Super Informative Health Update - May 2012

New visitors to this blog or people who aren't sure what this is about might want to click here for some background info. Long story short, I have this. :)

The best thing that happened this month was…

May has been the very first Healthy Month of 2012! I have not even had a cold, or allergies, which is amazing. Even though I've kind of accepted that "borderline sick" is pretty much my new normal, I've been really good, and aside from my actual clinic appointment, I haven't had to take any days off work for illness. :)

I went to the clinic today and saw a specialist I hadn't seen before, because Dr. M. was at a conference. Dr. R. was really nice though, and introduced himself with "Hi, I don't think we've met before, I'm the good-looking older one". :P He said that all my blood tests results look really good, and that my kidney function, while still pretty bad, was not any worse (creatinine was 195, which is a whole lot better than 231, which is what it was after THIS incident!).

Overall, this means the goal we set at the start of this year to "beat the crap out of it" seems to be working! :)

Yes, I'm one of those people who takes a huge list of questions to appointments with her! BTW, yes, I know I misspelled "occasional"! FAIL.

Other pretty cool things..

• Starting tomorrow, my Prednisone dosage has been reduced from 40mg to 30mg. Then, in a month to 20mg, then 15mg a month after that. I then go back to the clinic in 3 months to see what effect this dosage reduction has had. I hear that most people don't see a marked improvement in side effects until they get to 10mg or below, but considering I started on SIXTY milligrams at the beginning of February, I am pleased to be getting to taper off.
• Not health-related, but I met a very cool new person this month, and they are proving to be a pretty good distraction. ;-)

The worst thing that happened this month was…

Meh. The usual. The weight gain. I am now 78kg (172lbs) which, on a 5'5" person, is a BIG change from being 70kgs (154bs) pre-treatment, but hopefully I won't gain too much more weight, and will be able to look at getting rid of at least some of it before the end of the year, which would be awesome! It is very frustrating to eat healthily and exercise daily and still be gaining weight.

Other not very good things…

• Nothing.

Something unexpected that happened this month…

Strangely, not being sick was kind of unexpected! As I said before, that borderline feeling of "Am I coming down with something...?" is pretty typical of how I am most of the time lately, but so far so good, nothing has actually happened to me!

Other unexpected things…

• Nothing.

The craziest thing my body has done this month…

My leg hair has virtually stopped growing. Before all these drugs, I would shave in the morning and feel prickly again the next day, or even that night. Now, I can easily go a week and a bit without shaving. It is completely bizarre, and even more so because hair everywhere else is growing as normal...? I know. I don't understand it either. o.O

Other crazy things that have happened to me…

• Nothing that I can think of, really! :P

In other news, you still have one more day to enter this lovely giveaway from Elisabeth!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It's giveaway time!

I have a little giveaway for all you lovely readers today!

Some of you are probably already fans of Elisabeth and her blog La Vita e Bella - if you're not, you should be!

For the next couple of days she is offering you the chance to win a large a space on her blog for the month of June.

Aside from being generally awesome, here are 9 extra reasons from Elisabeth for why you should all want to win this giveaway...

1. Because I was born in Japan.
2. Because your button won’t just go up on my sidebar - you’ll be featured throughout the month with text links to my favorite posts and featured sponsored introductions with guest post and giveaway options.
3. Because I make the best chocolate chip cookies ever.
4. Because I have awesome readers (which you know because you’re reading this) and you want to meet them.
5. Because this is my first month sponsoring some bigger blogs which means that as more people find my blog, they also find your little piece of the blogosphere.
6. Because I just redesigned, reorganized, and am so excited for the awesome content coming in this month!
7. Because Its spring, in Utah - which means beautiful pictures in this wonderful place that I live.
8. Because I also have the most attractive husband ever, who I photograph from time to time as well :P
9. Because It’s spring which means I am also NOT in classes which means I have so much more time to do so much more fun (and that means more fun to blog about - which means more blogging which means more visitors which mean more people see you which means more of them find there way over to your awesome blogs).

See!? Why would you NOT want to see your button on her sidebar!? :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Perspective

A friend sent me this in an email today and I thought they were too clever not to share. I think my favourite one is the cat with the vacuum cleaner vs. scary tentacled Thing...but the corgi puppy is pretty cute too!

Happy Saturday!

Also, thanks to all the people who recommended Shellac manicures! I think it may be something I test out for myself soon. Might be a week or so away yet though, since last week I cleverly managed to burn my hand on the jug in the staffroom at work, so I want to wait for that to heal first. >.< Boo. Oh well - all the more time for me to contemplate what colour I want to commit to for like, two weeks! :P

InstaFriday

I am kiwiholly on Instagram if you’d like to follow me! :)

 

1. Pretty flowers at my hairdresser. I would have quite liked to steal their pink and purple awesomeness. :P
2. I feel sad whenever I go past this shop, it used to be Borders. I miss Borders. :(
3. Spotted these in an Asian supermarket - I wasn't quite brave enough to try them though! Not sure the words "Crispy Tom Yum Anchovy" should ever be combined. o.O
4. The most sickly sweet yoghurt ever. Ack.
5. Bright pink popcorn on a kid's birthday at work.
6. Just as I was taking this photo, our neighbour backed down the driveway behind me! Fortunately this is not a picture of my shadow being run over!
7. I <3 coffee.
   
8. Of course, the weekly photo of my furry child.
9. I love my iPod's lock screen! :)

Have you ever...?

Lovely readers of this little blog! I would like to ask your opinions today!

I've read on a few blogs recently about Shellac manicures, but until recently I hadn't seen them advertised anywhere over here (disadvantage of living somewhere tiny - we're slightly behind the eight ball, lol!). However, yesterday I did see an ad for them at a mall near me, and am now curious about whether they're really as good as they're supposed to be. o.O

Have you ever had a Shellac manicure? Was it any good? Would you recommend it?

P.S: To any new followers/visitors dropping by from blog hops and link ups today: Hi!!!! Nice to meet you!!! :)

P.P.S: Thanks to everyone who left comment (and/or sent private emails) on my last post. I was pleased to hear I'm not as crazy as I sometimes feel.

The Headspace of Holly

I know I've said I'm trying to keep posts about my health to a minimum on here, by doing monthly updates, rather than little bits here and there, since I don't want it to take over, but today, I want to post about it.

In some ways, it's hard to believe that I've been "in treatment" for four months already. It feels like forever (and chemo feels like ages ago!), but it also feels like nothing.

I've sort of adjusted to this "new normal", but I also have moments where I wonder if I ever will. Mind you, maybe that's a good thing - some parts of it are so crap I don't WANT to adjust.

I know I've made myself a bit of a reputation for being a really upbeat, positive, cheerful person/blogger, and I love this, since it's who I {hope I!} really am, but I'd be dishonest if I didn't tell you that there are some days when this is the hardest and worst and crappiest thing I have ever experienced in my entire life.

This morning I came to the conclusion that part of why it's so difficult is because of how long it's been going on. In terms of a lifetime, four months is nothing at all, but it's a DARN long time when it's something you're actually experiencing every day, and you are reminded every day of those four months that you are not who you used to be.

Although it's difficult to pinpoint exactly how, I feel different (both health-wise and emotionally) to how I felt before treatment. Obviously, I also look different. I've been told that once this is *over* I will return to my normal self, but I am not convinced.

Yes, I will probably eventually lose all the weight again, and it's likely that I'll get into remission (still not thinking about what would happen if treatment doesn't work), but mentally and emotionally I think I'll always be different. I don't think someone could experience this and NOT be changed by it. I just hope it's a good change rather than a negative or crazy one!

I think it's also partly because the "novelty" has worn off.

It's not like this was ever some awesome and super cool new experience or anything, but in the beginning it was a whole lot more intense and involved than it is now. I wasn't posting about it at the time, but there were a couple of weeks when I was literally at the hospital every day, for most of the day, either having treatment, seeing doctors or sitting waiting to do either or both of those things. This (along with what was admittedly a lot of extra attention from friends and family) distracted me and stopped me thinking too much.

Now, four months later, I am not in the hospital regularly. People aren't phoning me every day to ask how I am doing. I no longer feel like a human pin cushion from so many blood tests and injections.

All I do is take pills every morning, see the specialist every couple of months and monitor myself to make sure I don't get too sick. It's nowhere near as intense as it was, but it is still very much affecting me - just in a different way.

Right. This is the end of my ramble. Expect another one in just under two weeks when I go back to the clinic! *dun dun duuuuun*

You know...

...that you spend too much time around children when you go to look for a sticking plaster (aka a band aid!) for yourself...

...and this is what you find. ;-)

#33 Donate 10,000 grains of rice on FreeRice

I got to 10,000 a couple of days ago, after finally realising I could make an account to store my total so it didn't get reset to 0 every time I closed the tab!

Not sure why this was a goal of mine - I guess i just thought 10,000 was a really big number and wanted to see if I could hit it! As you can see, not only did I hit it, I also MISSED that I hit it until two questions later! 

I was also curious to see how good my English vocab knowledge actually is! Not amazing, but better than I expected. So far, the highest level I have managed to get to is 41 (out of 60).

Yay - another Thing completed!

So it turns out I haven't forgotten how to blog after all!

I feel like I haven't written a "proper" blog post in so long that I've almost forgotten how!

Seems like I've been doing a lot of weekly linkups, 101 in 1001 posts and health updates lately, instead of writing proper entries about other stuff. I also haven't taken ANY photos for a really long time. Even on Instagram! Oops. #badblogger

Anyway! So far this month I have been mostly healthy! Hopefully May will be the first month this year when I'm not sick! That will be both surprising and super-awesome. I will be very excited if that happens. In the meantime, I am drinking heaps of water, eating more fruit than I have ever eaten in my entire life, using litres of Purell and trying as hard as I can to keep especially snotty-looking children at arm's length.

Speaking of work, I have been doing this a lot lately, which is partially why I've had nothing to blog about! Not only because I'm frantically saving money for some as-yet-undecided purpose, but because it's a good distraction from everything else. I know I haven't blogged about it very much, and this has been intentional, since there are parts of my personal life I want to keep private, but most regular readers have probably worked out by now that my job involves children, who are of course, a constant source of entertainment. :)

If I were to ever write a post entitled "Things I Never Thought I Would Say", "Please take your bowl off your head.", "No, you cannot climb over the fence to the street." and "Don't put your head into the toilet!" would all be contenders. Just sayin'.

Unfortunately for me, I have not stopped gaining weight. Yep. Contrary to what I thought was the case a few weeks ago, I am still very much resembling this lovely creature below - larger by the week. :S Perhaps eating a leaf would help? ;-) Seriously. If I thought it would, I would! :P It's the little things that bug me. I'd like to not feel chubby every day, to fit my rings again, and to see MYSELF when I look in the mirror, instead of the Michelin Man. Disheartening, to say the least.

Source

ANYWAY! Like I said a couple of posts ago, I've been working on my 101 in 1001 list again. A couple of them have obviously had to be abandoned (like "lose 15kgs", haha!!), but I figured that I have until December 16th to do as many of them as I can, so I may as well make something of an effort. Currently...10,000 grains of rice on Free Rice! As I type this, I am up to 8260, and I was surprised to discover that my English vocab skills are better than I expected!

Next clinic is two weeks from yesterday. I'm honestly not sure how this one's going to go. It's hard to say, since even though the last one (which was AGES ago now) was really good, a lot has happened in the meantime which could quite possibly mean things aren't progressing as well as they otherwise would be. Hopefully it won't be too bad, but really it's anyone's guess. Tapering off some more Prednisone would be nice, but I suspect that's doubtful. We'll see.

#3 Go to the dentist

I have been seeing the same dentist since I was a kid. He is in fact a very nice man. By some amazing stroke of genetic luck, I have extremely good teeth. I am almost 25 and I still have no fillings. I also never had to have braces, and although my wisdom teeth are not perfectly straight, they're nowhere near whacky enough to need to come out.

Logically, I should not have any problem at all with dental appointments, but I do. For some crazy reason, and even after what's been happening to me in the last year or so, with goodness knows how many needles and IVs and drugs being stuck into me (none of which I really had huge problems with!), the thought of someone poking around in my mouth with sharp tools FREAKS ME OUT!

Getting the little reminder card in the mail is never a Happy Mail Day. >.<

I went to the dentist today, and survived, and, happily, was told that I don't need to go back for TWO YEARS! Woop woop! Another 101 in 1001 done, and another 730ish days until I have to think about it again! :D

Tell me, lovely readers, am I the only person with a totally unreasonable hatred of the dentist? Surely not. o.O

101 in 1001!

A couple of days ago I realised that I actually still have a 101 things to do in 1001 days list running!

I started it at the beginning of 2010 and then forgot about it! It doesn't end until just before Christmas this year though, so I figured there's still time to try and do some, though probably not all, of the things on it!

My list is here, for people who are interested, and want to see what super exciting things I'm trying to force myself to achieve!

Anyone else reading this also working on one of these lists? If you are, I'd love to see yours! :)

A year ago today, I was here, walking up THIS! Whoa. Where did this year go...? o.O

Sometimes & Always

SOMETIMES I think I should eat more fruit and vegetables for lunch instead of less healthy things, but I almost ALWAYS end up either making sandwiches or taking leftovers.

SOMETIMES I get to Tuesday afternoon at work and think "HOW can it not be Friday already!?", but I ALWAYS end up surviving until the actual weekend...somehow. #ilikecoffee

SOMETIMES I miss Diet Coke, but I ALWAYS end up remembering that even small healthy changes make a difference, and I actually do feel healthier without it.