Bodies going bezerk

September 6, 2011

Any day can be unpredictable when you’re dealing with an autoimmune disease, but some are worse than others.  My guess is that today’s problems are worse because of my meds, but it could be the conditions themselves, or the weather, or just randomness.  Who knows?  I sure don’t!

A dog accidentally scratched me the other day while we were played.  It left a mark, but didn’t break the skin or anything.  The next day, there was a small bruise.  Today there are 5 bruises, some large, and they’re blue and sensitive to touch!

Sunday night I got what I thought were 3 mosquito bites.  The next day there were at least twice as many.  Today there are even more!  Maybe they aren’t mosquito bites after all?  Maybe my body is telling me something?

And then last night pain set in, along with some swelling.  Great.  It hasn’t gone away yet.

I was doing ok a few days ago, and now my body is going haywire.  I don’t know what caused it.  I don’t know when it will go away.  In the meantime, I’m treating myself to a night of tv and unproductive web surfing.  Productivity can wait until I’m feeling better.  Tonight is about relaxing.

Leave a Comment » | Expectations, Frustration, Isolation, Limitations, Medication, Pain, Rants, Symptoms, Unpredictable | Permalink
Posted by chronicrants

Thankful for so much; Today: Housecleaner

September 5, 2011


There’s a lot to be thankful for in my life.  I’ve spoken before about friends and about family.  Today I’m thankful for something simpler: my ability to pay a housecleaner.  Once each month, someone cleans my apartment for me.  For some people this sounds like an unimaginable luxury.  For others, once a month would never be enough.  For me, this has been a wonderful experience.

I am perfectly willing to live a less-than-spotless home (actually, I prefer it.)  What I am not willing to do is to spend entire weekend
days cleaning, then resting from said cleaning.  Scrubbing the tub can wipe me out for hours.  I can’t clean all of the floors in one day.  By the time I spend 4 Saturdays getting one part of the apartment clean, the rest is disgusting.  Instead, I can save my time, energy, and joints
 by having someone else do all of this.  Having someone come more often might be nice, but since I live alone with no pets, and I’m not a total slob, once a month works, and it’s more affordable.  She is coming tomorrow with her group.  They will accomplish in a couple of hours what it would take me many Saturdays to achieve, and they definitely do it better than I would.

Could I spend the money on other things?  Yep.  Do I want to?  Nope!  Sure, I could eat out more, or put the money towards a trip.  There are so many things I could spend it on.  But for less than the cost of many cell phone plans, for less than what some people spend drinking each month, for less than a fancy meal, I never have to clean.  Ever.  At all.  Sure, I wash dishes between her visits, and wipe down kitchen counters.  I do not vacuum, clean floors, scrub the toilet, clean the tub, dust, or do any of those other exhausting, pain tasks.  I don’t miss it a bit.  Do I feel guilty?  Not at all.  Sure, I used to feel some middle class guilt, but I don’t any more.  She saves me pain and exhaustion.  I pay her in a down economy.  When I do the math, I come up with 2 winners and 0 losers.  Works for me!

As I said, I am so thankful for my ability to hire someone to clean my house.  And I’m grateful for the wonderful job she does.  I’m very excited for her visit tomorrow!

Leave a Comment » | Decisions, Frustration, Limitations, Pain, Support, Symptoms, Unpredictable | Permalink
Posted by chronicrants

Pain, pain, go away…

September 1, 2011

… come again, well, never

And just in time for the long weekend, the pain returns.  This sucks.  So much for lowering the steroids.  So much for the hope that Plaquenil might work.  I hope I can keep my plans for tomorrow afternoon.  It’s hard to know…. I may barely be able to walk.

Of all the many places I have pain, the toe pain is one of the more inconvenient ones.  Because of the pain in my wrists, I can’t use a cane or crutches, and a wheelchair is completely out of the question, so when the pain is bad, I limp a lot and try not to walk.  Combine that lack of movement with the steroids, and it’s no wonder I’ve gain a lot of weight.  Lugging around extra weight doesn’t help things, but it’s certainly not my biggest worry.

I had 3 other posts all planned out.  One is written, and two are composed in my head.  But then the pain, started.  I could feel it creeping up for the past two days, and then half an hour ago, it hit.  I know from experience that it won’t be going away too soon.  I just hope it doesn’t get worse too soon!  And I can’t think of anything else.  So tonight’s post is fairly self-involved, except I’m sure many of you know this feeling and may feel less alone knowing it happens to other people too.

So tomorrow, back to the higher dose of Prednisone.  Damn!  So close!

Leave a Comment » | Frustration, Isolation, Limitations, Medication, Pain, Rants, Unpredictable | Permalink
Posted by chronicrants

Get your flu shots while you can

August 31, 2011

Shots are very controversial.  I get that.  But for those who want shots, and who are at high risk (if you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’re high risk) then it’s a good idea to get one.

Also controversial is the government’s role in healthcare.  That’s a topic for a different day.  Or maybe for 10 different days (I have a lot to say on that topic).  Regardless of what you think and believe, the government does play role in healthcare.  In this case, it plays a role in flu shots.

I just read that the state of Massachusetts is going to offer fewer shots this year.  In fact, it’s going to offer fewer than half as many shots as it did last year.  If you have health insurance, you won’t really be affected.  If you don’t have health insurance, you’re probably more in need of the shots, and will have more trouble getting them.  Great job guys.  Really, good going.  I get that times are tough.  They had to make budget cuts.  But when people are dying of the flu this season, maybe the idea of throwing that extra cash into the rainy day fund won’t seem so brilliant anymore.  I hope I’m wrong.  I hope these 14,000 shots suffice for all who need them.  I really, really hope I’m wrong…..

Leave a Comment » | Educating, Frustration, Medication, Politics, Rants, Symptoms | Permalink
Posted by chronicrants

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