It's been a rough week. I tried really hard to manage without the being on the prednisone, but I only lasted a few days. I only felt better on Tuesday after therapy which is when I wrote my last blog so I was trying to be optimistic.
On Wednesday I was back to how I was feeling before. Thursday was even worse. I started losing my appetite so I kind of had a feeling I was going to be having a flare again. And I was right. Thursday night I could barely get around the house. I tried doing everything I could even though I was in a lot of pain. I tried stretching, icing, took a shower to relax, used a softball to loosen up my muscles, but nothing was working. I finally went to bed hoping I would feel better for my appointment in the morning.
Oh boy was I wrong. Friday morning I was so much worse and I felt like I was very close to making my way back to my worst point of my flare that happened about a month ago. Thankfully, I had an appointment with my OB Friday morning. Everyone was working and I didn't know how I was going to make it to my appointment; I could barely manage to get around the house I didn't know how I was going to drive myself or walk to get to my appointment. Fortunately, my father-in-law was on vacation and was pretty much my chauffeur all day.
My ultra sound was the first part of my appointment. I pretty much have an ultra sound almost every time I go because of my autoimmune disease so they can monitor me and the baby. The nurse noticed I wasn't doing so well and helped me slowly walk back to the room and up onto the table. I dreaded laying on my back becasue any pressure to my SI joint makes it so much worse especially when I'm already hurting. Sometimes it helps if I bend one of my legs. This helped, but only a little bit. My father-in-law definitely enjoyed getting to see Jackson during the ultra sound. Unfortunately, I didn't get to enjoy it as much as he did. As I was laying on my back, I began overheating. My skin felt very hot and my face began sweating. It also didn't help that she was pushing on my stomach. Once she realized I wasn't feeling well she quickly finished up. She helped me walk to the room for my next part of the appointment and got some water for me.
The next nurse walked in and said,"I heard you're not doing so well. Will you be able to let me check your weight and give me a urine sample." I sighed because I knew it was going to be a task and told her I would try to do what I could. She helped me walk to the scale and stood outside the bathroom door just in case and helped me walk all the way back to the room.
At this point, I was in even more pain. I had definitely aggravated my lower back from all the activity. While I waited for my doctor to come in the room I had to literally lean to the right side the whole entire time to put as little pressure as possible on my left side.
I think by now the whole office knew I was struggling. The first thing my doctor said was, "I heard you're not doing too well." Originally my Rheumatology doctor proscribed the prednisone for me so he's the one that decided the dosages and how to taper me off. I informed her that I had been off the prednisone since Monday and that I started having a flare the night before. She basically told me that I wouldn't be able to manage without the prednisone and that I would need to be on it the rest of my pregnancy. I was okay with that because she was right.
We discussed that with me being on the prednisone the rest of the time that Jackson and I will both definitely be much bigger than if I were not taking it. Apparently there is also sugar in prednisone so between the weight gain and the sugar I will most likely be a pregnant diabetic. I guess this is also common and they usually test pregnant women for this anyway. I drank the really sugary drink so I could get my blood drawn for them to do the tests.
I had to wait an hour before I could get my blood drawn so my father-in-law and I drove across the street to the CVS to get my new prescription filled. By the time we were done at CVS and getting my blood drawn it was time for my next appointment with therapy. My doctor at therapy also could tell I wasn't doing so well.
I was already in pain because of my flare and I had a pretty active morning so it was really hard for me to get around at this point. He asked me different questions trying to find the root of my problems. Where does it hurt? Does it hurt more when you push off with your left leg? Does it hurt to lay a certain way? What does it feel like if you bend this way? He'd push on different muscles and then have me walk to see what made me feel better after each time. This time he actually pushed on my lower back directly where it hurt. I know as painful as it was he was actually helping. I just wouldn't see the affects of it that day.
By the time I finally got back home I was so physically drained. I still felt pretty bad that night. Saturday morning I woke up and felt so much better. My father-in-law said he could tell I felt better because I wasn't moving as slow and the expressions on my face looked so much better. I still was in pain on Saturday, but I noticed a major improvement.
What surprises me is how I can go from one extreme to another in a matter of no time. I felt like 75% better yesterday, but this morning was a different story. From the moment I woke up I knew it was going to be a bad day. Just laying there my whole left side was in pain. I've been up since 6:30 am because I was so uncomfortable I couldn't go back to sleep. When I finally got the courage to get out of bed I got breakfast and took my medicine. It's almost 1pm and I am just now starting to somewhat feel better.
It's very frustrating having an autoimmune disease that can be so unpredictable, especially when I have medication I can take to make me feel at my full potential, but I can't take it now. It's hard to mentally and physically prepare myself for a flare. It's also very draining. When I feel that bad it takes a lot out of me. It's also frustrating struggling to get around and feeling so helpless. I'm hoping that being back on the prednisone things will start getting better. It's definitely a wait and see process.
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