Who's the Mother Anyway?

On Thursday I was supposed to go to a poetry reading to share a featured reading. Usually, I will go to a reading no matter how I feel. The problem with Thursday was that my husband had class and I was going to have to drive myself. Before I was set to leave, my daughter begged me not to go saying that I wasn't in shape to drive. I was a bit cranky with her for trying to tell me what to do. When did she become my mother?! I grudgingly complied with memories of my begging my parents not to drive under the influence. I remember telling myself that I'd listen to my kids if they ever said the same to me, so I did.

Then yesterday morning, my daughter left for school yesterday saying, "Be careful to stay out of the sun today Mom. It's going to be a high UV index." Seriously, when did she become my mother?! I was complaining about this to my friend Didi yesterday. After all, I'm the one who is supposed to tell her what to do. She's not the boss of me. I'm a grown woman, almost 40! I don't need my teenaged daughter to tell me how to get through my day.

As I was midway through this rant, my friend Didi said to me, "You're lucky. You daughter cares about your well being. My family could care less about me!" It was at that point that I took a deep breath and realized, that yes, I am very lucky. My daughter has had a rough year. Her father had cancer a few months ago, after all. She never knows what shape lupus will have me in. It must have her feeling pretty scared and out of control at times. It's understandable that she'd want to control what little things she can. So she tells her father to drink 2% milk, reminds her mother of the UV index, and encourages everyone to exercise. It's her way of feeling in control of an uncontrollable situation.

I am very lucky.

Take care. Live Lupie!

LupieKat

Too Confident in Feeling Good?

I'm in bed today. My friend Amy said I was feeling too confident in my recent good health, and I needed to be reminded I have lupus. She was joking,of course, but it made me wonder if my overconfidence in my good health made me push myself too hard.

My doctor says I did and ordered that I spend the rest of the week taking it easy. The toughest part of this whole thing is that my friend Jamillaah is in town, and I wanted to take her out. That's just not going to happen. I really wanted to show her the new, healthier Katerina, but instead, she is going to see the same tired Katerina that she's almost always seen.

I'm a bit frustrated. One day, I'm talking to my trainer about how I'm going to take surfing lessons in August, and the next day, I'm dragging around like I'm 92. I'm going to listen to my doctor and take it easy. He told me that he didn't think I'm having a flare. He thinks I just overdid it and my fibromyalgia is acting up. Hopefully, I'll be over this by Monday.

On a brighter note, this time in bed will give me a chance to catch up on sleep. Also, if I have energy, I'm going to write some new poems.

Take care all and live lupie!

LupieKat

Are Seizures Common?

I was just reading that some lupies suffer from seizures at some time or another. I've never had a problem with seizures myself, but I can see how that can be worrisome for some lupies out there.

According to the article I read at Reuters, hydroxychloroquine helps treat seizures. The article also states that seizures are seen early on in lupus diagnosis.

I mention it so that lupies know that they aren't alone, and that there are plenty lupies going through the same thing. Hopefully, you're being treated and the medication is helping alleviate the symptoms a bit.

Take care and live lupie!

Feeling Twitchy

For the past several days, whenever I'm stressed or thinking really hard, my eyelid twitches. I've had problems like this in the past, so I'm not too concerned about it. I only mention it because I've heard that the twitches can be common in lupus.

If I wanted to, I'm sure I can search the Internet for the myriad ways my twitching eyelid can possibly be some sort of life threatening symptom, but who has that kind of time? If my twitching eyelid is my biggest health problem right now, I feel pretty lucky. I think instead, I'll take a few deep breaths and wait for the twitchiness to pass. My doctor has me visiting a neurologist because of fainting spells, so I'll likely mention it then.

Until then, I'll try to live my life hypochondria free!

Have a great day Living Lupie.

LupieKat

Walking and walking

Many employees at my job participated in a 5K yesterday. I was very excited because I'm part of the community involvement committee that helped organize our attendance. I had asked my trainer a few weeks back if he thought I was in shape enough to do it. He was a bit dubious, so he had me walk on the treadmill at increasing increments. By last Thursday, I was walking two miles, so he gave me his blessing for the 5K with loads of instructions. He told me to watch my heart rate and said, "If anything hurts at all, you're to stop. Ankle, hip, knee. If anything hurts, just stop. Don't focus on finishing the race."

So I just took a nice leisurely stroll with my friend Brett. Brett runs the blog Cranky Flier. Check it out. Brett and I walked the 5K in a bit around 50 minutes. I felt so proud of myself. I did this with no pain whatsoever.

Today, is a slightly different story. My left hip is killing me. I usually exercise everyday no matter how I'm feeling, but I think it's a good idea to take it easy. I think I'm going to spend some time in our apartment jacuzzi to see if I can work out whatever kink I have in my hip. It may just be a bit of bursitis.

Today's tip. Always manage the pain.

Have a great day living lupie!

LupieKat

You Can't Take a Holiday from Good Health

That's what my trainer said the last time I said that we couldn't work out because it was a holiday. I grumbled and called him names under my breath, but he was right. I can't take a holiday from working on improving my health no more than I can take a holiday from having lupus. I have to deal with having lupus every day which means I have to work to keep my flares to a minimum every day.

I hate exercise. I got a trainer about three months ago as an experiment to see if it would motivate me to exercise more. Not only has Phil, my trainer, motivated me to exercise more, he encourages me to eat right. It was my New Year's resolution to exercise regularly, so I got a membership at L.A. Fitness. I explained to the fitness counselor my assortment of health issues, and he assured me there would be no problem. Unfortunately for me, he was wrong. The woman who worked with me, had no idea about lupus and pushed me way too hard. I got sick at the work out and was in bed for a week.

A month later, I went to Equinox. The fitness counselor there explained to me how their trainers were trained. She set me up with Phil. When I met Phil, he impressed me with his knowledge of lupus and Marfan's Syndrome. He had me get a heart rate monitor so that we could keep track of my heart rate while I worked out. He pushes me hard but not too hard. We review classes at the gym together to pick appropriate ones for me.

The first few weeks I worked out, I felt so exhausted, but now, I feel really good. Every morning I wake up to work out, I'm so cranky and stiff, but after working with Phil, I feel great. I told Phil I want to be able to surf by my 40th birthday which is in December. Phil assures me that there's no reason I can't make that goal. If I do, I will be so happy.

If you're a lupie considering exercise, take it slow. Make sure to talk to your doctor about acceptable exercises. Also make sure you have the appropriate workout attire. If you all recall from previous posts, I broke my foot walking in the wrong shoes once. If you decide on a trainer, make sure they are trained in working with people with chronic conditions like arthritis and lupus. Good luck and live lupie!

Long time no post

Hi Lupies:

Forgive my long sabbatical. I didn't want to blog until all my husband's issues are settled. Long story short. He had his prostate removed, and then a spot was found on his lungs. It's been a long six months, but the spot on his lungs, which the doctors still can't diagnose, is getting smaller. Whatever it is will be disappearing shortly (Hopefully.)

On my end, I've been doing a lot to live my lupie life. I found a car. I drove every car in existence. I found the most comfortable cars to be:

Honda Civic
Toyota Camry
Infiniti M Series
The Volvo SUV

However, the winner for comfort was the BMW 745Li. That car is perfect. It has comfort seats that adjust at least 20 ways, heated seats and massage on the driver's side. I got mine used because new is just way too much for us to afford. I love it.

Thanks for all the wonderful comments on my blog. I will write again soon.

Wishing you all a pain free lupie day!

LupieKat