skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Be glad that I haven't done any significant posting in a while. Be very glad. I let Dr. OhMyAchyBody talk me into doing Prednisone for 15 days and thought I was going to die. I didn't have hot flashes like that when I went through menopause. OMG! Felt like my flesh was melting right off my bones. And don't even get me started on the diarrhea. When I have to have something to read when I'm sitting on the toilet, you know that I'm going way too often and way too long. Can anyone say "20 minute stretches of pouring like a faucet"? You get the idea.
Someone just shoot me now. The Prednisone was bad enough. What was worse is that being on it didn't prove anything. I had to let go of 2 more tubes of blood. (The total is now 31.) We still don't know what's causing all of my problems. The anemia is still bad, the extra pain is still bad, the SED rate and C-RP are still not right. The SED rate and C-RP levels both decreased by half while I was on the Prednisone, but that's still close to 3 times what they should be. And how many times can I write "still" in one paragraph? Cripes! Dr. OMAB is now thinking that it's something autoimmune and she is consulting again with Dr. Dracula. There are over 100 autoimmune diseases and I already have 2 of them: fibromyalgia and eczema. Woe is me.
I know. It could be a lot worse. I just needed to feel sorry for myself and wallow in it for a little while. I've been pretty good about not whining and complaining. I've done all these doctor appointments and let them suck out blood whenever they wanted. I've got appointments with Dr. OMAB, Dr. Dracula, and Dr. SnoozeAndDoze all coming up next month, and I'm just tired of the whole doggone mess. I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired, and sometimes a person just needs to let it all out. I'm finished now. Thank you for listening. Let's move on to things more fun.
So anyway, after I got that last set of blood test results, I was feeling pretty depressed. That's not so good since I'm only seeing the therapist every 4 months now. But after 15 years of therapy, I know what I need to do to head that nasty depression off at the pass. Fortunately, Ginger and I had planned a fun, long weekend away in Nashville, leaving on the very morning that I dropped by Dr. OMAB's lab to give blood. Wow, did we have a great time!
We left for Tennessee that Thursday morning and checked into our fabulous hotel that afternoon. This is a view of the lobby from the hallway outside of our room on the 19th floor. Isn't that elevator cool?
After we checked in and dropped off our stuff, we headed 10 miles or so south of Nashville to the outdoor Chihuly exhibit at the Cheekwood. We wanted to see the exhibit all lit up at night. Who is Chihuly? Dale Chihuly is just the most amazing glass artist in the world. See for yourself......
Unfortunately, it wasn't to be. The skies opened and a deluge followed. It was a terrible storm. Trees and branches were breaking and falling all over the place. There was spot flooding. The electrical power was lost over part of Nashville and the surrounding area including the Cheekwood. So we turned around, found a wonderful Italian restaurant for dinner, and went back to our hotel. On Friday, all was well weather-wise, so we drove back to the Cheekwood and saw some terrific Chihuly's. That evening, we went to the Grand Ole Opry at the Ryman Auditorium where we saw, among others, Ricky Skaggs, the Grascals, the Whites, and Vince Gill.
On Saturday, we walked back to the Ryman and took a tour of the building including the backstage dressing rooms. It was a great tour. Yours truly hopped up on the stage and belted out a verse of Emmylou Harris's song, "One of These Days". Really. Honest. Here's the proof.
I hope never to do that again in my life. I was so nervous!
On Sunday, we drove back home and had a happy reunion with kitty babies. That break was just what I needed and we enjoyed it so much. We'll have to do another trip soon.
One last picture......When we went back to our room after breakfast on Sunday morning, there was a rainbow outside our window.
It has been two years since my mother died. She left us on Saturday, August 23, around 10:30 in the evening. I was trying to write about my last visit with her and what it meant to me, but I keep having to stop and blow my nose. Silly me, what can I say. I may be 57 years old, but I still want my mommy.
Mom, I love you and miss you, every hour, every day. Always have. Always will.
Mom and Me
These days, it seems like I'm always playing catch-up. Fortunately, I finally got to the point where I can update the blog. I have a lovely schedule this week.
Today - Dr. Dracula at 9:00 AM
Tuesday - Dr. LoveMyPrettySmile (dentist) at 9:00 AM
Wednesday - Dr. SnoozeAndDoze at 1:45 PM
Thursday - Labs at Dr. OhMyAchyBody's office sometime between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM
Forget the calendar. I can tell you the date according to which doctor I'm seeing. Dr. Dracula reported this morning that my SED rate and CRP level had risen in the last set of labs he did. He took more blood this morning. 29 tubes and counting. Dr. OhMyAchyBody put me on prednisone for 15 days starting 12 days ago. 10mg twice a day for 5 days, then 10mg once a day for 5 days, and then 5mg once a day for 5 days. I'll have more blood drawn at her office on Thursday to see if the prednisone made the SED rate and CRP level go lower. If it does, that will be a big clue that something inflammatory is going on. Also, we'll see if there's any effect on the anemia,which, in the excitement of the SED/CRP and sleep apnea, I had totally forgotten all about (pretty pathetic since that's what we were working on to begin with).
Prednisone sucks. O-M-G. I didn't have the sweats this badly when I was going through Menopause-with-a-capital-M. Even shoving my head into the freezer doesn't help. If it were winter, I could heat this entire house through the Thanksgiving/Christmas season. I could melt snow with just one look. Speaking of melting....I mentally blasted a woman with my inner flamethrower this afternoon at Kroger. The way the store is set up, you can get two carts past each other in the aisle, no more. A gentleman and I were wheeling our carts toward each other in the aisle. A woman came barreling out of an aisle perpendicular to ours. She didn't bother checking the traffic first. Then, when she saw us, she kept right on coming into our path. He hit a display on his right side. I hit a display on my right side. She barged her cart and her fat ass (sorry, but it's true!) through the middle of us and didn't say a word. Of course, being the delicate and shy little flower that I am, I yelled "WELL, EXC-U-U-U-UUUUSE YOU!" in my very best projectve Broadway voice. That was the most people I've ever startled at one time. She didn't bat an eyelash. Didn't have a clue. MORON. As usual, I mean that sincerely. I just don't have the patience for rude people anymore.
So where were we? Oh yeah, the sweats. Again, OMG! Sweat pours down my face so thick and fast that my BIPAP mask ends up on my big left boob instead of my nose. I've never sweat like this in my life, not even at marching band practice at summer band camp in high school with it 100 degrees on the practice field. I can water the plants outside just by standing over them and letting the sweat drip. And don't even get me started on the diarrhea. It got so bad that I took a vacation day from work last week just to stay home and sit on the toilet. Yes. It's been that bad. You don't want me to describe it. Just don't even tempt me. As I said, prednisone sucks. I only have 3 more days of it and then I'm home free. YAY! And I mean that sincerely, too.
What else has been going on? Well, the missus and I (just kidding, sweetie!)....Ginger and I had the pleasure of her 3-year-old granddaughter's company this past weekend. Sophia is 3 going on 30. She's so grown up that it startles you when she acts like a 3-year-old. This kid had me laughing so hard Friday night that I almost wet my pants and drooled, too. She's just so much fun. We hit up the Children's Museum on Friday and had lunch at El Pueblo. The kid loves chips and dips. She was sucking down the salsa and the cheese dip like they were chocolate and sugar cookies. She loves good food, especially cherry tomatos fresh from her grandpa's garden. On Saturday, Sophia, mom, and grandma spent the day at Parky's Farm and Parky's Ark while I visited with my dad. That evening, all of us girls dined in elegance at Germano's in downtown Montgomery. We all got dressed up, including me! Then we walked around for a bit, and Sophia and I played the "Play Me, I'm Yours" piano installed on Montgomery Road a few doors down from the restaurant. Sophia went back home to Tennessee on Sunday. I already missed her before she even hit the end of our street. This is a picture of Sophia ringing up her groceries at the Children's Museum.
Posts
