Saturday, September 26, 2009

Game Day! Go Cowboys!

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

This one is blurry, but I still like it!
Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Medical update

The arthritis panel was negative. My ANA (inflammation) came back positive though. He said he's back to thinking it could be lupus. He was looking for lupus when I got pregnant and we stopped all testing and medications. Lupus is a whole 'nother ball game. I'm trying not to read too much about it yet. I did that last time and just scared myself! For now, we're starting a medication (when I finish nursing next week) that will take 2 to 3 months to tell if it is working. It is used to reduce inflammation in cases with arthritis, systemic lupus and other things. Hopefully that will help.

Yep, Charlotte turned 6mo Tuesday, but I haven't put the update on here yet! I'll get to it when I have time!

Charlotte is getting over a cold and got me up 7 times last night between 11p and 7a! She ate 4 of those times, so I guess that she was finally really hungry after being sick! I'm exhausted now and have a busy day. Oh well. C'est la vie!

Monday, September 14, 2009

Update!

I went to the rheumatologist's office last Wednesday and he thinks it sounds like onset of rheumatoid arthritis (in addition to fibromyalgia). He drew blood and I should get test results on Wednesday. We'll determine a medicine treatment at that time.

They took 5 vials of blood, and I started to pass out! They had to fan me, get water, and a cool rag. I sat there for a while before they would let me leave. I've given more blood for tests before, but it came at a bad time of the month, so I was just really low in blood volume probably.

Weaning has been going well. Charlotte is taking to the formula just fine; that makes me feel a little better. It's still hard on me, but each day is a little better. I know that this is the best route for our family at this time.

Oh, the doctor said it's actually quite common for women to develop RA following a pregnancy. I have a friend that had that happen to her too! After her second son was born, hers was so bad that she had to have her husband open baby food jars for their older boy before he left for work, because she couldn't open them on her own! I'm grateful that mine isn't that bad, but I also don't want it to that point.

This weekend, we traveled to Bryan (TX) to attend a wedding. My grandparents live there, so they were thrilled to have us. The wedding was for a girl I met in first grade. I haven't seen her in 5 years, but I could not have been more excited to be there! It was great to see her, her mom and dad, her little sister, and now, her husband! We woke up Saturday morning with a sick baby. Poor C caught a cold (I think I know where, and I'm not happy about it) and was pretty miserable. Because of that, she didn't get to go to the reception with us, so we'll have to go back sometime so my friend and her family can meet C! By Sunday evening, Scott was sick too. He stayed home from work today, so it was like another 3 day weekend! :)

I started a Bible study today with some women from my Sunday school class. We will be studying Esther, and I'm really excited about it. My mom actually just finished it and said it was great.

Charlotte and I have her 6 month well visit and shots tomorrow! I'm in total denial that my tiny baby girl is about to be half a year old!! Pictures to come, I'm sure!

Friday, September 4, 2009

You asked for it

An update on me:

I am in a hard place right now. My fibromyalgia seems to have returned. I know it was probably a matter of time, but sometimes pregnancy can make this kind of stuff go away forever, unexplained. I wanted to be in that teeny tiny percentage, but I'm not.

Last Friday morning, my left knee started hurting. Within two hours, I had shooting burning pain through my calf and pain radiating in my ankle down to my toes. My heel felt bruised for the next 2 days.

Then on Sunday, the same thing happened, but this time left shoulder to finger tips. Now every single night, my arm has a burning pain for hours on end. It hurts so bad.

I have a doctor appointment (rheumatologist) next Wednesday. He'll run blood tests again. He was looking for Lupus before I got pregnant, so he'll probably run that panel too. Basically, we'll be looking for the blood results to confirm an increase in inflamation at which point he will put me on medication.

Sadly, and I'm almost crying just typing this out, this will be the end of me nursing my baby girl. My goal was a year, and it looks like I've only made it to 6mo. I feel like my body is failing me. Logically, I always knew it was an option. In my heart, I made it so long without any pain at all. I wish I could say I can just tough it out, but I know my body and I know that if I let this go untreated it will only get worse. I know that formula is not poison, Scott and I were both on it as babies, but I also really wanted to give her breastmilk til she was 1. Scott has terrible allergies and I have lots of stomach issues, so I was hoping to help prevent those.

I'm really sad about it, dreading my appointment. At the same time, when my arm is throbbing and burning, I'm ready for medicine.

This weekend starts the rest of the year for us. Between now and the New Year, we'll be going to OK 4 or 5 times, spending 1 week then later 2 weeks there straight. We'll have family here a little, and celebrate 8 family birthdays (just mine and Scott's immediate families! Everyone but our moms and charlotte!). I've been dreading the start of this. When I get more stressed, it wreaks havoc on my body. I'll be ready for it to be all done.

In happier news, Charlotte will be 6 months old in just 2 weeks! I can't believe it! Scott and I just celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary Wednesday. My parents are coming this weekend and are going to keep her overnight Saturday. We're going out for a nice dinner then sleeping at a B&B in town. I cannot tell you how excited I am to get a full night's sleep! We even decided not to go to church Sunday morning, so that we can sleep as late as possible. It will be nice, I'm really excited!

So, there you go, an update on me. ;)