Saturday 31 March 2012

Meh

Tired and a bit sore. Trying to get off the prednisone. Had shrimp full on for the first time in...well...a long time. Addicted to this new iphone game called DrawSomething. Sleepy...neighbours have their music up really loud >.>...Haven't been feeling awesome...Got a cute backpack :) it's light blue. Finally found a little glasses screwdriver, it's a key ring <3.

Friday 30 March 2012

Triangulating

I need to learn to watch happy movies...

I don't think I like salmon...

I made yummy muffins :).

I'm very tired now.

Waiting for Bran.

Sleepy time.

<3

Thursday 29 March 2012

Swimming Again

Still not feeling awesome, but I did get out for a swim :). It was nice to be in the water again. I definitely can notice the difference in my muscle tightness after a good swim. Joints, maybe more mobility, but it doesn't help pain wise. I was able to swim for around half an hour before my R elbow decided it didn't want to do anymore.

I slept for around 11 hours last night >.>. But only needed one coffee today!

Now i'll go finish my book and possibly nibble on some dark chocolate <3.

Wednesday 28 March 2012

Sore Again

Really sore. Was limping a good chunk of the day. R hand is very sore as well. Sore sore sore.

Tuesday 27 March 2012

Poor Pup!

We had a puppy semi-emergency today! Milo woke up crying at about 2 am, he couldn't sit down :(. After about an hour and a careful exam by us he settled into our bed to rest until 6:30 am. I took him to the vet at 9:30 and he couldn't find anything wrong o.O. Mind you, I have every confidence in my vet. He is a lovely man and I would happy recommend him to anyone, but I feel so bad for my pup! We were sent off with four days worth of anti-inflammitories, if those don't work then we are to head back for x-rays.

I've spent the day watching over him, he had one little cry in the afternoon but had otherwise been lethargic and sore around his tail.

Just something we'll have to keep an eye on.

In other news, my R knee hurts :(.

I did have a yummy tuna sammich though.

Monday 26 March 2012

Bees Knees

To start off today i'm going to share something lovely :). Today I got to pet both a little puppy and a soft kitty cat. Makes me happy, especially as elements of the rest of my day were perhaps not awesome.

I spend about 4 hours in the hospital today. Not because of an emergency, but because I had physio at 11 and the ortho-surgeon review at 1 (which, of course, actually meant 2:30). Turns out my knee is actually messed up. So there. I've known this for 7 years, oh well. I'll end up having to get surgery to release a ligament on the outside of the knee so it won't pull the knee cap out of place anymore. It's called a lateral release. So the hope is that it will fix the knee pain, but it isn't a definite solution. Anyway, i've got a years wait on the public system to re-think it XD.

In other news I went to a Swell Gals meet up with the Arthritis Queensland people. It was nice to get to know some other people with inflammatory arthritis, but it does make me feel a bit sad to see whats going to happen over time. 

Had extra trouble with my jaw, knee, elbows, fingers and R heel today. Maybe the mtx isn't working yet :( definitely had the mtx hangover. 

Sunday 25 March 2012

MTX Attacks Again

Took my mtx early this week to try and get on a different schedule. Now I feel blah :( not a good mtx day. Sleep soon.

Saturday 24 March 2012

Stray

Ah dear. We had an adventure today! We found a stray at the dog park and spent a good chunk of the day getting to the vet, then another vet to get the microchip information, coming home, calling the owner, and eventually returning the cute little dog. I do feel bad, because that dog had obvious skin problems and flees, but the owner was so happy to have her home and she seemed like a well loved dog. I hope the best for her :).

Other than that, made pizza for dinner. Yum. Had a tuna sammich for lunch. Eh. I'm still struggling with going back to eating meat. I'm not sure that my life is more important that those animals who I will consume for the rest of my life...but I will do my best to honor them and their sacrifice.

R elbow and wrist are a bit sore. Other than that not too bad.

Friday 23 March 2012

Revelations

It's been a big day for me.
I woke up at 4:30 am to the sound of our dog throwing up (he is fine now).
After clean up, I tried to sleep.
But had a revelation.
I need to eat meat.

This is something i've been thinking about for a while now. I've been a vegetarian for about 8 years, and never had the want to turn back until my body went crazy. Now with the autoimmune disease, i'm having trouble digesting things I normally would be fine with. I'm more sensitive to dairy, soy, gluten, etc. But worst of all, i'm having trouble really getting the protein my body needs. I've noticed this because i've been craving protein (especially meat) even when I know i've had a proper amount of legumes/nuts/soy/etc. I've been much more careful with making sure I get good quality protein, but it hasn't been enough. My body has been telling me this for a while now, I can see that after having eaten a tuna sandwich.

After some tears, some resignation, some thought and thanks to the animal, and some mixing I had a tuna sandwich made with sustainably caught tuna. I took a bite expecting revulsion and ended up wanting more immediately. I was planning on eating half a sandwich and seeing how it went but I ate the entire thing. It was delicious!

I felt a lot better after as well. My energy boosted, my joints relaxed a bit...over all I just felt better than I had in a while. I'm not sure if this was actually because of the fish or because my body is distracted by something new in it but i'm thankful for the break.

So for now I will move on to a new stage in life and eat fish again. Possibly poultry in the future. I don't think I could go back to eating red meat though....

Thursday 22 March 2012

Sore

Sore, sore, sore. Today I am sore :(. Still tired. I did manage to do a quick swim, but i'm really feeling it. I'm looking forward to a quiet weekend curled up under a blanket with a nice hot coffee.

Wednesday 21 March 2012

Processing

The fatigue continues. Joints aren't too bad, but oh my aching legs! Hopefully that means the muscles are building up ;).

Not too much today other than being mostly bed-bound and trying out my new thermos. Early to bed I think, maybe after a nice hot bath. Milo is especially cuddly today.

I'm still emotionally a bit off from yesterday. I feel like thinking about certain things is effecting me more than it normally would. I'm hoping this means my mind is processing it and soon i'll be able to move on. We'll see. I'm not looking forward to the next session of EMDR.

Jaw is a bit sore today, hands, KNEES, slight headache, slight fever, mild ongoing cramps (for at least a week now, wtf?).

Tuesday 20 March 2012

Not as Blah.

Feeling mostly better today.

It has been a long day though. I had my first session of EMDR therapy today. It was difficult. More difficult than I thought it would be. Quite a roller coaster of emotions. But if it will help my poor brain to process the difficult things i've been through than it'll be worth it. I'm glad I have such a lovely therapist, but it's so hard having to re-live difficult things.

In other news, I had my second exercise class today. It wen't much better than the first now that I know some things to do and I don't have to wait for instructions. I also got the physio to give me some extra core strengthening things to do at home :). I'm feeling very tired now after having so much emotional and physical stress. Good stress, mostly, but still stress.

MTX wasn't too bad. A bit tired, a bit of a sore tummy, but joint pain has gone down in general. Jaw was still a little sore but nothing like yesterday.

The occupational therapist pushed back my appointment again :/ and for some reason called my MiL to make sure I knew not to come in on friday >.>....k.

Monday 19 March 2012

Blah Take Three

I woke up with amazingly bad jaw pain. Ow.

Realised I missed a quiz.

Not an awesome day :(.

Still not feeling well.

Milo was sick.

Early to bed.

Sunday 18 March 2012

Blah Take Two

Not feeling well. My stomach is majorly off. R elbow hurts a lot.  R knuckles unhappy. Very tired all day.

Saturday 17 March 2012

Blah.

I'm really just feeling very emotional and down right now, so I don't want to type. I've had a lovely day, so i'll write about it tomorrow.

Friday 16 March 2012

The Day After

Oh day after birthday blues. Another year older and what do I have to show for it?

Well, for starters I have a great relationship with my husband :). I have significantly more friends than I did this time last year, i've started school, i'm journeying toward better health...Over all i'm in a better place than I was at this time last year.

Other than the onset of Psoriatic Arthritis, nerve damage and having had to move >.>. But it is what it is, and i'm thankful for all of the wonderful things I have in my life :).

I hope this upcoming year will be full of many more improvements within myself and in my life.

On a different note, I think the mtx is starting to kick in. I've noticed a drop in pain levels and joints in pain over the past week. Yay!

Thursday 15 March 2012

Happy B-Day

Happy Birthday to me :), i'm now twenty-three.

I received some lovely gifts from my Aussie family, along with a nice dinner out at the Gap Tavern (mmm..arancini <3).

Now sleep.

Wednesday 14 March 2012

It's Not Everyday That You See a Platypus Pole Dancing

Pretty much what the title said. I started off my day with a trip to my (lovely) gp. While walking down to the bus I was greeted by a person dressed as a platypus pole dancing on a light post with a sign saying something about saving the wild rivers. If thats not an interesting way to start off your day than I don't know what is!

My (lovely) gp trip was to have her fill out my student disability paperwork. Which she did, including adding in some extra things that I hadn't thought of and asking if I want to add more :). She's such a great gp. I still don't quite know how I feel about having a "disabled" label in my student files. I don't feel like i'm disabled, just that my hands don't work sometimes >.>...and I can't lift heavy things....and I need to stretch often....and sometimes I can't think very well...

Anyway, i'll hand that in tomorrow and be done with it.

I also met up with one of the people from the chronic illness meetup for coffee. She is such a lovely person :) I really enjoyed talking to her. Hopefully we can meet up again.

Pain level not too bad today, a bit sore this morning. I have been having problems with my R knee, it's displaced itself twice today and once last night. Not my favorite. I was feeling pretty bad this morning, fever-y and unwell. It got better by the afternoon after I had rested. I wonder if it's related to the potato curry? Or the change in weather? It was much cooler today.

Tuesday 13 March 2012

MTX Take 5

NO MTX HANGOVER! For the first time in a while, i'm actually having a pretty good day :D. I was able to chop things (I made potato curry, yummy!), I did well at my exercise class, and did laundry along with some general cleaning up. I was still pretty tired, but not like yesterday. It's nice to have a good day :).

Now i'm watching my dog try and lick to the bottom of a peanut butter jar. He is so cute <3.

As the day ends, I do feel my body pushing. I'll likely go to bed in an hour, because I know that I did push my luck today and i'll need rest to make sure I recover. But it was good to get things done, and now I have a few big containers of curry for the freezer!

Monday 12 March 2012

Bad Day

I'm so burnt out. I'm not feeling well today, I have a slight fever along with pretty bad brain fog and fatigue. It took everything I had to go grocery shopping this morning, and even then I had to take breaks and lean heavily on the cart :(. It's days like this where I don't know that I could hold down a job or be at school full time. It makes me worry... Pain isn't so bad, but the fatigue...

Sunday 11 March 2012

OT Tommorrow

Tired again. I'm not diggin' this tiredness and brain fog. It's not my favorite. Pain wasn't too bad today, so i'm thankful for that at least! I was able to go to the dog park with Bran and Milo, and worked on some of my homework. I was able to do a bit of tidying up around the house. For being able to do those things, i'm thankful. I'm seeing an occupational therapist tomorrow. Possibly they will have me get some wrist splints to help with my wrist pain, but we'll see. I'm mostly going to them to see what I can do to help my hands, I feel like i'm losing strength in them.

I finished my book :).

Now I sleep.

Saturday 10 March 2012

Kangaroo Point

I went to a new meet up today! It was a meetup focusing on people with chronic pain/chronic fatigue. Only two other people showed up but it was really great to be able to talk and share my experiences with other people who "get it". I really need some friends >.>.

I went to a new place to meet up with them as well, we met at the Kangaroo Point Cliffs Cafe. I've never been to Kangaroo point although Bran and I have been looking at apartments there online. It was nice to go and get a feel for the suburb. It seems nice, and has some green areas which is good for being a suburb so close to the city.

My new shoes got a bit of a work out :) they were great other than rubbing on the back of my ankle, but I think that happens with all new shoes.

My shoulder was still a bit sore, but my right elbow is much more sore than normal. My right knee is also still on the fritz.

Friday 9 March 2012

New Shoes

I got my new shoes today :) they are merrels, so a bit pricey, but i've read they are very good for people with joint problems/bad backs/bad knees/etc. They are zip up black sneakers, and I was able to get my orthotics in them so the physio can't yell at me anymore ;).

It's been a hard day. I've had R shoulder pain quite badly today, to the point where I had to take one of my panadol with codine tablets. But it helped at least. I'm glad to have them for days like this when it's just getting to be a bit too much.

My stomach was doing a bit better, so i'm happy about that. I feel like painting.

Goodnight.

Thursday 8 March 2012

Not so Nice

Quite tired again. I did manage to go for a swim, but i've been having stomach pains all day :(. Even just drinking water causes an achey feeling. Not my favorite. I handed in my part of the paperwork for the student disabilities thingie, now I need to get my gp or rheumy to fill out another part. All this so I can have a break or extra time if I have a long written exam. I don't know how I feel about filling out paperwork saying i'm disabled...I did have some great toast for breakfast though ;). I haven't taken any voltarin today to try and help my stomach. My pain levels are a bit higher today, especially my knee which has been flipping out all day >.<  but it is what it is.

Wednesday 7 March 2012

I was able to do a little bit of cooking today :). Not much, just a (beautiful, delicious) bread from a bread mix (that my lovely practically-sister-in-law gave me) and my chard chips.

Here is a picture :D




Look at the crust! Look at the crumb! Look at the color! This is the best sandwich bread I have ever made! It's yummy too :). It's from a gluten free King Arthur bread mix. I've used King Arthur flour in the USA, and I dearly miss it. They have such a great range of flour and it's such good quality *sigh*. I haven't found anything to compare here yet :/ but I suppose with being mostly gluten free i'll have to do some experimenting!

It was really nice having fresh baked bread. I was reminded of how much I really love making bread, I miss it. With this mix I was able to just use the hand beaters, there wasn't any kneading involved, so I didn't stress my wrists or hands. I'll have to look into making more GF breads. Maybe overnight fermentation experimenting ;) hmmmm....

wrists and hands were sore today, got the new knee brace so my R knee was a little crazy, ankles and toes were sore, R foot continues to be sore, jaw was quite sore especially by the end of the day. Fatigue was bad today.

Tuesday 6 March 2012

Irritation

I've been having some stomach pain lately. I think it's from the anti-inflammitories/prednisone. Not my fav. Blah. I haven't been feeling very well emotionally either. It might be because my medicine is being adjusted, or maybe because i'm frustrated at medical stuffs. Either way it isn't much fun. I'm tired quite a lot of the time as well, maybe i'm going through a flare. The mtx hangover continued on through most of today with a bit of nausea, a slight headache, fatigue and brain fog.

Counselling went well, she taught me an interesting breathing technique. I didn't end up swimming because I was too tired. I did, however, find a pair of sneakers that I think would be alright. Bit of a hefty price tag though >.> but they are supposed to be really good shoes..meh.

Pain: R KNEE, wrists, R elbow, shoulders, toes, R ankle, jaw, wore knee brace today. It did help support my knee but caused irritation behind the knee and around the knee cap.

Monday 5 March 2012

Meth(otrexate) Head Take Four

So i've taken my fourth dose of mtx. I took it later today than the past two weeks though, so now my brain isn't working very well. I've felt like i've been running a low grade fever all day, but i'm not sure if I really have :/. I did go to aqua aerobics, my wrists are reminding me of that >.>.

I'm starting to get fed up with the medicines. They've started really hurting my stomach.

Still getting pain in R foot/ankle. Not my favorite. My R knee had also been angry today. Wrists are quite sore.

Sunday 4 March 2012

Blah

Ever feel like you want to be remembered?

I don't feel like writing today, sorry to my two followers who i'm sure will be terribly upset ;).

Goodnight.

Saturday 3 March 2012

Rainy Saturdays

Day two of upped sertraline. I'm doing a bit better today. Went for a swim. My stomach is still not awesome, but hopefully it will be better off tomorrow. Pain is down a bit today, which is nice. I'm still getting ankle/foot stuffs.

Friday 2 March 2012

Upping the Meds

Just upped the sertraline. I'm not coping well tonight -.-. Pain is down a bit at least. Goodnight.

Thursday 1 March 2012

Short Stack

Only a quick update today. I'm terribly tired. Doctors went alright, had the blood test early and everything looks fine. It is a nodule on my finger but that doesn't actually mean anything >.>...

School was nice except for the random make shift presentation we had to do. I totally rocked it. I think i'm a kinesthetic learner as I tend to learn best by doing as opposed to seeing or hearing. 


I think i'll fill out the paperwork for the student services. That way if I need longer to physically write an exam i'll have it on record.

Went swimming, I had to share my lane with two other people who were way faster :/ but it did get me working harder!

Now i'm sleepy. Goodnight.

Pain: hands, arms, shoulders, sternum, R knee, ankles, heels, toes, some nerve pain down R leg, some stomach upset (from pizza? Wheat or dairy?)