Healthy Report for the Holidays

I had an appointment with my Gastrologist today and it went really well.  All my blood work has looked good the last few draws and I have not had any flare symptoms for quiet some time.  This is all wonderful news.  We will continue the treatment plan that we have right now, Remicade every eight weeks and 2000 mg of Pentasa everyday.  The best news of the appointment was that he does not need to see me for another six months and I do not need to have a colonoscopy in January.  I have had colonoscopies every January for the last 3-4 years.  It will be nice to not start the year off with Moviprep!

I have also had an appointment with my Rheumatologist.  She had upped my medication because I was still having some joint pain and swelling.  The dosage seems to have done the job and I would say that at this time between the 400mg of Plaquenil and the 25mg of Methotrexate the Lupus seems quiet.  I am feeling more myself then I have since January.  I still tire pretty easily but it is something that I can generally push through if I need to or nap off if I have the time.  After months of inactivity I am looking forward to joining a gym and slowly getting myself back into shape.  I will probably never be able to be the runner that I always wanted but I think that biking and the elliptical will help me reach my fitness goals. 

A few months back I had an eye appointment and they had found some discoloration on my eye that they thought might have been a result of my Plaquenil.  This last month I got more in depth testing done and it turns out that the scarring is not from my medication.  It most likely occurred sometime in my childhood and since it is not effecting my eye sight they are not concerned about it at this time.  They will continue to monitor it although he did not expect to see any changes over time. 

I feel grateful as we head into Christmas and the New Year for this healthy report.  This year has been especially difficult for our family with all my health issues.  When you have a chronic illness each day that you feel well is a gift and you learn to not take it for granted.  I feel that through the Lupus diagnosis I have learned so much about myself.  I had many ideas of what it meant to be a wife, mother and even a follower of Jesus.  God has taught me a lot and I believe that I can look back at this past year and truly feel James 1:2-4, "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."  God used this time to do some great work in me.  I believe that I have become a better mother to my children by letting go of unrealistic ideas that I was clinging to.  Also, I feel more...I am not sure if I can explain it very well as I am not that eloquent but I will try.  Dan has always been my best friend ever since we met when I was 17 year old.  However, these last few years as we have had children, jobs getting cut back and then added (and back and forth you know the railroad life), suffered a miscarriage, and my numerous health issues, I feel that we are more than just a husband and wife.  God has really been with us this year and I am thankful that in these struggles that we have faced we did not fall apart but we came closer together.

I know that sometime in the future I will get ill again.  It is just apart of the life when you have a chronic illness (or if you are a complete fixer-upper and have two) but I am so thankful for today.  I feel a solid 90% and I will take that with a smile!