This just in...

Hi All,

I stopped in at the rheumy's office for my 3-month checkup today. There is good news and there is confusing news. Thankfully, there is no bad news.

Good News

1. I missed my last routine checkup because I was in Tennessee, so the lab results we went over today were 6 months old. However, everything was really good.
2. My inflammation levels are still high, but lower. I hope that makes sense. ;-)
3. My kidney function test was perfect. Wahoo!
4. My liver function test was perfect. This is especially good news because as long as my liver is functioning well, I can remain on methotrexate (the chemo drug). My joint pain and mobility have improved significantly since I began it, and I don't want to have to stop taking it. If there were the slightest abnormality with my liver, I would be taken off it immediately.
5. I weighed in a whole lot lighter than I did 6 months ago. I don't want to say how much, but it was enough to be exciting.

Confusing News

1. I have decided that one of the diagnostic criteria for Lupus should be that at least 3 different specialists should be left standing, scratching their heads because your symptoms totally stump them. My hand problem... the one I thought (and so did my PCP and orthopedist, a hand specialist) was carpal tunnel... was not carpal tunnel. Soon after the EMG was run and showed no nerve damage, the pain went away and I regained full use of that hand. Rheumy was a bit stumped by it, but he explained that because there was more pain than numbness, he believes it was a really bad, localized flare of lupus. The inflammation probably caused pressure on the median nerve and that's why it resembled carpal tunnel. The same thing happens along my spinal column and creates the same symptoms as a herniated disc or degenerative disc disease. That had doctors baffled for years as MRIs would always come back clean yet I would be immobilized by pain radiating from my spine. Like I said... confusing.
2. I have had 3 other localized, weird flares since the "carpal tunnel" thing and so he gave me a prescription for steroids to take at those times.
3. Overall, I am making excellent progress, but this disease does not just go away. I have to admit that most of my flares have happened because I start to feel so well that I forget I'm chronically ill and then do things that I should never do... like do heavy cleaning and painting for 9 straight days. Oy!

How you can pray:

1. Continue to pray that my inflammation levels will go down. I do not want to have to increase my chemo dose. I dodged that bullet today but it is a real possibility if the levels go up and I continue to have debilitating flares.
2. Pray for my health during the cold and flu season. I caught 3 bugs, 3 weeks in a row in October and had to use my walker by the end of the month. My silly immune system gets excited and attacks ME, not the invaders. Lupus itself makes being sick very difficult. With immunosuppressive therapy, minor illnesses are serious business for me. I started wearing a surgical mask again in November and was well the whole month. Michael, Ben and Brian were all very sick for nearly a week, and I did not catch it. However...
3. ... pray for my emotional well being. It is not easy to live life behind a mask. It is hot and uncomfortable for one. But, two, it is not easy to interact and talk with others. I get really strange looks everywhere I go. It's trying.
4. Along the same lines, we have a 2nd member of our immediate family facing a potentially serious diagnosis in December. It is not life-threatening but definitely life-altering. I'm feeling extremely battle weary as we have had about 3 years of fairly significant trials. This most recent one feels like more than I can handle. Yes, I know. I can't handle it and God will give me the grace to do more than just endure it. He is the Mighty God, the I AM, The Lord. But I am weak, fragile, and right now, truthfully, shell shocked. I would ask you to lift my arms by lifting me and my loved ones in prayer.

Grace and Peace!

Photo Credit: https://www.pexels.com/photo/selective-focus-photography-of-spark-1234390/