School year 2012-2013

With the relaxing summer over, I was ready to start the new school year with renewed energy! Or so I thought... It is always hard to restart each school year. No one is in "teaching form" and our voices are not used to talking all day, but man, was I exhausted! I found that I could not wear shoes that had any kind of heel on them. When I did, my legs were sore for the rest of the week. So, I ended up wearing sneakers more frequently. At the beginning of December, I told my doctor that I was planning on exercising over Christmas break when I would have time. I was just still to worn out by the end of the day. I was true to my word, and I began exercising. By the end of the third quarter, I had worked my way up to 4-5 times a week! I was feeling great! My doctor decided to drop the dose of methatrexate down to 6 pills instead of 8. I definitely started to feel less than great. I became more tired, my oy legs and hips - oh my hips - were more sore. I couldn't motivate myself to exercise but knew if I could, I would probably be less sore... I thought perhaps there was an adjustment period, kind of like when I was stepping down off the steroids. I thought I really needed high school spring break. Still, after weeks and after break. I was still feeling... Bleh. My strength was good. My B-12 injections were doing their thing. My thyroid was good. So, this week, we decided to step up the methatrexate back to 8 pills. We'll see how that goes. This school year, I only took one day off for needed rest/recuperation! I hope the readjusted dosage gets me back to how I was feeling third quarter!

Waiting...

So, at the beginning of treatment, I was on steroids, methatrexate, and hydroxychloroquine. The last two listed take 3-4 months to build up and have an effect on your system, so the steroids were to help me get through those 3-4 months. Through this period, I was working 4 days a week. Thankfully, my principal was very understanding and I also had a set of subs that were willing to help me out weekly. Taking Wednesdays off was perfect - I worked myself ragged Mon/Tues, recouperated Weds on the couch while I did school work, worked myself ragged again Thur/Fri and spent the entire Saturday on the couch. I was teaching a course for the first time last year. My sister, who teaches the same subject I do, would come over on the weekends and read the textbook to me and quiz me - I was too weak to hold the book while lying down. I questioned whether I should still work. I still felt like I had to "use it or lose it" with my muscles. Was I hurting the kids by being absent so much? Perhaps, but the alternative at this point in the year would be to get a sub (untrained to teach the courses I was teaching) for at least the rest of the semester, if not for the whole year. The principal agreed that having me there for 4 days a week was better than the alternative. The kids ended up doing great on their exams, so in the end I think they were OK! After my mom left, my co-workers took over with providing meals for my family. That was such a huge help! The steroids made me HUNGRY! This was over the holidays, too. I could not fill up. Needless to say, I gained some weight. At about month 3 or so, my face was hurting from swelling from the steroids, but they were a necessary evil. I was so happy when I was put on steroids because I could walk better and last longer through the day, but I was even more happy at the end of the steroid treatment!