Monthly archives of “November 2020

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Papa’s Visit to the Dentist

Yesterday, Ken had a dental emergency and needed to see a dentist about a tooth infection that caused some swelling in his cheek. Of course, dramatic as our daughter is, Miyu vehemently expressed her interest in attending. So, because he couldn’t get an earlier appointment anyway, we waited for her to get home from school and there we were, at the dentist, waiting for Ken to get seen. They drilled a hole into his tooth and removed some of the nerves. He was given antibiotics and some weak sauce pain meds. He ended up using my 400mg Motrin (x2) but even that wasn’t really enough to deal with the pain. Barely takes the edge off, apparently. Hmm, now he understands how I live at the moment. LOL

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Do my eyes deceive me?

img_4452After getting poor sleep Sunday night, I promised myself that I would go to bed early yesterday. Fell asleep pretty fast and when I woke up, I didn’t feel too groggy. Pain level was slightly improved, but my left toes are still swollen, still can’t fully utilize my right elbow, and both wrists feel crabby.

I know this app isn’t entirely accurate, but for the most part, I’m just glad to know that I got a full 7-8 hours of sleep. And side note,  it seems to record Ken’s snoring, not mine (I have the audio recording to prove it!). Anyway, it’s extremely rare for me to get 100% sleep quality on a weeknight, much less on a Monday. But I hope to make this my new normal.

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Possibility of SLE

On Monday, November 2nd, I had an appointment with my rheumatologist for an ultrasound of my fingers, and a followup regarding bloodwork from last month. Dr. Matsueda informed me that my bloodwork, along with my ultrasound results, completely ruled out Rheumatoid Arthritis. Since my ANA and Smith AB were high, he is suspecting SLE (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus). He can’t confirm this diagnosis until I provide more bloodwork sometime in mid-December. But, considering that my ANA has been high since November 2018, I’m almost certain that I have SLE, or at least some kind of auto-immune disease for sure. My migrating joint, muscle, and nerve pains just don’t align with any form of classical arthritis.

It hasn’t really hit me yet. I feel like I’m in some sort of limbo teetering on the edge of a nightmare. But I’m doing what I can to keep my head above water. The pile of work I have for me at my job following my recent promotion is overwhelming and the constant barrage of house chores and mom responsibilities leave me little room to succumb to defeat.

Throughout all this uncertainty and quiet chaos, I’m only ever aware of one truth. And that is…I will find a way to get through this, just like I always do.