Wednesday, July 31, 2013

What Lies Ahead.....



                Many people are wondering will I ever go into remission.  I honestly can’t say what is going to happen.  SLE affects everyone so differently and it depends on the individuals bodies how they respond to the medication as well as how severe their case is. Some live with it till the disease takes them in death; and some people’s lupus goes into an inactive stage within a few months of treatment. I have heard a lot of people with lupus saying how you have to be patient and hold on.  I’m trying to do my best and work on the patience part!   =)
              
        I am learning to be ok with whatever the outcome may be.  My lupus could go into an inactive stage anytime and could last weeks, months or years.  But to help keep it that way I have to adjust a lot of my ways of doing things.   Stress, sunlight, and simply overdoing could send me into a flare at any time.  I have already seen this happen.  I had started feeling a little better and had a little more energy and the next thing I knew I was down with a flare.  It has been almost two weeks since this flare started and hasn’t let up yet.  Again only time will tell.  Lupus is very hard because you never know what it will do next.  
                
    My doctor is quite surprised that my body didn’t respond at all to the last run of high dose IV steroids.  So already I see my body rejecting treatment, which has been a little hard.  They keep you on all these drugs to try and make you get better but when they don’t work you wonder why they still have you on them.  They are talking about starting me on a new drug to see if that helps any.  I start Physical Therapy next week so I am hoping I start seeing some relief from everything.
               
       My goal was to take a few classes this fall and finish up most of my generals, but with this flare it has set me back in finishing my incompletes. So I have decided to take the fall off and spend that time finishing my incompletes.  Not being able to do much is becoming really hard.  I was always on the go and even though I complained about having to do so much, I miss being so busy and being able to just go and do things.
                
      Another huge thing I have to overcome is something people with lupus call the “brain fog”.  Lupus affects the brain causing difficulties concentrating, talking, and even memory loss.   I also have a dysrhythmia in the left lobe of my brain which affects my right side, as well as my speech.  Some days are easier to speak and think of things than other days. I can see the item in my mind but can’t find the word or get it to come out.  When I get really tired I have to do a lot of pointing.  I am not going to let this stop me in anyway and I am going to fight the “brain fog” and still accomplish all the things I plan to do.  In some ways, I have to learn how to re – learn.  Learning new ways to study and remember things for tests and such is my new challenge.  I am willing to take this challenge full on and see where it will lead me.
               
         With all that is going on I would love to help children with learning disabilities. Share the things I have learned and am continuing to learn with children. I am anxious to see what the Lord has in store for me and how he will have me use all the things I am learning through this situation. 

So as the days and weeks drift by, I am still learning to adjust my life to what is going on and learn how to live my new life.  If I have the opportunity to work I will have to watch how much I do to avoid a flare. Every day is unknown, but I still have so much to be thankful for! It could be a lot worse. Yes, it isn’t easy and I have my hard days, but I just remind myself the Lord has a reason and plan.  I also have a wonderful support system !!!  =) 

 I am still working on a post that talks about lupus, hoping to have that up in a couple days. 

Katie 

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