Monday, October 29, 2007

Slow down....

Well, I guess I spoke a little too soon earlier this month. I've kind of had a slight set back, nothing too bad though. It has been a couple of months since I've had any symptoms other than just being fatigued at times. Well 2 weeks ago some of my symptoms came back=( I've been having tingling in my legs off and on and STABBBING, INTENSE pain in my thighs. I'm pretty sure I figured out why they started up again, I just have to figure out how to fix it. I need to slow down!! I've been overdoing it, especially on the weekends. I've just been going non-stop EVERY weekend and then work has been REALLY stressful during the week. So, a combination of the two has not been good for my body. The frustrating part is I'm only 26 and I don't know how to make myself slow down. I feel like I should be able to go and do whatever I want, but then I have to remember I can't anymore.....well I can, I just have to make time to rest in between.

I was at the mall Saturday and was telling Mom and Meemaw how frustrating it is that I get worn out just from going shopping (however I guess that is good for Doug and my checkbook;)! Anyway, I was saying that I worry about how I'll be able to keep up with my kids once I have them. Just after that conversation was over, we passed a woman that had NO ARMS at all!!! And she had 2 kids with her. It was like God's way of quickly reminding me that it could be worse. I mean, I may not have the energy all of the time, but at least I have my arms!!

I'll keep you all posted on my symptoms. Please keep me in your prayers that I'll quickly get over this small bump in the road and learn to RELAX and REST!!

And, just remember.....

"It could always be worse."

Thursday, October 4, 2007

No news is good news...

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but I guess the old saying "No news is good news" is true! I've been feeling wonderful the past couple of weeks...knock on wood:) This past Tuesday I worked all day, went grocery shopping, carried the groceries up to my 2nd floor apartment, put them away, unloaded the dishwasher, did a load of laundry, exercised for an hour (back to my old time again....3 miles on the eliptical machine in 28 minutes!!), showered, made some tuna salad, and then finally relaxed with Doug. This may sound like nothing for those of you with kids, but it was a huge accomplishment to have the energy to do all of this in one evening!! The only disappointing thing about all of this is that I must take advantage of it now because you never know how I'll feel next week.

I did receive a little bit of frustrating news from my retina specialist. I've been seeing her every 4-6 weeks since March for my pars planitis (inflammation of the retina). I've been on steroid drops and anti-inflammatory drops since I started seeing her. Each time she says "Ohhhh, your eyes are looking a little better than last time, but I'd like to get them even better." So each time I go in with hopes she'll stop the drops and she doesn't. There are other options to decrease the symptoms (oral meds, injections in the eyes, etc.), but since I have 20/20 (with no contacts or glasses) she doesn't want to risk my perfect vision. She actually wants me to go back and have MORE tests done to see if I have some other auto-immune disease like Lupus, Lyme Disease, etc. I've been through these tests twice now: once 6 years ago when my eye disease first started and then again earlier this year when they were ruling those same diseases out in order to diagnose me with MS. So honestly, I'm not up for more testing. I finally have a diagnosis of MS, I've learned to live with it, the injections are getting easier every day, and I've moved on emotionally!! So, I'm not really sure what I'm going to do, I'm considering stopping the drops myself. When I was first diagnosed with pars planitis 6 years ago, it was my understanding that a HUGE percentage of patients with this disease have no cause for it (ideopathic) and there is no cure for it, you just learn to live with it. I learned to live with it years ago, so why go through more medical testing and emotional rollercoasters at this point?!

Okay, I'm done ranting about that now:) On a more cheerful note, Nicole's Angels are still brining in the money. We're over $4,600 now and still counting!!


"Love the moment, and the energy of that moment will spread beyond all boundaries."