Wow!

I think a lot has changed since I last posted, and through facebook and what not you have all pretty much been updated... but I should update here too!

In my last post I had just gotten a new Hickman without silver. Well that lasted a long time!! I just had an infection (for sure this time an infection. It grew stuff) almost  two months ago. Seriously much longer!!  I went from May of this year to November of this year without using my oxygen! I graduated from Colorado Mesa University with an AA! :) Life has been good! Pat is still loving me and we are preparing for him to go to Grad school in 3 semesters and I will be joining him. Mom is well, and so is the rest of the family. We lost Princess, and Mom and Dan separated. That is part of life, I hope they can all be happier now.

I have started a new drug for my lupus, Benlysta. It is an IV infusion I get once a month. I think it is working! This week I start my dose of prednisone at 10 mg!! I had to get a power port for the infusion, as my veins have become increasingly difficult to find for IV. I have used it twice, once for an infusion, and once for a procedure. I have been officially diagnosed as having Celiac Disease, and colitis. Now to figure out where the colitis is coming from!

Last week I went for a check up and the doctors found water on my heart again. For a few weeks I had been complaining of S.O.B. (shortness of breath, not son of a bitch), so this explained that. We upped lasix for a few days and I am feeling better! Lets hope we caught this early!

And last, but not least, I have started going to acupuncture! Yay! I really like it! I think it has really helped with the back pain I have had for the last few years! (Oh yeah, I learned that I have osteoporosis in my hips)

School has gone well this semester, but I am in a little over my head. I have had to drop one of my three classes. I will pick it up again in a few semesters. I had hoped to do Tai-Chi next semester, but I feel with the recent heart activity it is best not to push. I am registered for 2 classes, and I think I am good with that. Winter is (almost) here, and I am hoping that everything is under control.

Spring, injections, and the ocean

Again it has been a long time since I posted, and I am very sorry. Things have just been status quo, until recently! I am still taking classes at CMU and am loving it! Spring is here and I have started gardening. Of course I never do anything the easy way, so my garden consists of many things, including my new lemon tree!

My last appointment with my PH specialist went really well. He said that my heart is almost completely normal! The size is normal and the output is almost there! He was so happy, and so were we. However there is a catch, as there always is with me. My lupus is in the process of changing and developing new symptoms. Yep. Totally active and not responsive. In other words... the chemo didn't work. So we are on to the next step, a drug my doctor has never worked with. Benlysta is a drug given by injection, and yep, I would be going to Denver every month. My next appointment with my Rheumatologist is at the end of April, and we will be setting things up then. This is the drug that was just approved by the FDA for lupus, and there are no long term studies on it. The side effects seem to be the same as the chemo I was on, except there is no increased risk for bladder cancer, and as far as I can tell I will not lose my hair.

I get to go to FLORIDA!!!! This year is the PHA's PH Conference and it is Orlando Florida! I applied for a scholarship and was awarded it. June 22-24. Tami is going with mom and I and is letting us use her condo! THANK YOU!!!!! I am really excited about this! I will keep you all up to date with how everything is going! I need to get a suitcase now! I got a swimming suit that fits...

Lastly... I get to graduate!!! May 12!

Oh, I guess that is not completely all...    Visit my new blog Colorado Blueberry! All about my experiences gardening. I needed to keep track of what I am doing for the blueberries so I know what works and what doesn't, and thought... well hey! I might as well blog it! So maybe I can keep busy on both of the blogs! Wish me luck!