Tuesday, December 14, 2010

It's Been Awhile...

So it has been awhile since I posted. I got sidetracked by a lot of new & exciting things happening. First of all, I spent about 1.5 months out with my best friend Erinn in Wichita Kansas to help her get ready for her wedding. It was a gorgeous June day when she married the love of her life. I am so happy that she invited me to share that momentous day with her & her family. I love you ER!

After that my husband & I moved again. This time it was only a few blocks away so the packing & everything was easier, but our management company did not. Lets just say that I am NEVER EVER going to live in a home owners association complex again. I suggest you do not as well. They are all stuck up & dislike any form of creativity. I'm sorry that I'm not a Stepford Wife, just not my thing. I value my originality. But I'm getting side tracked.

A few days before my birthday this October I received some upsetting news. After a routine female medical exam & I was told that my test results were abnormal & that I had HPV. For those that don't really know what HPV is check out the wiki page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_papillomavirus. My doctor told me that I had to have another exam & possibly a biopsy. I spent the whole week of my birthday while I was in back in San Jose freaking out about what this could mean. "Do I have cancer?" "Will I be able to have my own children?" "How will this affect my family?" My family was really supportive & should me how much they loved me. I was constantly being told that I was not alone, which made me feel good.

The following week when I was back home I had my second exam. Cells still showed up as abnormal & biopsies were done. I spent another week agonizing over those results. But when we went in to "hear the verdict" we were told that there were low grade changes. That was good news! That means that there were NO cancer cells, but that we had to keep watch over them to make sure they don't change. I have another appointment for a follow up exam in April. Hopefully we hear about low grade changes or no abnormal cells then.


Recently I have started to get really bad anxiety attacks before taking my Humira injection. It stems from an injection I had a few months ago where it hurt really bad & I screamed bloody murder & made Marshall stop. Now every time I see the needle, even when it is just in the fridge, my chest gets tight & I am unable to breath. I finally spoke to my amazing rheumatologist about it & she prescribed me Xanax to take about 45 minutes beforehand. I will be trying them out on Friday & I will post how it went afterwards. While seeing my doctor I also got some sad news from her, she is going on sabbatical for a year or so. Now I have to find a rheumatologist & finding a good one is always really difficult.

The holidays are keeping my family exceptionally busy this year. Marshall & I making edible goodies as Christmas presents for all of our family & friends. We thought that this would be easier & cheaper then buying gifts for everyone, but with all of the time it is taking up it might have been easier to buy presents. hehe. Also a first is happening on my mother's side. My little cousin Joanna is expecting a baby! She is currently due on Christmas Eve, which makes me super glad that we decided to head down to the Bay early this year. I plan on spending some time down there after the holidays to help out with the new baby considering my aunt & uncle both work full time.

Well, I believe that is enough writing for now. Time to get back to The X-Files & playing World of Warcraft & being a big nerd.

If I don't post again beforehand, Happy Holidays & Happy New Year.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Injection 1 Video & Picture


Injection 1 03/12/10

This is my first post, which also happens to be the day after I started taking Humira. This blog will be a way for me to write about how it feels with each injection & how I am physically feeling. I will tell my ups & my downs. At times I will post videos and/or pictures afterwards. I apologize now if it is gross to you. lol. It is a bit uncomfortable for me as well.

For a little background on myself, my name is Alyssa. I am 23 years old & I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis in 1997 at ripe age of 10. Over the years I have taken different medications for this starting: Methotrexate as a liquid (which I do NOT recommend), as pills & as an injection once a week; Arava as a once daily pill & now I am currently starting the Humira self injection pen along with Arava.

My wonderful husband, Marshall, decided to do the first injection since he has used an epi pen before & the two pens are similar. We cleaned the site where I was to receive the shot on my thigh & then just went to it. The pain was quite minimal, the anticipation of the needle was the worst. Well, Marshall unknowingly squeezing my thigh harder during the injection was the worst. I experienced slight tingling afterwards & a small bruise formed afterwards.

Now being the morning afterwards, the bruise is just about gone. The injection site is a little tender to the touch, but nothing too bad. I'm feeling fine this morning. No other side effects showing.

Hopefully this is the start of a fantastic new life.

~ALyssa