Bet you thought apple, cherry, or any other fruit! No, here we go playing antibiotic turnover. Like fruit basket turnover, replacing one with another. Jim called Dr. Franklin today (Tuesday), and gave him the lowdown about the Doxycycline. I am now taking Azithromycin 250mg pack for five days. Sounds powerful. First thing I did was to go look it up. It did not show on any contraindicated list, though there are some *.....cline* antibiotics listed; I did not check the drug manufacturer list. Hmmm... I just realized I haven't coughed any at all tonight. Could it be? I get this "it's too good to be true" feeling sometimes, especially when it comes to antibiotics working.
I treated myself to a special tonight. I upgraded my Paint Shop Pro X to Paint Shop Pro X2. My PSP X needed reinstalling on this computer, and since it was going to be more than a little bit difficult to find my cd, and I've been wanting to upgrade for some time now, well . . . I went ahead and did it tonight. I have been using PSP since it came out in the early 90s, upgrading all along the way, test driving it with version 8, which is the version I have running on here right now (oh how primitive now! LOL). Later on tonight or tomorrow (Wednesday) I might try to get my Photoshop installed. For some reason or other, I just cannot get myself wrapped around Photoshop. I like it. I have plug-ins for it alone (speaking of plug-ins, that also needs to be done for my PSP - I had soooo many once upon a time, and still do if I can get to my data, and I could if ....... on and on and on ....... it's just so hard whenever you cannot get around to get or find things ....... awk!). I'm not complaining. Just frustrated, which I tend to get whenever I am feeling better, to do things, but cannot do them because of the physical limitations. Hey! You just gotta find a workabout. Alan in Austrailia (check out his blog listed over there beside you - great diabetes information in addition to his travel logs (he has good pictures from everywhere!)) has his Walkabouts and Driveabouts, so why not a Workabout?
Jim is so patient with me and my splurges of inspiration. He accepted long before I did that I couldn't stay strong long enough to complete a project. When I started the IVIG treatments, it disappointed me because Ashley almost expressed complete disinterest, disbelief, dis-this, dis-that.... When I asked her about it, she said, "Well, nothing else has worked, so why should I get my hopes up for this, too?" That was when I began to see reality. It was the same that Jim had seen except that he didn't say so (that's changed more now). I had always thought it a weakness on my part that I was starting things and not finishing them. Not like me at all. Now we know. Yes, a weakness, but not a disinterest. Well, it actually does become a disinterest when I can no longer perform the necessary physical tasks required for the job. Amazing! Now I could quit beating myself up. The MG diagnosis gave the answer to so many questions. Dr. Franklin said he was sorry he did not catch it sooner; it was there all the time, but I had so many things going on, multiple autoimmune diseases, it was just hard to see. Validated. That is how I felt. I have heard the same thing from many other MGers.
Speaking of seeing. I have recently processed some photos that show my ptosis clearly. In all three pictures, my eyes are opened as much as is possible. It *feels* to me as if my eyes are completely opened. This is one thing that leads to my falling asleep so easily. Whenever I look downward, if I do not raise the lid immediately, it is too heavy, and I lose the momentum to lift it back up causing it to remain so nearly closed, and then in a second I am zonked! This is what happens here at my computer, having to look down. I type a little, pause to think, and the next thing I know I am waking to find my unfinished work published, or a hunk missing where it had become highlighted then deleted. Have you ever tried to recapture your thoughts you had hours before? Ha! It's hard for me to do that with only minutes passing. One thing for sure, it has made me become much more diligent and aware of what I am doing. So, from a *bad* thing comes a good thing - some discipline! You think the kids would believe *discipline* is still necessary when you are 65 years old? Let's hope I have used some discipline here because I just found a couple of stray, wandering words, and I have no earthly idea where they came from nor where they needed to go, so off they went! If you need a word here or there, just put it in to suit your fancy.
Looking through my lashes causes a blurred and distorted appearance to things. Sometimes I tape my lid up to remain open while I do something, but that tends to irritate the skin, and I rarely do this anymore. I am also hard of hearing, and the impairment of both has been an emotional battle, but since getting the hearing aids, I am doing better. As I told Jim, I feel a part of the world, a part of the *loop* now, no longer an outsider. My empathy for the sight and hearing impaired has grown beyond measure. There *is* 20/20 vision beneath the lids, the challenge lies in reaching it. Usually, just after an IVIG course of treatment, I will have about a week of *fair* lid muscle use. I get so excited whenever I can see clearly!
I treated myself to a special tonight. I upgraded my Paint Shop Pro X to Paint Shop Pro X2. My PSP X needed reinstalling on this computer, and since it was going to be more than a little bit difficult to find my cd, and I've been wanting to upgrade for some time now, well . . . I went ahead and did it tonight. I have been using PSP since it came out in the early 90s, upgrading all along the way, test driving it with version 8, which is the version I have running on here right now (oh how primitive now! LOL). Later on tonight or tomorrow (Wednesday) I might try to get my Photoshop installed. For some reason or other, I just cannot get myself wrapped around Photoshop. I like it. I have plug-ins for it alone (speaking of plug-ins, that also needs to be done for my PSP - I had soooo many once upon a time, and still do if I can get to my data, and I could if ....... on and on and on ....... it's just so hard whenever you cannot get around to get or find things ....... awk!). I'm not complaining. Just frustrated, which I tend to get whenever I am feeling better, to do things, but cannot do them because of the physical limitations. Hey! You just gotta find a workabout. Alan in Austrailia (check out his blog listed over there beside you - great diabetes information in addition to his travel logs (he has good pictures from everywhere!)) has his Walkabouts and Driveabouts, so why not a Workabout?
Jim is so patient with me and my splurges of inspiration. He accepted long before I did that I couldn't stay strong long enough to complete a project. When I started the IVIG treatments, it disappointed me because Ashley almost expressed complete disinterest, disbelief, dis-this, dis-that.... When I asked her about it, she said, "Well, nothing else has worked, so why should I get my hopes up for this, too?" That was when I began to see reality. It was the same that Jim had seen except that he didn't say so (that's changed more now). I had always thought it a weakness on my part that I was starting things and not finishing them. Not like me at all. Now we know. Yes, a weakness, but not a disinterest. Well, it actually does become a disinterest when I can no longer perform the necessary physical tasks required for the job. Amazing! Now I could quit beating myself up. The MG diagnosis gave the answer to so many questions. Dr. Franklin said he was sorry he did not catch it sooner; it was there all the time, but I had so many things going on, multiple autoimmune diseases, it was just hard to see. Validated. That is how I felt. I have heard the same thing from many other MGers.
Speaking of seeing. I have recently processed some photos that show my ptosis clearly. In all three pictures, my eyes are opened as much as is possible. It *feels* to me as if my eyes are completely opened. This is one thing that leads to my falling asleep so easily. Whenever I look downward, if I do not raise the lid immediately, it is too heavy, and I lose the momentum to lift it back up causing it to remain so nearly closed, and then in a second I am zonked! This is what happens here at my computer, having to look down. I type a little, pause to think, and the next thing I know I am waking to find my unfinished work published, or a hunk missing where it had become highlighted then deleted. Have you ever tried to recapture your thoughts you had hours before? Ha! It's hard for me to do that with only minutes passing. One thing for sure, it has made me become much more diligent and aware of what I am doing. So, from a *bad* thing comes a good thing - some discipline! You think the kids would believe *discipline* is still necessary when you are 65 years old? Let's hope I have used some discipline here because I just found a couple of stray, wandering words, and I have no earthly idea where they came from nor where they needed to go, so off they went! If you need a word here or there, just put it in to suit your fancy.
Looking through my lashes causes a blurred and distorted appearance to things. Sometimes I tape my lid up to remain open while I do something, but that tends to irritate the skin, and I rarely do this anymore. I am also hard of hearing, and the impairment of both has been an emotional battle, but since getting the hearing aids, I am doing better. As I told Jim, I feel a part of the world, a part of the *loop* now, no longer an outsider. My empathy for the sight and hearing impaired has grown beyond measure. There *is* 20/20 vision beneath the lids, the challenge lies in reaching it. Usually, just after an IVIG course of treatment, I will have about a week of *fair* lid muscle use. I get so excited whenever I can see clearly!
This was taken about a month ago as we were dining out.
My pupils were at least half covered by my lashes and lids.
My pupils were at least half covered by my lashes and lids.
This one was taken in February when I got my hearing aids.
I think it shows the droopiness really well.
Plus, you can see the *whatever* that collects in my lashes.
They require cleaning all throughout the day.
I think it shows the droopiness really well.
Plus, you can see the *whatever* that collects in my lashes.
They require cleaning all throughout the day.
This was taken almost a year ago following my first course of IVIG.
It still amazes me at the change in the cosmetic appearance of my eyes.
It still amazes me at the change in the cosmetic appearance of my eyes.
Toodles
Striving for a world without Myasthenia Gravis
Striving for a world without Myasthenia Gravis
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