Daily Ponderings

It's hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone already. I rested so much just to get to that day, and then it flew by! I woke up Christmas morning, had some breakfast, and opened some gifts from my friend, Karen. She was way too good to me! I loved the gifts she got, too! I hung out with Lisa and Brandon. We watched Ice Age: 2, and Brandon made bbq ribs for part of our Christmas dinner at Mandy's. I got dressed and ready to go over there, and felt a little tired, but ok. We left for Mandy's around 3ish, and my family was all there! We all tried getting things finished for dinner, and then enjoyed a very good meal around the pretty table Mandy had set up for us! Everything was very yummy: red pepper and shrimp soup, cream of mushroom soup, brisket, chicken, ribs, sweet potatoes (although I didn't taste them, I'm not a fan! lol), roasted asparagus, parsley potatoes, croissants, and some carrots and celery sticks. Whooo, I'm full just thinking about it a...

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It's hard to believe that it's already Sunday! I haven't been crazy crazy busy, but I've still been pretty exhausted by the end of my days. Wednesday I got to see my godson, and it's just amazing how big he's getting. I can't believe he's almost 7! He was very tired when they were over here, and Eve said that when she brought him to her ex-mother-in-law's, he instantly fell asleep when he got in the car. But it was nice seeing him, and he loved his gift! Thursday, Eve helped me bring Mittens to the vet. Poor kitty, he had hot spots again, and as much as I truly did NOT want to bring him to the vet, I couldn't let him lick himself to death!! So when it was about time to go, Eve got Mittens out of the cupboard where he'd been chillin' out, and stuffed him into the canvas cat carrier I have for him. He was not happy, and he kept rolling the carrier onto it's side. lol We got him to the vet, and while we were waiting to be called in, 3...

I spent most of yesterday afternoon trying to finish wrapping the majority of my gifts for people. I only have a few more to do, but they are little things, so that's not too bad. I was so worried I'd run out of wrapping paper, but I haven't!! I just can't believe Christmas is 6 days away! I guess the time spent waiting for it this year went by quicker, since I've been sick and pretty much have been in the house for most of the past 2 1/2 weeks. I'm still not 100% yet, but of course that'll take time. I am much better than when I first started out with pneumonia! But yesterday, I did too much, and now today I'm rather tired. So I guess I'm just going to have to keep taking it easy! One of my best friends, Eve, called me a little while ago. She's home! She is visiting her parents right now for a few hours, and then she's going to bring her son over here to see me. He's my godson, and it just seems like yesterday I was holding him as a cryi...

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I have pneumonia. My cat scan results came in today, although I had to call them this afternoon to see if they got them. My doctor said it's definitely pneumonia. Her nurse asked me how I was feeling, and I did say that while I am feeling better than I was even earlier this week, my left lower side still is uncomfortable. I asked her if that's where the cat scan showed pneumonia, and she was like Yeeeeeeep, it's definitely your lower left lung. So my doctor ordered a Zpac for me, and I immediately told my nurse I can't take that because it made me so sick and dizzy the one time I took it. So then she ordered Keflex, which sounds familiar, but I don't think I've been on it before. Someone is supposed to go get it for me later this afternoon. So I guess it's alot more resting for me for several days! But with the weather, that's fine with me. It finally stopped snowing here, and we have a few inches of the stuff, and nothing is really plowed. Not to mentio...

...and now comes the waiting for results. I really hate that they won't have anything until Thursday. UGH. I need an answer like today! It's just frustrating. It's not my doctor's fault, it's the tech people who read the scans and do the report. I don't know why it will take that long, but there isn't much I can do about it. I will call my doctor tomorrow just to see anyway if they heard something. So far today, I did cough up blood around 7am, and am now just feeling tired since I couldn't go back to sleep after that. Today is not that cold outside, and I felt like going to a store after my scan!! lol We were soooooo close to one store I want to go to to get Mandy a gift, but Joan had to get back to work. Maybe if I'm feeling ok, I'll ask my mom later if she just wants to go. I just need a little outing! Nothing major, but I'm so cooped up, and today is at least decent enough for me to get outside. We'll see. Right now I need a littl...

I called my PCP's office this morning around 10am, and asked for her nurse. They told me she was with the doctor, so I left a message saying that I still feel crappy, I'm still coughing up blood (not a ton, but come on, it shouldn't still be there), and that my chest felt heavy. I wanted to know if there is another medicine I should be on, or what. They said she would get back to me. Two hours later, of course I haven't heard anything. My mom, in the meantime, had called me and asked how I was, and I told her I was waiting for a call from the PCP. I also said that it's getting to the point where I don't know if I should just go to the ER up in Buffalo. So she told me to call the PCP back, even though it was their lunch hour, and I'd get the answering service. So I did, and the lady who answered was kinda snooty. I told her how I called 2 hours ago, and she said that everyone was on lunch at that point. I snootily told her back that I just wanted an answer to...

This evening was a tiny bit better than the rest of the day. I got up to make dinner around 5:30, and just watched news and chatted on the phone for a little bit. I took a shower after the news hour was over. That was a bit tiresome. Drying my hair got me tired, too. I almost felt like chopping it off, but I knew that I would never live with myself if I did that. lol My mom called me to see how I was today, and I just told her it wasn't a good day. And that I'm trying to realize that I'm not going to be 100% myself for a while. I am going to call my doctor back again on Monday if I am still feeling this exhausted. I will finish the antibiotic on Thursday, but I would think that by now I'd have a little bit of oomph. Oh well, not much I can do about it. I'm off to bed now, and I'm hoping tomorrow will be better!!

Today hasn't been the best day so far. I woke up actually feeling like it was going to be a good day. The achiness I've had on my left side wasn't so achy, which I was so thankful for. It's still there a little bit, but not as intense as the past few days. So I was cautiously optimistic that I might have a decent day. So far, I couldn't have been more wrong. I have managed to do a load of laundry, but I had to lay down for a bit after I put it in the dryer and finally got dressed. I fell asleep until about 1:30, and felt a little better. Until I got off the bed. It seems like every move I make gets me so exhausted. I got the laundry out of the dryer, but it's yet to be folded, and I don't really care at this point. I did eat something for lunch, and then decided to try washing my dishes so I could clean all the fish containers. It took me an hour to get through all that, which is usually normal for me. What isn't normal is that I feel ready to pass out ...

I am about ready to go to bed, but I just wanted to give a little update. Well it's not too much. I felt really tired this morning, and a bit achy on my left side where the ribcage is. So I eventually layed back down for awhile with a heating pad. I got up around 2pm, and I was able to do a few things that I really needed to get done. Such as working on a gift for a friend, and cleaning up a little. Then after dinner and a little tv tonight, I worked on some more gifts. I feel somewhat accomplished! It gets so annoying when I am just too tired or not feeling well to do things. Hopefully I'm getting stronger, though! Well, goodnight! :)

I had been pretty tired, ok exhausted, for at least the past week. More so than usual, and it's gotten annoying! Monday I had an already scheduled regular checkup with my PCP in the late afternoon. I got up Monday morning, and within about an hour and a half, I felt so drop dead tired that I had to go lay back down for awhile before I could even get dressed! I did feel a little better when I got up, so I did some stuff before going, got dressed, and was on my way. I check in, finally get called in to see my PCP, and her nurse came in to ask the usual how-are-you-feeling routine. I told her that I've been very exhausted lately, and wasn't really feeling that well at that moment. She took my blood pressure, and went searching for a thermometer to make sure I didn't have a fever. As I was sitting there waiting, a cough came out of nowhere, and I ended up coughing up some blood. I know, not pretty!! When my PCP finally came in, I told her what happened. She immediately ...

I thought I would try something new and different! I was playing around with my camera today, and I did a little video of all the things I put up for Christmas. I thought it would be more fun doing it that way than describing every last little thing. Which I could go on and on about. So I hope this works out! Maybe I'll do more of these video-blog entries! Sorry if it seems a little dark. I have no idea how to adjust the lighting for the camera. I had all the lamps on in my living room, and it still seemed dark. I tried! Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Today was a nice Thanksgiving, spent with my family. It seemed to be very low-key, which was just fine with me. I spent all afternoon yesterday making my strawberry banana bread, and my pecan pie, so I just relaxed this morning for awhile before getting dressed and going to my parents' house. I got over there a little after 1pm, and helped make some of the items we were eating for dinner. My mom bought a turkey breast since it was only my parents, Joanie and I eating dinner. We also had mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing (not homemade this year), green bean casserole, corn, and cranberry sauce. It was very yummy! I felt like I overate, even though I really didn't take too much. We cleaned up, and watched some tv and then Mandy called us to say they were home and we could come over for dessert. Mandy's was nice, too. We had pecan pie, pumpkin pie, cheesecake pie, and lemon meringue pie. It was quite tasty! My niece kept making requests for Shake Your Booty, which I have on my...

I woke up tired, as usual, but I was determined to actually do a few things out and about before I had to host chat this afternoon. I finally got myself dressed and ready to go around noonish. First stop was the credit union. I chatted with Joanie for a few minutes. We compared arm soreness that we both were still experiencing from playing Wii games on Sunday! After I left, I mailed a few things at the post office, and then went to a Dollar General closer to my house. It was so incredibly nice out! We had an odd warm day, and the sun was out, and it just felt good. I got home, and hosted chat for about an hour. Seemed like people were busy today, but it is the holiday season, so it's understandable! After that, I noticed my sister, Joan, in front of my house with a rake. Then my dad showed up with a rake and a lawnmower. I thought to myself "Well this should be entertaining!" So I went out there with my coat on, and decided to hang out and get more fresh air! It still w...

I have felt so exhausted lately. Friday, I tried exercising, and felt so tired after that I had to rest. I didn't even walk 1o minutes. I tried exercising on Saturday, too, but felt the same way. Sunday I kind of felt odd, but didn't do anything about it. Sunday night, I felt so worn out and felt like a cold was coming at any moment. I piled on the extra vitamin C, acidophilus, and Tylenol. I had some tea, too, since I was rather cold despite all my layers. I also ate some honey and lemon. I went to bed with 3 pillows, just so if I did get sick, nothing would go into my lungs. This morning I woke up feeling ok, still wondering if I was going to get something. But I kept up with the same routine as last night, and as of now, I have no cold. I'll got some rest this afternoon, and I think that helped, too. But I'll keep it up! I just don't want to get sick. I haven't had a head cold in a little over 2 years. Which is BEYOND unbelievable because I grew up having at...

I saw my gyn today. Well, really the nurse practitioner (who I just love!). She changed the pill I've been on, and it will hopefully help me with future issues I've been having. I sure hope so! I've been miserable on the pill I've been on, so I'm looking for a definite change! I also have to get bloodwork done tomorrow, to see if I'm anemic after all this. Hopefully that'll come out fine. I'm now off to take a nap, because I came home a little while ago. I went to Mandy's house on the way home, and stayed for a couple hours. It was nice! The kids are toooooo cute!! I'm beat, though, and just relieved that I don't have kids because they certainly can poop you out!!

I just haven't felt peppy lately, and it's driving me nuts. I was too tired earlier today, and I hadn't done anything! While in PH chat, though, I wasn't the only one who was dragging, so I guess that's good. I layed down for a nap around 3:30, and slept for an hour. It did help some, but I'm going to bed in a bit. I'm trying my best to do things around the house during the day, but I just get so tired, that I end up just taking a nap for a little while. I'm hoping this changes soon! My weekend was alright. I went to Mandy's with Joan, and played with my niece for awhile. I was tired when I got home, but didn't really nap. I just relaxed and watched a movie in the evening, and enjoyed my nice used couch!! It's sooo comfy! Sunday, I went to church, and had my parents over for lunch. I made homemade chicken and barley soup on Saturday night, so I had plenty to share! I worked on a necklace later on, and then had to lay down. It's a never-en...

*I have sent the following to friends and family for PH Awareness Month! I wanted to post it here, too!* Do you know what November is? The month of Thanksgiving. Yes, but.................. The month of Veterans Day. Yes, but................................... Did you know that November is Pulmonary Hypertension Awareness Month? Do you know what Pulmonary Hypertension is? Pulmonary Hypertension is a disease where the blood vessels in your lungs constrict and make it harder for your heart to pump blood into your lungs to get oxygen. This causes the right side of the heart to enlarge and overwork. Do you know the warning signs of PH? Shortness of breath, chest pain, extreme fatigue, being light-headed, fainting. Did you know that PH is hard to diagnose? Many of the symptoms of PH can mimic other ailments and diseases. Did you know there are many reasons for one to have PH? Some people may never find out why they have this disease. Others have it because of a congenital heart condit...

Sometimes the most unexpected things can make a person so wonderfully happy. I had two instances today in which I experienced unexpected events, and it has just made me smile for most of the day and evening! The first occurred during my outing to several stores. The weather in Niagara Falls today was mostly wet, raining on and off. When I left one of the stores I had gone to, the sun was peeking out in one section of all the dark gray clouds. I turned into the parking lot to head to another store, when I looked out the window to my left. I had to hit the brakes. There in the sky was a huge arching rainbow. It was just such a wonderful feeling to see it, since it's been I don't know how long since I had seen one last. I find rainbows so magical and mystifying, even though there is science and logic to their existence. I took a couple pictures with my camera phone. Even though I'm sure someone who would see the pictures would say why did you take a picture of an empty storefr...

I don't usually post pictures of my niece and nephew. But I wanted to post this pic of my niece, because you can't see her face. I just think it's so funny, a tiger on a Sit-n-Spin! My last post has highly irritated me, by the way. Blogger, for some reason, stopped letting me do paragraphs. So near the middle to the end, it looked like I wrote one huge paragraph. I tried fixing it 6 times, but to no avail. Please, I am an English major, I know about paragraphs. So I'm sorry if it seems all jumbled, but it's not my fault!!

It's been an up and down week. I started out fairly good, able to walk on the treadmill several times earlier in the week. That's always a plus! Sometimes I do ok, sometimes I just have to stop. I'm definitely not walking like I did after I started Tracleer. Back then I could walk up to 2 miles at a time. Now I'm lucky if I get to half a mile. It's very disappointing, but I guess just trying to keep walking is what counts. Halloween was a busy day, and I wasn't home very much. I went down to my parents' for lunch, and Mandy and Ron brought the kids over. OH MY GOSH, they were adorable! My niece was a tiger, and she got her ROAR down pat! My nephew was a giraffe, and it was just funny seeing the giraffe strapped in a car seat. lol After lunch, when the tired and cranky giraffe and tiger had had it, Mandy and Ron left, and I went back home to do a few things and rest. I was going back down to my parents' to pass out candy, and then leaving afterward to go ...

I usually don't mind cooking. Sometimes I put no effort into it, because I just don't feel like it. But there are times I really do surprise myself. I woke up from a nap this afternoon wondering what to have for dinner. I decided to have leftovers from the other night: marinated chicken, brown rice, and peas. Then I thought, I really need to make the yellow squash and zucchini I have, so I decided to sautee them in olive oil, and add the peas and rice to it, and mix it up. Then I thought, why not cut the chicken up into small pieces and throw it in there? So I did! Lastly, I realized I had a can of Italian flavor canned tomatoes, and I thought, hey I'll throw that in! My goodness, it was such a yummy meal! I only had a small serving of it, and I'm still stuffed. I have to say I'm quite proud of myself. And of course, it made so much that I can have it again for lunch and dinner for 2 days probably. I didn't even use a recipe! I can't say the same for my spli...

I can't believe it's Saturday already. Where did this week go? It seemed to start out sooooo slow at first. Monday was such a long day. Twelve hours at a hospital is just not fun, not to mention it was a gorgeous day that I missed, too! Tuesday, I was back there again with my mom. But the good thing was, we brought my dad home. :) He's doing pretty good, just in a little pain and discomfort with the catheter. This coming Thursday can't some soon enough for him. He gets it out then, and I'm sure he's counting down the hours!! Wednesday I went to my sister's house, and played with my niece. I hadn't seen them in awhile. The kids are just so cute. And spending time with Mandy is always fun. I am proud of her. I never thought she'd be the first to be a mommy out of the 4 of us, but she's done such a great job so far. She loves those kids more than anything, and I admire her for her strength. Thursday was chore day. I didn't do too badly. I washed...

This is going to be brief, since I'm exhausted from being at the hospital for 12 hours. My dad's surgery went well! There was a slight complication in the beginning, that his doctor almost didn't think he'd be able to continue. But, his doctor persisted, and overcame the obstacle, and the rest of the surgery went smoothly! It took almost 5 hours, and around 9pm we got to see him. He was still rather groggy, so we didn't stay too long with him. But I am so relieved that everything went well. We will go back tomorrow morning, most likely, and my dad can come home around 2pm. So right now, I'm off to bed!! Thanks for the prayers out there, I know they have helped my dad through this surgery!

This October flew by, and although there are still several days left, I'm rather relieved. I don't usually like when the months fly by, but this month was just so busy for me. Between going back to Cleveland in the beginning on the month, to three weekends in a row with major plans, I'm wiped! This weekend was my support group meeting, and it went really well. I had two UB students come talk about diet and nutrition. I had given them the PHA's website so they could learn more about pulmonary hypertension, and I was very impressed with how much of their talk incorporated appropriate ideas for PHers. I learned quite a bit, and the PHers who came to the meeting were great and asked alot of questions. It definitely went well! Tomorrow, my dad is going to Roswell Park Cancer Institute for surgery. He discovered a couple years ago that he has prostate cancer. The doctors took a wait-and-see approach in treating it, and while the cancer is still not at a high risk point, the d...

Once again, it's that time of month for dear Judi's Artsy Essay Contest! Please see the rules and regulations for this month here . I entered a couple month's ago when Judi decided to revive this wonderful contest, and decided I'd like to give it a shot this month! Here goes! My Ideal Day My ideal day would start out at 7am to get ready for work, instead of getting up to take a pill. My ideal day would be going to work as a teacher, instead of wondering if I'd feel well enough to do anything for that day. My ideal day would be working out at a gym, instead of hoping to have enough energy to just walk for 6 minutes on the treadmill at home. My ideal day would be to freely walk about around my home and in public, instead of being tethered to a plastic tube going into my nose, providing oxygen to keep me going. My ideal day would be remembering meeting times with friends or family, instead of keeping track of the 8 different times I need to take a pill or vitamin in ...

Today is the wedding I've been planning on going to for like months! My sister, Lisa's, best friend is getting married. Kat has had her wedding planned out for months, and she's been looking forward to it. Lisa flew into town on Thursday, and her husband got here yesterday. Lisa's been pretty busy since Thursday! We haven't seen much of her, but that's to be expected. The wedding is at 2pm, and the reception is at 5pm. So I'm just trying to get as much rest as I can so I can make it all day. The weather is so much cooler than it should be this time of year. Which is kind of funny, because just last weekend it was so much warmer than it is for this time of year. I wish the weekends could have been switched around! Anyway, that's my Saturday. Started off with a flu shot at 9am, so I am hoping I won't be in pain later on. That might not be fun!

I don't know where the energy came from today, but I have accomplished quite a bit. Even despite feeling a little blah. My sister and her husband are coming into town this weekend for a wedding that my whole family has been invited to. Lisa is in the wedding, since it's her best friend from high school getting married. So, I needed to clean up around here before they were coming! Well, I needed to clean period, but they were just motivation! So from about 11am-2:30pm, I did the following: -cleaned the bathroom -vacuumed: thank goodness for the removal of carpets this summer from my place, because vacuuming takes far less time and effort to do now! -hung up a couple pictures, and hit my thumb with the hammer AGAIN -cleaned the glass table and mirrors -hung up Halloween decorations, including those fake spider webs, which now makes it look like I've never cleaned! haha! So, I guess maybe the Revatio is kicking in?? I don't know! I think what helped me along was the fact ...

I got all ready for a huge flea market that I signed up for today this week. I was so excited! I was hoping to sell at least one or two of my jewelry items or tealight lamps. My mom came over and got me around 8:30am. We packed the van with stuff (she had also some miscellaneous items she wanted to get rid of), and headed to the place where the flea market was supposed to be. It was nice and sunny, and I was prepared to have a nice afternoon! We got to the place, and there were a ton of people setting up their tables. I found my table after trekking all over looking for it, and I started setting up my items. My mom made several trips to the van to bring all of her stuff, and eventually we got things situated. People started coming, and it was nice! About 45 minutes later, ominous clouds started hovering above us. I thought, geesh, it isn't supposed to rain today. I saw the weather report at least 4 times for Saturday, and there was no rain involved. So I thought we should be alrigh...

I got back from Cleveland last night around 7:30pm EST. It was a long day, with some interesting results. Not exactly terrible news, but not news I was expecting to really hear either. First of all, I had an echo. Now I've never had an echo done by a man before. I was a little concerned about it, but the guy was very nice! His name was George, and he was from Romania. George was quite entertained by my last name, which means "hurry up" in German. So he did the echo, and he was very good at it. I've had some techs who I've wanted to slap because they were pressing so hard, it hurt like crazy. He told me if he was pressing too hard, to let him know. But he wasn't! I hope that George is around the next time I need to have an echo done! My bloodwork was next, and that went just fine. I didn't have to wait in the long line I saw when I passed by on my way to get the echo done. There were like 25 people in line then, it was nuts!! After having some soup for lunc...

I'm leaving for Cleveland in a couple hours. I have appts tomorrow with my PH doctor, including an echo and 6 minute walk (blah! lol). I'm still feeling short of breath, although it's starting to calm down a bit. I've been tired the past week, but I've also been doing alot, too. I've got so much on my mind for October, that I'm starting to stress. I have felt a few heart palpitations, especially yesterday. Today's been good so far. So I'm glad I'm going to Cleveland. Hopefully Dr. Gildea will finally put me on the full dose of Revatio. And then I can really see if it'll help me! The ice cream truck just drove by. I'm sorry, but I think it's time to give it up for the season!!! Sorry, had to vent. lol Well I must get something to eat, and maybe take a little nap before leaving soon. I'll post results of my appointment soon!

My weekend went by quick, and it wasn't all that exciting. It was basically relaxing, and not doing much. I mean really, I don't think I did anything truly productive. I talked to a few friends for awhile. On my NEW PHONE. hehe I added almost 300 songs to my phone yesterday, and that took me quite awhile! So I guess I did do something! lol Today I've been pretty busy, and it's such a difference from over the weekend. I am preparing for an upcoming PH support group meeting next month. I'm having a couple student speakers talk about diet and nutrition, and I think it'll be a good turnout. So this morning, I called a representative for Gilead, a pharmaceutical company that distributes the newest FDA approved treatment for PH, which is Letairis . He is actually a local person! And he knows so many of the doctors and hospitals in this area who are diagnosing and treating PH patients. I had a great conversation with him. He is willing to attend my meeting, and also pr...

My week has been ok. Not the best PH-wise, but I'm hanging in there. I'm still very short of breath, which has been driving me nuts. I seriously hate this time of year. I keep thinking that maybe I'm really getting worse, but I go through this EVERY fall!! I can't understand it. I'm trying to patiently wait it out, but it's so frustrating. I go back to Cleveland on October 1st, and I can tell you right now that I won't be doing well on my 6mw. I've been trying to exercise, just doing 6 minutes on the treadmill, and it hasn't been going well. At least I know that if I don't do well, my doctor will most likely just say to increase my Revatio to the full dose, and see what happens after that. So that's my only consolation about that. I really just want things to calm down with the sob!! Other than the PH crap, I bought some new things this week that I'm just excited about!! I got a lovely new lamp for my bedroom, and the shade goes perfec...

Today is my 32nd birthday. While some people like to blow off their birthdays when they get older, and try to deny their age, I celebrate every year I get! Living with PH all these years hasn't been an easy thing, and yet, somehow I've made it this far. I thank the Good Lord for all the days He has given me so far. Even when I've had some tough periods, He has always given me strength to get through them, even when I didn't feel all that strong. I also thank God for my family, who has been there for me in everything I've gone through. I love them tremendously, and feel blessed to have them in my life. I also feel the same with my dear friends. They are also a huge support system, in so many ways. And then there is my PHamily. I am so thankful for finding the PHA website, and realizing that there were other people who are, unfortunately, dealing with PH like I have been since birth. These people have truly been comforting and supportive, in a much different way than ...

It's been 2 nights so far that I've taken Revatio in a 20mg dose. So far, no headaches, no yucky metal taste in my mouth. My blood pressure has dropped within half an hour of the dose, but it's still in the normal range, so it hasn't been a problem. Yay!!! I'm going to call Svetlana tomorrow afternoon, to keep her updated. But so far, I'm glad that I've decided to up the dose, even though it's slight! I am going to clean the kitchen table. I'm having friends over tomorrow night, and I guess the table should be cleared so we won't accidentally eat some beads. lol

I've been on Revatio for almost a month now. I started it August 16th, at a half a dose (meaning 30mg a day, not 60mg). My PH doc wanted to ease me onto it slowly, since a drop in blood pressure and headaches can be quite common when a patient starts it. I know that my body still needs time to adjust to it, and get used to it being in my system daily. I had some pretty horrendous headaches a couple weeks ago, but they are gone now. I really haven't noticed a change at all yet, though. However, the change of seasons always bothers me, and I also have not been on it all that long. Not to mention, I'm only on half of what I should be! Today I called Svetlana, Dr. Gildea's nurse practitioner. I've been calling her weekly, to let her know how I've been feeling, how my blood pressure is, if I have headaches or any other weird symptoms, etc. I told her I haven't had a headache in awhile, and I've also been feeling short of breath lately. I told her I knew that ...

I think it's quite obvious that I made some decoration changes to my blog! I'm all ready for Fall. Being that Fall isn't exactly one of my favorite seasons, I've surprised myself that I don't seem to mind it this year. Well, at least not yet, anyway. Technically, it's still Summer. But once we get past Labor Day, and the first day of school starts, I no longer see it as Summer! Fall signifies the start of changing weather patterns, which usually is a relief to many people with PH. Not to me, really. When the cooler weather starts, I usually feel more crappy and short of breath. Even despite being on two medicines now to help control those symptoms. Fall also means that Winter is on the way, and I HATE being cold!! I will also find out if getting rid of my carpets and having the hardwood floors was a good idea this summer. I hope the heat won't escape so easily when it's time to turn it on! But this Fall, I also see a lot of promise and change. My Dad wil...

It's a little hard to believe that a week has already passed by since I was in Horseheads for my aunt and uncle's surprise 50th birthday party! The week certainly has flown. But last weekend was definitely alot of fun, and a great way to end the busy summer I had this year! Last Sunday was the day of the actual surprise party, but the whole weekend was a game of trying to get my uncle to simmer down before it happened. He found out Friday that almost all his sisters were in town (he has 9 sisters, and 1 brother!). When he found out his sister from Georgia was flying in, he was even more upset. He couldn't understand why everyone was there, and no one had really informed him until the last minute!! His daughter gave him the excuse that it was Labor Day weekend, and everyone happened to be free to come to Grandma's for a visit before the busy school year began. Well, ok. He kind of accepted that. So the plan to get Bob and Jane to the surprise party was as follows: My co...

My mom and I are leaving tomorrow for a mini-vacation! We are going to Horseheads, NY, where my mom grew up. It's going to be a great time, since many of my aunts and uncles are going to be there as well. My Aunt Jane and Uncle Bob are both turning 50 this year, and their daughter, Ryhan, is throwing them a surprise party on Sunday! She's been planning this for over a year, and apparently they have NO CLUE!! So that's the biggest reason my mom and I are going. My mom comes from a family of 11 children, eight sisters and two brothers. All of them are going to be there except for two sisters. One lives in Arizona, and that's just a bit much to go for a weekend. And one just isn't really involved with the family anymore. But I'm so excited to see everyone else, and my grandma!! She is 84, and still kicking pretty good! You wouldn't even know she's 84, she looks like she's in her late 60s! That is why I look like I'm 12! I get my young genes from ...

I am incredibly angry right now. More like livid. In the PH chat rooms tonight, a person named Sarah came into the chat room. She started out ok, saying she was in the room because she wanted to find out more about PH. She didn't have PH, but a friend did, and she wanted to know what it was really like with PH because she thought her friend was faking it. I'm sorry, faking it???? How do you fake being so out of breath after walking up a flight of stairs? How do you fake being a little blue after just walking down your hallway? How do you fake blowing up with fluid because your heart is starting to go into failure? How do you fake being tired when you do something simple like making your bed? How do you fake a disease with tests and doctor visits that cost an incredible amount of money? How do you fake an illness with treatments that can cost thousands of dollars a month? I can't begin to tell you how angry I was to hear this woman spew all of the things she thinks her frie...

I've had such a busy several days! Wednesday I was out all day visiting. First I went to Mandy's house for most of the morning and early afternoon. I played with my cute little niece for awhile, and she just cracks me up! And I got to see my cute little nephew, too, but he was sleeping most of the time. It was nice to just sit and chat with Mandy after both kids were sleeping. I still miss having her upstairs sometimes, but there is definitely no room for them there now. After I got home from visiting them, I got a call from a friend I used to work with at Headstart. She had had surgery, so she is off for 6 weeks, and she wanted to know if I wanted to come visit. So I did! We just sat on her back porch for a few hours, chatting away. I find it funny that I really didn't like her at first when I started working at Headstart, and now she is one of the only people I still talk to after I left there! I'll probably visit her again since she'll have alot of time off work!...

BEFORE: AFTER:

I know, it's been awhile since I wrote. I was reminded of this by a good friend! lol It seems so much has beeg going on, and the summer is just sliding away so fast. This week will be pretty busy come Thursday. I am leaving in the early morning with my dad to go to Cleveland, so I can finally take the first dose of my new medicine, Revatio !! I'm so happy about this, because lately I've been feeling a little more short of breath. And I've gotten back into exercising again, and I know I'm not doing as well as I was before. So I truly hope Revatio works for me, and gives me more energy to get through things! I have heard some of my PHriends say it's worked right away, so that is good to know! Wish me luck!! My living room rug is being ripped out this weekend by my wonderful friends!! I've slowly been packing things in boxes so it's easier to move the furniture out of there. I just cannot wait for it to be gone!! I really am going to feel like I have a mode...