If You Try to Relax...

What I had planned on being a couple of relaxing weeks, did not turn out that way.  Mostly, it wasn't a bad thing.  I just wanted to do absolutely nothing for a bit. 

Last week, I ended up having to take my dog to the vet.  He was acting all drunk like that Sunday and then just started shaking.  After a few nights of no sleep, I took him in to the vet on Wednesday.  Since I'm new to the area, I hadn't established a new vet for my dog.  So Tuesday I was doing a quick search to find a good vet nearby (I don't like to travel more than 15 minutes for a vet, just in case it's serious).  Upon finding one I had to schedule an appointment.  The soonest I could bring my dog in was early Wednesday morning.  Luckily, it turned out to be nothing life threatening.  My dog had managed to hurt his hind quarters in some way.  He was in a lot of pain, but nothing permanent.  The vet prescribed doggie pain killers (this is after she twisted him into a puppy pretzel).

You would think that I would get to sleep now that my dog was drugged up, but no.  My sister's graduation was that night.  So I had to attend that.  She completed a very difficult program in two years (only eight people graduated), so it was a big deal.   The department put on a nice dinner for the graduates and their families.  I devoured a prime rib (with class of course).  I was able to have some quality time with my goddaughter that night as well. 

After the graduation, still no rest.  I needed to finish up my sister's grad gift before her party.  Since she's into Asian designs I made her a hair clip with feathers.  I also made a birthday for a friend of mine.  Photos will be posted on Creative Yarnings.

Saturday was the big party.  I had the job of watching my niece while everyone set up (horrible job, I know).  She's quite cute.  She was fascinated with the cows.  She kept running to the fence and mooing at them.  She collected leaves, ate strawberries, and just plain ran around.  It's fun spending time with her, because the world is still a new place.  She has to see everything and there is so much, she runs from place to place.

Once the party started, all the grandparents wanted to take care of my niece so I went back to talking with the other guests.  The food was great.  And there was tons of it.  I ate so much, I thought I'd burst.

My mother and I did not get home till close to midnight, that's how long we stayed at the party.

This week was a little more relaxing.  I did have a doctor's appointment but that will be a different post.

I almost have all my stuff unpacked from moving.  It's kind of nice not having to search through boxes for stuff.  A few things have vanished.  I'm guessing a box fell off during transport.  

I received Cayston.  After only a week on it, people are saying I'm more energetic and have more colour in my face.  I just notice that I'm more hungry.  Not sure if it's the Cayston, or if I'm just starting to come back up health wise.  Either way it's nice.

That's everything in a nutshell. 

Who's the Expert?

I saw my normal CF team on Monday and woo hoo no insulin.  Actually, it's more like no insulin for the next six weeks.  I'm supposed to monitor my sugars and then we'll discuss what to do at my next appointment.  Apparently, falling asleep right after an injection is not a normal reaction.

Also, my A1C is at 6.1 which means I'm pre diabetic, not diabetic.  At 7.0 I will be diabetic.  So I'm not really sure why the doctors in Stanford put me through so much headache.  I am aware that if I go through with having a transplant, I will become full blown diabetic.  So that is something to think about.

My weight is down.  So it's back to increasing those calories, all the while trying to get back into shape.  Not an easy task.  My doctor said that if the insulin wasn't putting me to sleep, he would recommend my staying on it for the weight gain (insulin can be used as a growth factor).  But falling asleep makes it hard to work out :o)

My PFTs are up by a smidgen.  But they are up.  So that's good news for me.  And to top it off I get to start Cayston!  I have to wait for it to be delivered, which I was warned it can take a couple of weeks.  But I get to start it.  Hopefully, it'll put off my needing a transplant for a while longer.

Some bad news.  Someone got the crazy idea that the FDA should approve the pancreatic enzymes that most CFers need for proper food digestion.  Problem is, not all brands are created equal.  I spent years trying different brands until finding Ultrase.  Ultrase is the only one that works for me.  With other CFers, it's the same thing.  They have a specific brand that works the best for them.  The FDA has only approved three brands and Ultrase is not one of them.  I have about two weeks left of my enzymes and then I'm going to have to switch to a brand that is sub-par for my body.  This really sucks.

I guess someone from Stanford complained to Davis that I act like I'm the one running the show.  It's kind of funny really.  What adult CFer does not act like they are running things?  We spend so much time at appointments, in hospitals, having to monitor ourselves that we know what's going on.  Sometimes before the doctor even figures it out.  A doctor's power is dependent on the patient's willingness to adhere to the treatment plan.  I'm not going to go through with a treatment unless I fully understand what it is for, what the side effects are (long and short term), and what symptoms I need to look out for.  Doctors may be experts on the disease, but we are experts on our own bodies.