A Positive Note

I bought a book the other day called 'Chicken Soup for the Soul: Think Positive'. Chicken Soup for the Soul books are some of my favorites and I figured this one would just as promising especially with all that has been going on lately. So, I thought I'd start the weekend off with a positive note - here are some great quotes from the book that I have found so far -

Change your thoughts and you change your world.

Four things for success: work and pray, think and believe.

Anyone who says sunshine brings happiness has never danced in the rain.

Courage is being afraid but going on anyhow.

The only disability in life is a bad attitude.

Hope that everyone has a great and positive weekend!!

Prednisone... The Not Four Letters Four Letter Word

I've had a few family members and friends that have had to take this medicine, however I never really knew the details on the side effects that could possibly occur with it. I thankfully have not had many of these, but I just thought I'd list some of the possibilities from long time use of this drug which more than likely I will have to be on throughout the rest of my life -

• indigestion
• nervousness or restlessness
• darkening or lightening of skin color
• dizziness or lightheadedness
• flushing of face or cheeks
• hiccups
• increased sweating
• sensation of spinning
• increased appetite
• confusion
• excitement
• false sense of well-being
• hallucinations (seeing, hearing, or feeling things that are not there)
• mental depression
• mistaken feelings of self-importance or being mistreated
• mood swings (sudden and wide)
• restlessness
• skin rash or hives

And the list goes on...

One last note - Whenever you stop taking prednisone or change the amount of prednisone you are taking your body may need time to adjust to this. The body has to learn that it must now start making more of it's normal steroid production in order to compensate for the reduction in the amount that it is/or had been receiving from the prednisone. Possible side effects from this include -

• joint pain
• muscle pain
• fatigue
• headache
• fever
• low blood pressure
• nausea and vomiting

Which is the main reason I wrote this particular blog because I recently had a reduction in my prednisone dosage and have been having a headache off and on. We called the doctor yesterday and he said I shouldn't be having a headache from the prednisone and to try taking some Ibuprofen since I can't have Tylenol. Still need to try this out but I'm hoping it will just go away. Ugh. Had a rough weekend and today it came back around. Just feeling achy this morning. I found that sometimes it can take 2-7 days for the body to adjust to the change in prednisone. Let's hope I start to feel better soon!

It's A Great Day To Be ALIVE

I got the results back from my blood test today and...

MY LIVER ENZYMES ARE DOWN TO NORMAL LEVELS!!!

In case you can't tell, I'm pretty excited about this. Normal levels mean between 20-40! No longer 1,500! Now I know what it feels like to feel good, to have energy, and to be overall HAPPY! =D

The doctor told me today that I will be able to reduce the Prednisone from 20mg daily down to 15mg. I will take 15mg for one month and once that month is over I will start taking 10mg daily. I won't have to have blood work done again for another two months and as long as everything continues to stay normal I will be able to stay on the 10mg of Prednisone until next year when I am evaluated again. This is GREAT news!!

Thank you to everyone who is reading or has been keeping updated on my blog. I greatly appreciate your support and prayers! Hope that everyone has a great weekend!!

Science goes only so far, then comes God. - The Notebook

Blood Work

Well, as you probably know from reading past blogs that I [FINALLY] had my blood work drawn today... just waiting for the phone call from the doctor now to let me know at what level my liver enzymes are at right now. I've been feeling pretty good so I'm hoping that this is a good sign. Really would like my prednisone dosage to be cut in half. That is the goal this time around. Didn't quite reach that goal last time, although I think it may have had something to do with the fact that I was just learning how to swallow a whole pill. Crazy right? The fact is, I never had to learn before. Thankfully that obstacle has been overcome! I know it might seem pretty simple but it really has been a HUGE help. Ha.

JEREMY -
I never gave an update on Jeremy's MRI results... he found out he did NOT have a torn meniscus, however there is a hole in the cartilage on his knee and the doctor said there is a significant amount of arthritis under the knee cap. He will be going to physical therapy twice a week for the next few weeks to help build up the muscle around his knee. His second session was yesterday... he said the therapist really worked out his knee. Of course after the session he was told to ice it, however Jeremy informed him that he had a double header in softball that night and probably wouldn't be able to ice it right away. Therapist said, 'Oh, well... I'd definitely ice it afterwards then!' Lol. Not going to slow us down!

I'm hoping to get my results later today or tomorrow. The way it's looking it's probably going to be sometime tomorrow so check back soon to find out what the results are! I will def have a blog about it! Please keep the positive thoughts coming our way!

Water Does A Body Good

I've been doing a LOT of reading and researching lately on what is best for people with AIH to eat or drink to help improve the functioning of their liver. One of the most important things I've found is to drink water. Just plain old water. NO additives whatsoever. This does not only ring true for me but for everyone, so I thought I would share this article with you:

How Much Water Does Your Liver Need?


For the longest time I thought a healthy supply of water was 8 cups per day. There has been some debate on this as you can see from reading the article. It depends on YOU. It is the summer months now so I thought a little education on water might be helpful. It was 110 degrees (according to my car, Alice) yesterday. I don't know about you, but if you ask me that is HOT!! And it's only going to get hotter! So drink plenty of water and stay cool!!

Blood work in 3 more days!!!

Fun From the 4th

This firework was called 'Picture Perfect'. I picked it out... told Jeremy it would be pretty sweet - minus the debris that fell on us and our house after it was fired! Lol.

Support Through Facebook

Each and every day I learn more about Autoimmune Hepatitis, however there are still some lingering questions in my mind. I've found a group recently on Facebook of others who also have AIH and I'm finding it very supportive and useful. It lets me know that I am not the only one out there who has the same concerns/questions. Here is the link if you are interested:

Facebook: AutoImmune Hepatitis

I have posted a few things on there myself in order to help others who have found out recently that they too also have AIH. It's not going to be the same for everyone because everyone is different and has different reactions to medicines. What DOES matter is just staying positive through it all. I'm sure that everyone has their moments when they ask, "Why me?" but in the end there's nothing you can do about it but deal with it and go on with life. You most definitely can still LIVE life to it's fullest potential, even if the autoimmune disorder may not necessarily have been part of the "plan". Who's to say there even is a "plan". We don't know what is going to happen tomorrow let alone years from now. It may not even be AIH. There are other autoimmune disorders out there that I am sure are just as difficult to cope with and/or have not-so-comfortable side effects.

As for me I'm doing my best to stay positive. REALLY looking forward to getting some more results here in just over a week. I have some goals set in my mind right now and I'm very much looking forward to achieving them. =]

LOVE YOUR LIVER. 

AFTER ALL, YOU CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT IT.

Happy 4th of July!

Hope that everyone has a happy and safe 4th of July! We all definitely have a lot to be thankful for because of our troops! THANK YOU!