Choose Your Own Title (a.k.a. I'm too tired to name this thing.)

Hi All,

I have not felt great today but wanted to hop on and give you a quick update of what is going on at the Lupie House.

Chemo

• I've been responding much better to my weekly dose. In fact, I've had almost no nausea on Friday nights after the injection.
• The med I take on Saturdays to counter the effects and to help with my anemia (Did I even update about that? I've had a chemo-induced anemia which is what was causing the dizziness and light-headedness) has helped. I have a dizzy spell from time-to-time. Lying down for a few minutes resolves it. However, this med also seems to make me very sleepy as I cannot stay awake most of the day Saturday.
• Today, however, I have had trouble eating and have a general ill feeling. Ben has not felt well, either, so it is possible it is a bug and not the chemo. It's so hard to know.

Overall Health

• I am gaining more energy. I do not feel drained all.the.time. I do run out of "spoons" and still feel the need to conserve my energy but I can see improvement.
• I have not had an incapacitating flare (except for when I did T-Tapp) since September. Woo-Hoo! I hope I can throw the walker away soon.
• My rashes are clearing. The ones on my eyelids are gone. My mylar (butterfly) rash is very minimal. The worst rash (on my left thumb) is even clearing up. It has driven me batty for 10 years and nothing has made it better (and I've tried a lot of stuff!). :)
• I've had a couple migraines this week, but there has also been a lot of stress.
• My legs and feet still swell considerably, especially if I've had to do a lot of standing and walking during the day.

Up-coming Events

• I have somewhere I have to be every.single.day this week, most of it involves my routine check-ups. In particular, I will see both my rheumatologist and my ophthalmologist this week. Pray for my energy levels as this is going to be a challenge for me. I usually try to have a day on and then a day off to conserve those spoons.
• I will have to discuss the past 8 weeks with my rheumy and decide whether to up my chemo dose or not. Pray for wisdom.
• I'll also have more blood work done. This is a regular part of life now. Pray that the auto-antibodies will go away and for my major organs, particularly my kidneys which seem to be most at-risk.
• The ophthalmologist will put me through a battery of tests and check my retinas for damage. I'm not experiencing any symptoms of complications but the meds I take can blind me and the damage can be done before I would detect anything. He makes sure that doesn't happen. Pray for good results.
• The Lupie house is going to get a plumbing overhaul next week. Every single pipe has to be removed and replaced. We have to leave the house for 3 days for the work to be completed. We have decided that since we have to stay in a hotel anyway, we might as well go to one of our favorite places, a couple hours from home. Given how I have felt this weekend, I am not sure if this is a good idea or not. I don't feel up to traveling. Once we're there, I'll get to rest by a beautiful lake or in the hotel, depending on the weather and how I feel. Please pray for my time in the car. That's what I'm most worried about since I tend to get carsick anyway.

I will probably not report back again for a few weeks. Getting in school, going to all of these appointments and having us ready to leave before my Friday shot is going to be quite an undertaking. I know many of you are going to ask how you can help, and my honest answer is that I don't know. I'm so bad at answering that question, so if you think of something you want to do to help, don't let me hold you back. :) 

I consider your prayers the most valuable help! Thanks for praying!


Photo Credit: https://www.pexels.com/photo/alone-bed-bedroom-blur-271897/