Synvisc

Synvisc is the name of the injections I am getting in my knees, I am having a series of five. I really was hoping for improvement right away but I was also trying not to read too much into what I was feeling. By noon, there was not doubt about it, I was better. I was, once again, gliding around my classroom, not looking for reasons to stay put, I was standing taller in the hall and I was able to walk down the hall at a normal speed instead of kind of clenched over doing my imitation of a grumpy bear. I lasted almost all the way through our bizarre afternoon of handling the aftershocks before some of the past two weeks of pain slipped back in. I'd say, without a doubt, I am responding to this medication. I was even talking more from the release from much of my pain. I think all the back stuff was coming from my horrible posture as I tried to keep moving....... Hey, you can really tell I am over the hill with this discussion of aches and pains, but this stuff works, or it is working for me.

Now maybe I can smell the flowers!

First Knee Injections

I was so relieved at the painlessness that my eyes teared up. Giddy with relief.

About 20 minutes ago we had an earthquake of 5.4 magnitude. Something upstairs in Jen's room fell and broke. We have never had anything break and this is the first time I realized what it was before it was over. I heard a rattle, an annoying little rattle and when the couch started to sway, I knew this time, then glass fell and broke. Exciting beginning to the day, Friday, and I am glad it is Friday also.

Our little middle school with a 75% poverty rate raised nearly $4000 dollars for Walkamania, or our school's Walk for Babies, formerly March of Dimes. Wow! I am always impressed with this. Their prize is to be outside all day and yesterday was a near perfect day.

Well, gotta go, it's my weekly pre-school breakfast with friends. We work in the same building, but rarely see each other so we have breakfast on Fridays all school year.

That Was The Week That Was

This week was a physical struggle-- I had no idea how much it would hurt to stop taking my anti-inflammatory because of my blood pressure and how tired I would be with the tinkering of meds. Yesterday I got a new anti-inflammatory and I had been slowly coming back to normal each day. This week I start the injections in my knees to create or force my cells to produce synovial fluid. As a person who used to weep at the sight of needles, I am so looking forward to those injections beginning.

All About the Pressure

Yesterday I felt like a dishrag all day, a dishrag with aching parts I
didn't even know existed. I am some better today the theBP was better
yesterday, maybe just too much too soon. I skipped exercise and went on
home and cuddled up with some books and a comforter and went to sleep
pretty early to LaurieFeist gently rocking in the living room. This
deal of having nothing for my arthritis really sucks, but that may have
been what spiked the pressure so high in the second place. I must
always put weight in the first place. I opened the kiln and all is
well, the pieces are a little too warm to pick up yet, but at least
they will be complete before the grading period ends.

My bike is ride ready, and yesterday was beautiful, but I literally couldn't get this body in gear for anything after school, so maybe today or tomorrow if the rain takes a break.

The BP was down on Friday

down to 136/76 from 200/110--whew, a bit of a fright, and the frightening part is you really don't feel a thing. Tomorrow it is back to school and, although Idread the cement floors with no daypro-- I am glad to go back as I have been a time waster. Two or three days were docs orders.....We are actually going to have a beautiful day with some lovely temps today, must go out...must go out.

Another Cool Gray Day

I just got back from loading the kiln, there was one piece that I couldn't fit in --well, if I unloaded to the very bottom I might be able to get it in.... I am now drying clay at about 200 degrees for a couple of days. I have had a whole week off and yet some of the pieces were still overwrapped and very wet. Rogier Donker taught me how to deal with that so I have never had an explosion yet--of clay.

The medical week in review: well, my medical week in review. You can tell you are getting there when your spring break is used up with your doc's appointments! First the rheumatologist and I am starting the rooster comb injections on the 17th. My family doc had to take me off the daypro cause my blood pressure went sky high-- 200/110.... she gave me a diuretic, doubled my beta blocker changed the calcium channel blocker and today I was already 139/76-- it should ease up more now that I think I am out of stroke range. She did say that she could tell from my low triglycerides that I was doing what I could dietarily-- of course, not to lose weight, there is the crux of the matter. So now it will be a statin, too. deleted expletive here. fill in the one of your choice. This afternoon it is something for me, therapeutic deep muscle massage. Hooray!

It Isn't Beautiful Today Either

However, I was determined to live as if spring has sprung so I wore pedal pushers (you can tell my age from that) t-shirt, light sweater, sandals, no socks to my Docs appointment. After all in was my knees being examined, they should be out there! A winter coat would have been nice. He was a rheumatologist, not an orthopedist. A kinder gentler doctor I have never met. He is sure (but I had about 6 tubes of blood removed to be studied) that is is osteoarthritis mainly in the knees feet, ankles, that the rooster comb stuff will be good for me to try and I am no where near surgery. Once he gets the precert done, I can start getting the injections, and yes family doc, he does them himself, not his nurse. I plan, at the end of the 5 weeks when my knees are well lubed and I can walk more than a block to go to Chicago and visit Chicago daughter. I expect to be able to walk to the coffee shop without whining. Or even to hike half a mile to the parking meter to keep the car legal without whining about that either.

At any rate, I went down to hobby lobby and spent way too much for nothing necessary, but it was 50% off!