joints (but of course I couldn't, I HAD to go to work...) and call her in the morning. She said if it is not better then I will have to come see her. Problem is I don't have a car right now. So I am thinking I might just go home and have her refer me for an emergency appointment at one of the hospitals there. Or my dad said he would drive up to take me or have my aunt/uncle take me but I don't want to inconvenience them.

This is so frustrating. Everything I do hurts and I have all but lost my appetite. That is so unsual for me. I had a bagel for breakfast and I got Indian food for lunch. I at maybe half of it at best. I ate the pieces of chicken, some rice, some lentils and a little piece of naan. I just ate dinner which was a tiny bit of chilli and rice I made Monday. I did have two cookies at work because they had been handed out for free where I was eating lunch and I decided to have them there. That's it for the day. I consider myself a hearty eater so that is really weird.

Also, I have blood in my urine. I don't think this is from bleeding because it has increased over the past few weeks, which my bleeding has not. I really hope my kidneys are doing OK and that they continue to. My doctor said the results are "borderline" so a visit to the kidney doctor might be in order.

I am not on prednisone. I really want to avoid it.

That's all for now. I guess I will decide whether I am going home tomorrow and if I need to see my rheumatologist.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Where Has All the Money Gone?

This is another post about money, or my lack of it. My car insurance was cancelled today because neither me nor my dad can pay it. I am hoping to get it reinstated soon, but who knows. I rely on my car a lot. I was planning on using it today, but then I got the call. I also got prescribed two medicines today: Flovent and Albuterol for coughing fits I have been having at night. I probably will not fill them because I don't want to pay for them. I also need to renew my parking permit for the 2010-2011 school year, but it is $275 and since I don't even have enough to pay my car insurance that's not going to happen. So I will have to go back on the waiting list and wait for a spot to open up again like I did this semester.

I am thinking of applying for a third job. It is pretty simple, answering calls from home for paid advertisements and the like. It is not an extraordinary amount of money, but it would help of course.

Anyway, I have so much work to get done. I have an annotated bibliography due tomorrow for Writing as Communication so I should get back to that.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Slacking

So sorry for the lack of updates. I have been so busy with school and I have also been having some lupus-related problems. I finally got some pain medication (Mobic) on Wednesday, increased it on Friday and have to call the doctor tomorrow to tell her how I am doing. If it is not better then I have to start the dreaded prednisone, which is another post all by itself. I also have an appointment to see about this cough I have been having on Tuesday with my primary care doctor.

Well, health care reform has happened, and I am thrilled. The preexisting conditions clause does not come into effect until 2014, but it gives me hope for the future.

Tomorrow I pick my classes for the fall. I will be taking my first ever 8am class and I will have no class on Friday. I'm worried about 8am, but it is only two days a week, so I think I will be OK. Of course I will be working when I don't have class. I also registered for two online summer classes.

That's all for now. I worked my 8 hour shift today and it has taken a bigger toll on me than usual. I came to my apartment and slept for a while, but I have a lot of work to get done. So I should get started on that.

I hope everyone has a good week!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Sorry So Late!

I arrived back to school Sunday afternoon and I did not go to work. I know that when my paycheck comes around I won't be too excited, but I thought it was a good decision then. I have been having a hard time with my joints. My hips, knees and now my ankles are all tender to the touch. This is not new for my knees, but it rarely happens to my hips and this is the first time it has happened to my ankles. I called my rheumatologist and she suggested arthritis cream and hot and cold packs. I've been doing that and it hasn't helped. I was doing that before she told me to. But I said I would give it another 48 hours, so she is getting a call from me tomorrow.

I hate feeling like a burden to the doctors but its getting real tough. It hurts to sit in a chair too long, it hurts to stand too long and it hurts to put my feet back on the ground after I have been laying down.

My shoulders and wrists have been bothering me as well, but not as much. My wrist has gotten a lot better and I think is nearly back to full strength. But it still aches in a very lupus-like way.

School is going well. I did well on my communication midterm which I was nervous about and I did excellently on the paper for that class.

That's all for now!

Thursday, March 18, 2010

More In Depth

I realized that I didn't mention a lot in my post last night.

On Monday I met with the endometriosis specialist about my bleeding and treatment. He took me off the Lupron injections because they have given me osteopenia, which is a precursor to osteoporosis. He said it should resolve after I stop and I hope he is right. He put me on Aygestin, which I was already on, but at a dose 3 times higher. He said that often the anesthesia during surgery can mess up the hormones and cause bleeding. I am still bleeding, so hopefully as I taper up the Aygestin dose that will stop.

My wrist is doing a lot better though it is still a little weak. I think that it will get better in time.

The weather has been phenomenal the past couple days. I was worried I would not have nice weather on my break because it started out with a terrible 3 day rain storm. I think we are still under a state of emergency because of all the flooding it caused. Luckily my area was not hit that hard. We had some minor flooding of the roads but that was it.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Cellcept

Sorry for the lack of posts. It's Spring Break and I have not been near my computer very much. I started Cellcept today. I decided I wanted to try something that would be less likely to make my hair fall out as I was getting really annoyed with the Imuran. I'm tapering up to 2000 mg over several weeks. I don't know if that is normal as I just jumped right in with the Imuran.

I have been feeling so-so recently. My fingers are swelling intermittently and my other joints are aching. But I cannot complain too much. I'm really happy to be home.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Rheumatologist Update

So I saw my rheuamtologist today. I apparently have tendonitis in my wrist which is why it is so weak. She also offered to switch me to CellCept if my insurance approves it so I will have to call them tomorrow. She also offered to have me see a kidney specialist, but since the treatment for lupus nephritis is what I am doing now, I see no need. There are no overt signs that my kidneys are in a lot of danger, just what was seen on the ultrasound. I also really don't want a biopsy.

I got my blood tests today from a couple weeks ago after I reduced the Imuran. They are pretty unremarkable. My complement levels are still normal, but they did drop off a lot. Hopefully that won't become an issue. My CBC was a lot better than it has been in a while, which was a nice surprise.

Spring break is tomorrow and my dreaded comm midterm is over!! I have a Spanish homework due tomorrow and also a small quiz. I have my "pitch" for my case study and I still really don't know what I am doing. My teacher is a TA and she is not very good at explaining stuff. I'm totally lost. I know I want to do something on the show Boy Meets World because I can quote almost every episode word for word. But I'm not sure what I want to do on that show, and I am not sure what I am supposed to do. I messaged a friend in the class who has already had her pitch. Hopefully she will get back to me and help me out.

I want to leave school around 12:30 in the afternoon so that I can get home before rush hour. Hopefully I manage to stick to that timeline!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Too Much

Today was a pretty easy day. I only had one class in the morning and then I went to work in afternoon. Unfortunately, I had to carry a couple heavy boxes back and forth from my office to the Concert Hall and my wrist has rebelled against me ever since. I noticed while holding the box that I could not grip it and my hand kept slipping. I thought that was weird but didn't think about it too much until I tried to open the door to the building where the Concert Hall is and I couldn't grip the handle. When I finally got back to the office I couldn't even take the cap off a pen. It feels incredibly weak. It has gotten better but I still can't make a fist or grip things tightly. I don't know if I hurt it carrying the boxes or what. I was going to go over my aunt's house today but I only managed to drive down the street until I realized I shouldn't continue because I could not properly grip the steering wheel. Luckily I see my rheumatologist tomorrow and hopefully I can drive there in the morning.

I only have one midterm and it is tomorrow for my New Media class. It is full of concepts that I have no familiarity with so I am nervous. But after that I only have a Spanish homework, quiz and a "pitch" for my communication case study and I am on Spring break. I am looking forward to noon on Friday so much.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Doing Better

I'm doing a lot better than yesterday. My stomach feels better and I only have a mild headache, not a migraine. Today was pretty unventful. I only had 2 classes and got to go back to my apartment for lunch. Then I went to work and now I am back in my apartment. I have a paper due tomorrow and a meeting tonight. So I will be busy for the rest of the evening.

I can't wait until Spring Break starts on Friday. I don't want to go into work on that day, but I need the money. I guess I will decide by Wednesday so I can let my boss know. I already asked my dad to buy a cornish hen so I can have my favorite dinner. I can't seem to find cornish hens out here.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Not Feeling So Great

I was up last night with a pretty bad stomach ache and migraine. I had to work my 8 hour shift today and my joints are pretty angry about that. And my stomach ache and migraine are still there. I don't know why my stomach is as bad as it is. I made a delicious dinner last night, pasta with chicken and broccoli, and I don't think that it made me sick, but the thought of eating the leftovers right now is totally unappealing. I just put some eggs to boil and I am going to make some toast. I had toast this morning also. I tried a couple slices of pizza this afternoon, but I was feeling OK then. I also came pretty close to passing out at work. I had to keep focused on the idea that passing out would be totally inconvenient and the feeling passed. I knew if I didn't focus on just one thing I would be out. So I'm not sure what is going on. I think I probably had just been on my feet too long.

I always know something if wrong when I do not want to eat anything.

My thermometer is broken I think so I don't know if I have a fever. But my pulse often skyrockets when I have a significant fever and it is pretty normal right now.I see my rheumatologist on Thursday, so of course if something is still wrong I will tell her about it then. We need to talk about my treatment going forward as I'm not totally satisfied with it.

Spring break is next week! I am going home on Friday. It will be nice to relax at home. I have plenty of work to get done in the meantime though, so I am going to eat my "dinner" and get started on it.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Frustrated

It's been a frustrating and exhausting past few days in regards to my health. I am bleeding and cramping intermittently, and no one seems willing to do anything. I missed two classes (well, really one, but I was so mad by the time the second one came around I sat it out) because I was being shuffled back and forth between doctors at the health center. Ultimately, nothing got done. So I called my doctor at home and nothing is going to be done until I see him on March 15. What got me the most upset yesterday was the doctor treating me like I was making a big deal out of nothing and saying something along the lines of "while this is a nuisance, it is not an emergency". I never made it out to be an emergency. I called and made an appointment. I even several days for the appointment. It is, however, completely abnormal. I should not be bleeding at all, especially for such long periods of time.

I was really mad yesterday and my hair is still falling out from the Imuran. My fingers have begun to swell and my joints were very, very painful today. I see my rheumatologist on March 11 and she said we would discuss my options then. Hopefully something can be done because I am really sick of this.