Picture of Maggie - Won Her Mom Some Gluten Free Goodies

I promised some folks that I would post the WINNING picture of Maggie - she won her Mom some gluten free goodies ($30.00 + worth) - of course she has gotten a couple of bites of her favorite toast with peanut butter for her wonderful deed. She is sitting up and waving for a piece of gluten free Australian Oatmeal cookie from http://www.thelittleaussiebakery.com.  So here it is - enjoy!!

Super Tired These Days

I have had increased stress recently as I posted the other day but some of those issues have been resolved by a term we used where I worked - "work arounds" - this is when you do something else to solve the problem - a little like patching a tire. Temporary but functional for a brief period of time. I had a busy past few days and cannot even describe how tired I am. The dogs were a bit upset today as I couldn't get up to feed them until noon. Friday a friend took me to run errands and it was a long few hours - I had lots to get done. I won the drawing at my favorite gluten free restaurant The Little Aussie Bakery and Cafe - http://www.thelittleaussiebakery.com/ because of a picture I had posted on their website - so we there Sat for lunch and to pick that up. I was very excited about it!  We had our king sized bed and mattress set up this weekend and needed to have the room cleaned before it was set up - mostly dust and dog/cat hair under the bed etc. - so we had that done Sat. morning. On Sunday morning we had to get to Costco and pick up some staples and to have them load the mattress in the truck before the guys came to set up everything. All in all it was a long three days and I am paying for it with intense fatigue and increased pain. I just hope the increase in fatigue is r/t activity and not the Enbrel. Have a wonderful day and take care of yourselves!

A Quiet Easter Weekend

I hope all of you had a WONDERFUL Easter weekend!! I spent Friday home alone with the 4 legged children - which was okay because I got some things done. Friday night I was really sentimental about the death of my parents - my Dad especially - we were very close and Easter was his last holiday with me as a well person. He was hospitalized in June, July and died here at home in August just about a week after his birthday. Saturday night after church I had the best meal I have had out in along time - gluten free chicken fried chicken with ailoli sauce, gluten free rice pilaf with sunflower seeds and salad. It WAS SO GOOD - The Little Aussie Bakery and Cafe here in San Antonio, TX . We enjoyed some of the wine we purchased in Fredericksburg, TX - all in all it was a wonderful evening. Sunday we had lunch out with my mother-in-law at Red Lobster which has a limited gluten free menu that I was very thankful for. By Sunday night I was completely done - super tired. I have noticed my fatigue increasing even with the increased Vitamin D3 and my right leg is now very painful below the knee - more in the calf. I am supposed to get my shipment of Enbrel tomorrow - so am stuck at home until it arrives. It is still very expensive but a bit less than 1000.00 a dose. Have a GREAT night!

The Definition of Feeling Crappy - ME

I went to the Dr. Tuesday - related to increased never ending fatigue and very severe right leg pain. I was told there is little to be done about my fatigue- I can try exercising as long as it's swimming in a "VERY clean pool" (he mentioned the clean part last year at this same time) and my leg is bursitis which he feels is r/t my Fibromyalgia and I got a steroid shot in my hip for the pain - of course he had to examine it and the pain was so much worse than it was when I got there. He wanted me to pick up next weeks Enbrel but they didn't have any (still don't today). I had a bone density scan - which is much more painful when you have joint pain - I'm glad the tech was strong enough to position my legs - he was probably a contortionist or at least into S & M in another life - by the time I got to the lab I was fed up - she used up her two chances and I said nope - no more!! My friend and I left - she mentioned I had gotten a bit grumpy - which we laughed about - we went for brunch - it was way too early for the Aussie Bakery much to my disappointment and both of us were SO tired she got up at 4:30am and I got up at 5:00am - my appointment was at 0800.  I have been on my own at home since Saturday night so when I got home all I had to do was let Maggie out and go to bed. Wednesday was a bit better - I had to give my Enbrel shot - it burned like CRAP again - even though I left it out 10 minutes - the side effects started about 45 minutes later and I ended up in bed with an ice pack & hot tea (sore throat) but woke up at 6 pm to vomit for about 30 minutes. Then I slept off and on the rest of the night - mostly off. Today I am tired, hungry and want to eat something rich and decadent from Aussie's but have nothing here - which I guess is good. I do have some 70% chocolate eggs - not really what I want. It's one of those days when nothing sounds good - I really don't need to eat anyway - lol.

Relief from Side Effects but not from Sjogren's

I gave myself the Enbrel injection on Wednesday, felt horrible 45 minute - 8 hours afterwards. felt like crap Thursday and like a hibernating bear most of Friday. I have not noticed any relief from Sjogren's Syndrome.  We had planned to take each other on a date Friday night so I made sure that I slept well throughout the day to be up for it. I got up at 4 pm and we took a bottle of Riesling we got in Fredericksburg and went to the gluten free Little Aussie Bakery. It seemed like a lot of other people had the same idea - it's a BYOB but everything has to be 100% gluten free. It was pizza night there but surprisingly there were mostly older (like myself) couples with their bottle of wine and intimate conversation. Our conversation consisted of work issues and on my end medical issues - my Dr. had called from his personal line to discuss how I was feeling but I was asleep - so I had called back and let him know & insurance still has not approved the Enbrel. After a couple of glasses of wine we advanced to much more interesting conversation....This is not a romance novel - lol. Have a great weekend.

Dum Da Dum Dum (DUMB)

It's been a week since I saw my Rheumatologist and the Enbrel was started. They still do not have the prior authorization approved for the Enbrel. I have given myself the extra sample from last week. It didn't burn as bad because I let it sit out 15 minutes before injecting it. The nausea has come and gone at this point I feel especially tired but that could be from my earlier outing. A dear friend took me on errands today - post office, shoe shopping, lunch and then to the Gluten free restaurant for supplies. We had a nice time as always - the weather changed last night and I am very stiff today but it was nice to get out like a normal person. I did find some tennis shoes - really the only kind I wear now related to my poor balance. We got everything done pretty quickly so I could get back and give my shot at 3:00. I am wondering what I will do if the insurance company doesn't approve it - I guess nothing huh - lol. Tomorrow it's my other dear friends turn to tote me around - my taxes are ready and there are a few things I need from Whole Foods. We will see how much I feel like doing - planning on going to bed VERY early tonight.

Ho Hum

As I mentioned in my last post I am the only person here this weekend and am a little bummed out about it. Nothing can be done though the other house needs attention and it can't be done during the week because of the owner's work schedule. It kinda sucks because the weekends are the only time we can spend time together but I totally understand  - not that I like it but I understand it. Last night I cooked an Amy's spinach rice crust pizza - it was HORRIBLE - I ate a couple of bites and decided to toss it - before I did I offered it to the dogs even JANET wouldn't eat it - lol. I was blessed to have good friends come by yesterday and take me to the CPA and to mail 2 of the packages I could get ready - had problems getting the printer to work so I still have 6 to mail and my COBRA payment to next day air. I also need to go to my the gluten restaurant to get fun things to eat.  It will all get done with the help of my friends.  I am happy that my stomach and flu like symptoms have resolved but the mottled look to my skin is still pronounced  - my Dr. calls it a lupus like rash - I've had it since I was on Rituxan but it intermittently flares up as it is now. I am NOT looking forward to my second injection of Enbrel on Wednesday - hopefully the symptoms will be less than last week.