Tuesday, April 06, 2021

Lupus Saga part 3


Yeah, I meant to write a blog entry, but would put it off for "a day or so" until I got more information. Then after a week or two, I'd think, I ought to write a blog entry, but wait, there's an appointment next week, I'll do an entry right after... And then another couple of weeks would pass. So, I have no actual excuse.

As I said in my last entry, my kidney disease is in complete remission and the kidney doctor says my blood tests show my system is processing everything normally. I'll have to continue having follow-up check-ups, but I can stop worrying about kidneys now.

My main issue is the lupus, which has decided to attack my joints. The most pain is in my hands, which hurt all the time. My knees are sometimes in pain, and it's still difficult to get out of a regular chair (thank goodness and my wonderful sister for the lift chair!). Getting up and down the stairs has become slightly easier overall. I've also gotten at least five minutes on the exercise bike every single morning - even on bad days - since I last wrote. The other bad spot is my shoulders, which I cannot lift over my head most of the time.

The big news today is that I got the vaccine for the coronavirus. Eric and I got the Johnson & Johnson version at a local pharmacy this morning. We then wandered around the store for a few minutes (to make sure there wasn't any reactions) and then headed home. I'm actually feeling pretty delighted to have it done - there was a line forming in the store for the vaccine by the time we left.

I've seen some worries about how fast the vaccines were developed, but there are two big factors that helped complete these vaccines: 1) the tech behind them has been in development for about 60 years (look up mRNA vaccine development) and 2) because the disease was so widespread, trials were more comprehensive and easier to conduct than if the virus hadn't been endemic. Add in the fact that the vaccine development was accelerated during the SARS crisis in 2003, and anyone who is paying attention understands that these vaccines were not developed fast - just finished and approved fast.

I've mostly been spending my days streaming in the morning and reading or watching videos in the afternoon and evenings. I'm not healthy yet, but I'm healing and making progress. I have regular blood tests and doctor appointments, and five days of every week I feel pretty good. But it's those other days, the bad days, that keep me from celebrating. I will sometimes wake with so much pain I just don't want to do anything. I usually force myself to stream since that's my only socialization at the moment, but will stay off the camera and sometimes even off the microphone.

I guess one reason I haven't been writing is that I haven't got much to tell. I mean - it's all the same news. I'm in remission from kidney disease, the lupus is painful, I'm streaming on Twitch, the cat is cute, the hubby is wonderful. I don't get out much, so there's nothing new coming in for me to write about.

Ah well. At least life, overall, seems to be looking up.