I made it home! It felt really nice to be back with Jacob, and the zoo! I did miss the animals fighting all the time. Being in NY also reminded me that I DO NOT miss the cold, or no sun. I like the 65 degrees and sunny of today.
I started this blog for a variety of reasons, one of them for my doc, and tracking symptoms. Well the past few mornings I have woke up with bad chest pains. I had been warned to keep Tums in the house, but because I have never had heart burn I didn't even know what to expect. Well this morning I was driving to work, and the pain in my chest was so bad I thought I was going to have to pull over. I assumed it was this heart burn, and went to the local Walgreens by my school. It is no longer 24 hours so it wasn't open. I went to school and it was okay. Then tonight it started again. This pain....those people in the Tums commercial really don't portray it correctly. It hurts to breath, or move....and then the hot flashes. I broke out sweating and couldn't hardly breath regularly. Jacob once again came to rescue running out to Walgreens (man I am really plugging them today) and getting some Tums. So today is the first day of hot flashes and severe heart burn.
The normal stuff, like bleeding gums, and nose bleeds have continued. I almost made it out for a walk today, but when I got home I was just to exhausted. I am hoping tomorrow before SAT tutoring, I can hit the gym, and at least walk on a treadmill. I know that was all kind of gross, and sorry if you have a weak stomach. My Dr. says it is best if we know days and how often of every symptom... so here we are.
Other than weird side effects life is normal. A full week of teaching, and of course SAT tutoring. We are getting ready for the 5th grade musical so I am on a find to get tie-dye shirts for my little Russians. They don't have any transportation to get the shirts, and they don't have the money if they did get to a store. So I am looking for some people to donate....only tie-dye seems to be "out" right now.
Best of love to everyone....especially Jacob who really is putting up with that whole "for better or WORSE"!
Monday, February 25, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Almost Home
Well I am here at the Hilton downtown NYC. The weather has been cold and rainy, so not the best for sight seeing. I have been down the Time Square, all the theaters, and just around on different side streets.
The conference is amazing, and I am learning a ton. I am really happy to have had the opportunity.
My cold is doing well. Somehow I think I got over my cold faster without any other meds, than I may have if I could have taken antibiotics. I felt like working out today so that means my energy is on the rise. I am hoping to make it home in time to get in a short run tomorrow!
I head home tomorrow at 3:00, should be back in ATL around 5:30. It has been a good trip, I feel pretty relaxed. The hard part will be back to school for a full week without really too much of a weekend. I have to admitt I found myself thinking of spring break....but it is too far away to think about quite yet.
Thanks for taking the time to read about a pretty non exciting trip to NYC!
The conference is amazing, and I am learning a ton. I am really happy to have had the opportunity.
My cold is doing well. Somehow I think I got over my cold faster without any other meds, than I may have if I could have taken antibiotics. I felt like working out today so that means my energy is on the rise. I am hoping to make it home in time to get in a short run tomorrow!
I head home tomorrow at 3:00, should be back in ATL around 5:30. It has been a good trip, I feel pretty relaxed. The hard part will be back to school for a full week without really too much of a weekend. I have to admitt I found myself thinking of spring break....but it is too far away to think about quite yet.
Thanks for taking the time to read about a pretty non exciting trip to NYC!
Thursday, February 21, 2008
New York, New York
I made it to NY no problem. Jacob and I got to spend the morning today, which consisted of McDonalds breakfast - we NEVER get to have it - and going to Walgreens and Target to get the rest of what I needed for the trip. HA So romantic.
This trip will be interesting to say the least. I don't want to write details, but the conference will be the highlight of my trip, if you get what I mean.
My hunger has really really been trying to take over, but I am trying to beat it; mind over matter. I am staying at a Hilton, which is a nice hotel. I brought some workout clothes in hopes to hit the really nice gym here. The conference starts at 7:45 a.m. so I should call it a pretty decent night anyway. My cold didn't really effect me to much on the flight, I was worried that my head congestion would really bother me in the air, but it didn't.
Really there is not much to report. I am feeling better, so my cold is going away. I am in New York...and will be until Sunday!
This trip will be interesting to say the least. I don't want to write details, but the conference will be the highlight of my trip, if you get what I mean.
My hunger has really really been trying to take over, but I am trying to beat it; mind over matter. I am staying at a Hilton, which is a nice hotel. I brought some workout clothes in hopes to hit the really nice gym here. The conference starts at 7:45 a.m. so I should call it a pretty decent night anyway. My cold didn't really effect me to much on the flight, I was worried that my head congestion would really bother me in the air, but it didn't.
Really there is not much to report. I am feeling better, so my cold is going away. I am in New York...and will be until Sunday!
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
No Voice
Well my cold has taken over my body. Went to school today, with no voice, and feeling pretty lousy. It has to be worse on me just knowing I can't take anything for this. I ended up canceling my SAT tutoring gig just to come home at 3:30. It did feel really great to leave school at a decent hour.
My hunger is taking over. I was losing weight from the last set of pills. Those had me put on 15 lbs. I have been down for the two weeks I have been on Prodnisone. They say the average person gains 20 + lbs on it. I can see why. My hunger was out of control today. I do okay at school because I bring just enough to eat for my lunch, and a small snack. But today I got home and I knew we had left over pizza in fridge. I mean my body just took over. My stomach had control over my mind. I just ate the left over pizza. I have never felt like I didn't have control over my body before. That was a binge if I have ever seen one.
I am getting ready to head to bed. As some of you know, my school is sending me to NY, NY on Thursday and I really want to be up to par for this meeting. I know it means a lot that I am a first year teacher and they chose to send me to NY for 4 days! HUGE! Then my ITP acts up, then my meds get all messed up, and now a cold. I am glad I took the time to come home and just work in my comfy clothes today. I feel a bit refreshed.
Oh has anyone seen that commercial that the man is interviewing but the stain on his shirt is talking so loudly that you can't hear him, just the stain. That is so funny! I get stuck on things like that....probably why I am not interviewing anyone...PEACE!
My hunger is taking over. I was losing weight from the last set of pills. Those had me put on 15 lbs. I have been down for the two weeks I have been on Prodnisone. They say the average person gains 20 + lbs on it. I can see why. My hunger was out of control today. I do okay at school because I bring just enough to eat for my lunch, and a small snack. But today I got home and I knew we had left over pizza in fridge. I mean my body just took over. My stomach had control over my mind. I just ate the left over pizza. I have never felt like I didn't have control over my body before. That was a binge if I have ever seen one.
I am getting ready to head to bed. As some of you know, my school is sending me to NY, NY on Thursday and I really want to be up to par for this meeting. I know it means a lot that I am a first year teacher and they chose to send me to NY for 4 days! HUGE! Then my ITP acts up, then my meds get all messed up, and now a cold. I am glad I took the time to come home and just work in my comfy clothes today. I feel a bit refreshed.
Oh has anyone seen that commercial that the man is interviewing but the stain on his shirt is talking so loudly that you can't hear him, just the stain. That is so funny! I get stuck on things like that....probably why I am not interviewing anyone...PEACE!
Monday, February 18, 2008
2 hours later....
Well I am back from the docs. Pretty much nothing changes. Because of my cold my counts may or may not have been low. The Prednisone causes me to have a weakened immune system, because of the weakened immune system I have caught a cold. When I get sick all my blood tries to fight off the 'bad' antibodies so I can get well. But because my body also produces its own antibodies my immune system pretty much goes crazy and loses its mind. So my blood counts didn't change from the last time. Now that could mean that the drug worked and then I got sick and then my blood dropped, or the drug isn't working. Either way the Dr. S has decided that we need more time at the same dosage.
I have to admit I am a bit disappointed. I was hoping to go in and he would say it was working or not, and then we could have a plan. I like having a plan. I like writing things out in my calendar and keeping things on track. With ITP you just never know.
So I will stay on this drug, deal with its side effects and continue to pray that at some point my blood decides to move higher.
I will keep updating this, on my regular life. My next dr. appt is March 17....that is a lucky day right?!
I have to admit I am a bit disappointed. I was hoping to go in and he would say it was working or not, and then we could have a plan. I like having a plan. I like writing things out in my calendar and keeping things on track. With ITP you just never know.
So I will stay on this drug, deal with its side effects and continue to pray that at some point my blood decides to move higher.
I will keep updating this, on my regular life. My next dr. appt is March 17....that is a lucky day right?!
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Before Bed
I know I already wrote in here today, but that was early this morning when I couldn't sleep. I am here now, winding down, and getting excited about tomorrow.
I just wanted to let people know what to kind of expect tomorrow. My guess is I will go into Dr. S and he will take some blood, and vitals. I am hoping they will send my counts right to the lab. I will meet with the PA Jennifer (She is my personal PA) and we will talk about what side effects I have seen, and what life is like on a daily basis. Then if I get lucky the results will be in and Dr. S will be able to let me know if we have had a change in my platelets.
Now what MIGHT happen is that they will take the blood and have to send out my lab work, so we won't get any answers. This is something that happens so often I am almost assuming it will tomorrow.
Either way, if I remember correctly we will discuss how to begin weaning myself off of the newest drugs. I can not take 70mg of this stuff for any longer of a time, so even with a positive reaction I can't stay at these high levels of steriods.
I am hoping to be able to sleep tonight. Considering I have been on Prednisone for 10 days and I only have had 2 nights of insomnia. Poor Jacob though...he has really put up with panic attacks, mood swings, and crazy binges. I don't know what I would have done without him. Make sure people to leave him some lovin on here too! He is very deserving!
I will try and update after I get home tomorrow. It will be late, as I have a lot to do on my day off of course! Thanks for the love!!
I just wanted to let people know what to kind of expect tomorrow. My guess is I will go into Dr. S and he will take some blood, and vitals. I am hoping they will send my counts right to the lab. I will meet with the PA Jennifer (She is my personal PA) and we will talk about what side effects I have seen, and what life is like on a daily basis. Then if I get lucky the results will be in and Dr. S will be able to let me know if we have had a change in my platelets.
Now what MIGHT happen is that they will take the blood and have to send out my lab work, so we won't get any answers. This is something that happens so often I am almost assuming it will tomorrow.
Either way, if I remember correctly we will discuss how to begin weaning myself off of the newest drugs. I can not take 70mg of this stuff for any longer of a time, so even with a positive reaction I can't stay at these high levels of steriods.
I am hoping to be able to sleep tonight. Considering I have been on Prednisone for 10 days and I only have had 2 nights of insomnia. Poor Jacob though...he has really put up with panic attacks, mood swings, and crazy binges. I don't know what I would have done without him. Make sure people to leave him some lovin on here too! He is very deserving!
I will try and update after I get home tomorrow. It will be late, as I have a lot to do on my day off of course! Thanks for the love!!
A real Update
Well hello all! I guess you feel like you want to know a little about me, if you have taken the time to click on the link! HELLO! To give a quick update here we go.....I was diagnosed with ITP right before I turned 21, in 2004. ITP is not only an autoimmune disease, but an idiopathic one, which means the docs know little of why it shows up. At the time my body was just producing weak antibodies against my platelets. Platelets are the things in your blood that help you clot. With out them you can't stop bleeding, internally or externally.
I was placed on some meds, and had my blood levels watched closely. A normal person has 200,000 platelets. My regular doc found my blood to be thin at a regular checkup, and sent me to a hematologist. After weeks of tests they found that I had about 30,000 platelets. As my health steadily declined my doc in K-Zoo made a quick decision for a bone marrow biopsy, which proved that my body in fact was making enough platelets. Then we had to find out where my platelets were going. Normally the spleen eats them, but I have a normal spleen. So after being tested for every disease known to the docs, only to come up negative, I was diagnosed with ITP. Nothing much happened for the first 2 1/2 years. I was on iron pills and changed my lifestyle to make sure I was sleeping enough.
Jacob and I moved to Atlanta and everything just seemed so great. Around Oct. I started feeling tired, and more exhausted than normal. I went into the docs and she took a blood sample. I came back with only 37,000 platelets, and she gave me some new meds to try. Over the holidays I started have complications again. Like nose bleeds, bleeding gums, and feeling very VERY tired. Back into the docs, more tests, and she says I need to see an oncologist.
I am now seeing my new doc, Dr. S, who is amazing! The whole facility is top notch, and they really know their stuff! When I first went in the big thing he was most upset about was that I did not have a medical bracelet. I am laughing about it now, because I had gotten away without it for so long, but he was so upset he made a guy at Walgreens fax him a note saying I went to purchase one. HAHA!
Anywho what has happened in my body is that my antibodies are too strong. I no longer can just take meds/steroids orally. My body is not reacting to them anymore. Right now I am on a HIGH dosage of my last oral steroid. We are trying to zap my blood into some kind of a reaction. If this does not work, we will have to do steroids through IV, going right into the blood stream - think chemo. This of course is a scary thought, as I just think to myself, I have never smoked, never done drugs, I can't drink alcohol, I mean what did I do to deserve this.....
Any who the biggest thing right now is that I really need prayers for this drug to work "wonders" as a friend put it. If we can get some kind of a reaction I might be able to put off this IV deal. I don't want to take time away from my classroom, as I love teaching. I go back to Dr. S on Monday at 11:15. I am nervous, scared, worried, I guess everything. I thank you all for taking the time to read this, and hope I will be able keep people updated! I will add pics eventually too!
I was placed on some meds, and had my blood levels watched closely. A normal person has 200,000 platelets. My regular doc found my blood to be thin at a regular checkup, and sent me to a hematologist. After weeks of tests they found that I had about 30,000 platelets. As my health steadily declined my doc in K-Zoo made a quick decision for a bone marrow biopsy, which proved that my body in fact was making enough platelets. Then we had to find out where my platelets were going. Normally the spleen eats them, but I have a normal spleen. So after being tested for every disease known to the docs, only to come up negative, I was diagnosed with ITP. Nothing much happened for the first 2 1/2 years. I was on iron pills and changed my lifestyle to make sure I was sleeping enough.
Jacob and I moved to Atlanta and everything just seemed so great. Around Oct. I started feeling tired, and more exhausted than normal. I went into the docs and she took a blood sample. I came back with only 37,000 platelets, and she gave me some new meds to try. Over the holidays I started have complications again. Like nose bleeds, bleeding gums, and feeling very VERY tired. Back into the docs, more tests, and she says I need to see an oncologist.
I am now seeing my new doc, Dr. S, who is amazing! The whole facility is top notch, and they really know their stuff! When I first went in the big thing he was most upset about was that I did not have a medical bracelet. I am laughing about it now, because I had gotten away without it for so long, but he was so upset he made a guy at Walgreens fax him a note saying I went to purchase one. HAHA!
Anywho what has happened in my body is that my antibodies are too strong. I no longer can just take meds/steroids orally. My body is not reacting to them anymore. Right now I am on a HIGH dosage of my last oral steroid. We are trying to zap my blood into some kind of a reaction. If this does not work, we will have to do steroids through IV, going right into the blood stream - think chemo. This of course is a scary thought, as I just think to myself, I have never smoked, never done drugs, I can't drink alcohol, I mean what did I do to deserve this.....
Any who the biggest thing right now is that I really need prayers for this drug to work "wonders" as a friend put it. If we can get some kind of a reaction I might be able to put off this IV deal. I don't want to take time away from my classroom, as I love teaching. I go back to Dr. S on Monday at 11:15. I am nervous, scared, worried, I guess everything. I thank you all for taking the time to read this, and hope I will be able keep people updated! I will add pics eventually too!
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