1) Psoriatic arthritis update
There have been some exciting developments in my psoriatic arthritis treatment! I am on week four of injections, and honestly, I think I might prefer giving myself a shot once a week rather than taking a handful of pills! It’s not painful, and I feel a little like a scientist as I draw up the solution in the syringe. Heh. The other exciting development is that this week, I dropped my steroid dose! I’ve been taking 12mg Medrol (a slightly more potent steroid, compared to prednisone) for months now, and I am now taking 8mg. We’re going to stay at this dose for a few weeks to see how my body adapts. So far, so good! I’ll go for bloodwork in a few weeks to test my inflammation markers.
2) Sleep woes
Sleeping is one of my superpowers. I used to be someone who could take a three-hour nap in the afternoon and sleep like a baby at night (one of those magical babies that sleeps soundly for 8 hours, no wake-ups). I could drink caffeine late in the evening, and it would not affect my bedtime. I fell asleep quickly, stayed asleep, and mostly just had a bear of a time getting out of bed in the morning. These days, though, sleep has become a burden.
First, the naps. I can’t take a nap that’s longer than an hour these days! Which, I mean, is great for my productivity and not sleeping the day away, but it still feels weird to me. And I get SO HOT during my naps. It doesn’t happen in the evening, only when I’m taking a midday nap. It could be due to having more windows in my bedroom than in my previous apartment, so maybe it just gets warmer in there during the day? Or maybe it’s the steroids. If I’m going to take a nap, I have to prepare. I keep my blinds closed, make sure the air is turned down low (I sleep at 70 degrees, but push it up to 73 degrees during the day), and even got a special blanket that’s lightweight and breathable. It seems to be working, but I’m just a little annoyed that I have to put so much effort into my nap routine now.
Second, I’ve become an early riser. I do not like this about me! I cannot seem to sleep past 7am anymore! Even if I go to bed late, I will be up before 7am and unable to fall back to sleep. Sometimes, I can trick myself by getting up, having breakfast, and doing a few productive things before crawling back into bed around 9-9:30 for a short snooze, but that’s only a viable option on the weekends. It’s very frustrating because I like sleeping in, and I am very bad about going to bed early.
We’ll see if any of this improves once I’m weaned off steroids… or perhaps it’s just a function of getting older and it’s time to do things like not drink caffeine at 8pm.
3) Raccoon roommate
Well, friends, my rodent-repellant trash bags are no match for Rocky the raccoon. I put my trash can outside yesterday, and about an hour later, I heard a noise, and opened my door to see my trash can on the ground and a sheepish-looking Rocky standing nearby. I berated him, took my can inside, rebagged everything, put it back outside. Not five minutes later, I hear a noise outside my apartment and there he is again! This time, instead of looking sheepish, he looked mischevious and started walking towards me as if he was just going to waltz inside my apartment and take up residence! I hurriedly brought the can inside and slammed my front door. Sigh.
I think my next step is to start bungee cording my trash can closed and hoping that a) it deters Rocky and b) the valet company will still pick up my trash even though it’s raccoon-trapped.
4) Kim & Steph’s Purr-sonal Tampa Bay Tour 2026
I am building the perfect tour of my favorite spots in Tampa Bay for Kim who is visiting soon. This is basically an excuse for me to visit all of the bookstores and cat cafes in my town. Muahaha! So far, our itinerary includes three bookstores, two cat cafes, one coffee shop, one food hall, and one gorgeous neighborhood. Also, hopefully, she will get to meet my cats! Well, meet Eloise. Lila hides from everyone. I will, of course, detail our adventures on the blog!
4) Weekend plans
My weekend will be busy on the front end, relaxing on the back end. Tonight, I’m going to my third musical this year alone with Bri, her husband, and our friend Amber. We have dinner reservations beforehand and Sean will be doing all of the driving again, so I am stoked! Tomorrow, I have a writing date, a waxing appointment, errands to run, and then my mom and I are going to go into our gym to officially cancel our memberships. (I’m sad about it but I know it’s the right call.) The rest of the weekend is free! I love that I have a whole Sunday to myself. Whatever will I do with all that free time?!
How is your sleep these days? What are your weekend plans?
Oh, sleep. I really wonder if it’s the steroids for you, because it seems like you’re too young for any big changes yet. Temperature is a huge issue for me, and being too hot is usually what wakes me up in the night. Meanwhile my husband is sleeping beside me with a QUILT over him. Grr.
I can’t wait to hear all about the purr-sonal Tampa Bay tour! I’m pretty sure I know several of the places you’ll be going. I’m still thinking about those two kittens we saw at the cat cafe- a black one and an orange tabby who were cuddled up together. I hope they’re in a happy home now!
Your weekend sounds really fun. I would need a day to myself after all that activity before heading back to work, so it’s perfect.
I’m hoping it’s the steroids causing the sleep issues. I never had this problem before! I went to bed after midnight last night and was STILL up before 7am. Gah!!
We are definitely visiting some spots that will be familiar to you!
Sleep is completely my superpower. I am so physically and mentally exhausted by the end of the day that I just drop. I rarely have time for naps, but I really like to nap on the couch with the sun beating down on me. No perfect temp needed. I should probably stop bragging about my sleep because what if someday I run into challenges?!?!
I’m terrified of raccoons. If I saw one outside my door, I’d have to stay in my house for the rest of my life.
My problem with raccoons is that I find them SO STINKING ADORABLE that I just want to befriend them. I know that’s not the proper response, but gah!
I think it’s inevitable we all run into sleep challenges at some point in our lives. I hope once I’m weaned off steroids, my sleep improves!
We have such issues with raccoons in our neighborhood, too! They tend to only mess with our compost bin. It’s so annoying!
That is a bummer about your sleep! I would start with not having caffeine after 12pm. Maybe with the steroids it’s just too much? I cannot sleep in either. Yesterday I purposely did not set and alarm since I didn’t have to work and the boys and I planned to leave around 8. Of course I was awake at 5:30 for the day. Sigh.
Last night, I went to bed at 12:30am… and I was up at 6:30am to start the day. Ughhhh. I should try limiting caffeine.
Gah! Please do not join the Cool Bloggers Sucky Sleep Club. It’s not fun.
It’s awesome that Kim is coming to visit! I can’t wait to read about it on both blogs!
I was thinking of you with all these sleep woes. It’s too much! I used to be such a champion sleeper. Gah.
I would guess your crummy sleep is late in the day caffeine + steroids. My sleep was crap when I was on prednisone. Try cutting back on the caffeine first though, that may help, at least at night. Then as you taper off of the steroids I think it will improve. I’m glad to hear that you are doing well otherwise though!
Can you contact your valet trash service, and ask what they suggest? I’m sure they don’t like dealing with trash that has been thrown about by raccoons either.
Your weekend sounds fun! I have to get up early tomorrow (5ish) to take my husband to the airport, but otherwise no big plans around here. My daughter and I are going to have bruschetta for dinner I think. Girl dinner!
I should contact the valet trash company – that’s a great idea! The problem is that they won’t pick up the trash if it’s been strewn about by raccoons, which I totally understand. So I have to keep an eagle eye on my trash can all night long.
I hope you were able to take a nap after that early wakeup! Eeps.
Sleeping is definitely not my superpower. Ugh. As Birchie says, the Cool Bloggers Sucky Sleep Club is not a fun club. This weekend is all about getting the tractors and haying equipment ready to cut hay in a couple of weeks. Yippee…
I am really hoping my sleep will improve once I’m fully weaned off steroids. It never used to be this bad!
Came here to catch up and say how much I loved the latest episode of the podcast. SO GOOD!!
I’m an 8 but have “features” of 3, but it was amazing to learn about finances and enneagram. I need to leave you a review but cannot figure out HOW… on Apple Podcasts.
My weekend…I need to buy some new bras with absolutely no underwire. Who decided to insert a metal rod into women’s bras?!? Kids have gymnastics, I have gym. The house needs a good dose of cleaning. Swim in the afternoon…
Thank you so much, Daria! Your support means the world! 8s and 3s tend to be very similar, so that makes sense to me! 3s are just motivated by success/achievement while 8s are motivated by being self-reliant/independent. 🙂
To leave a review, just click on our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app and then scroll down a bit – you should see Ratings & Reviews near the bottom. 🙂
And yes, I agree with you about underwire bras. I just can’t do that to myself anymore. I’ve been living the bralette life for a few years now and I love it!
You are a scientist! Love it and love hearing that all the meds are going so well. Yay yay yay!
Oh wow. I am very curious if the sleep changes are from the drugs too or from aging (hormonal changes ughhhh). It’s good you’ve noticed now so you can track it. It all SUCKS though!!! BLAH.
I AM SO EXCITED FOR THE PURR-SONAL TAMPA BAY TOUR yay yay yay!!!!! Thank you for scheduling it all!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am realllllly hoping the sleep changes are due to being on steroids, not anything hormonal. I am NOT READY FOR THAT.
Two days!!
Oh how fun that Kim is going to visit you! Girls’ weekends are the best! I hope you two have so much fun. Bookstores, cat cafés and coffee shops sounds amazing! 😉
I am glad you treatment is going well. That’s what we like to hear 🙂 Do you think your different sleeping patterns is because of the medication?