The high of my week was celebrating my brother’s 40th birthday! First, we celebrated on Sunday because it was the first football Sunday of the year! (I am so happy football is back!) Then, on Tuesday (his actual birthday), we went out to dinner to celebrate. It’s hard to believe my brother is in his forties now. I’ll be joining him next year, but for now, I can be the bratty little sister talking about how young I am to still be in my thirties. 😉
The low of my week was more psoriatic arthritis pain. It’s not at the level it was before I started treatment, but I’m also not where I was when I was on a higher steroid dose. I’m getting bloodwork done on Saturday and after that, I’m going to start the process of increasing my steroid dose until I’m at a level where I don’t have any pain (per my rheumatologist’s recommendation). I want to see what my inflammation numbers look like at a low steroid dose while on methotrexate/Humira. A science experiment, I suppose! But then I’ll wait until I’ve been on Humira for a full three months (so… end of October-ish) and try tapering again. I keep doing this process because a) I want to get off steroids and b) I need to understand how much of my pain is being managed by steroids vs medication. It’s not just because I want to be off steroids, but also because so far, the steroids have been doing most of the pain management, and if that remains the case after being on Humira for three months, then it’s back to the drawing board.
I’m currently reading three books! In print, I’m reading The Anatomy of Anxiety: Understanding and Overcoming the Body’s Fear Response by Ellen Vora, M.D. I don’t agree with everything she says, but it has given me some very interesting takeaways that I’ll be sure to share soon. My romance is Get Over It, April Evans by Ashley Herring Blake. AHB can be hit or miss for me, and right now, this is middle of the road. I can set it down for days at a time, which is probably not a good sign. And on audio, I’m reading Time to Burn by Ellery Lloyd, which Jamie of The Popcast has been raving about lately. I’m halfway through and so far, I can’t get enough of this book! It’s so good!
A Reel that made me smile was this one about the reality of hotel room lighting. I was CACKLING!
A show I watched this week was The Floor. It’s a silly game show hosted by Rob Lowe, but it has become surprisingly strategic over the past few seasons and it’s a fun one to play along with. (Although I would be terrible at this game because my social anxiety makes word retrieval so difficult for me!)
The best money I spent this week was $22 on this great sling bag! A few years ago, I saw a woman wearing this bag while I was on a trip and I loved it, but when I looked it up online, it was too pricey for me. And then I randomly saw it in a shoe store this week and couldn’t snatch it up fast enough! It’s super roomy and has a spot on the strap to slip your phone/wallet so it’s in easy reach.
My plans this weekend include book club tonight. We’re having a pajama party and breakfast for dinner! Tomorrow, I am getting bloodwork done and then getting my flu/Covid shots (really nervous about how I’m going to feel since it’s the first time I’m getting these shots while on immunosuppressant drugs. Pray for me!). The rest of the day is free! I’m thinking of taking care of some errands (boring) and maybe going for a walk with my mom and the dogs. And Sunday, I have a writing date with Mikaela followed by football with the fam. My beloved Dolphins play my brother’s beloved Niners, so it will be a divided house. (We’re probably going to get demolished by the Niners, so should be a blast!
What are your weekend plans?
This weekend is oddly jampacked for me, too! Tonight I’m doing a craft activity and dinner with a friend, tomorrow I’m going to do regular Sunday chores AND go get some makeup at Sephora, and then Sunday I leave for a conference. Since most of my weekends are just sitting on the couch staring in the middle distance, this is quite a lineup for me.
That is a jam-packed weekend! I hope it all went well and this week goes well for you!
Ooh! I like that bag. You found it for only $22??? That was lucky!
I’ll be curious to hear how your body does with the flu/Covid shots. Maybe being on the immunosuppressant drugs will mean you don’t have a big reaction? Yet another science experiment going on in your body! I’m hoping that you feel well enough on Sunday to enjoy football. I miss Waddle! And McDaniels of course. Well… we’ll see what happens.
You were right! I had zero reaction and I think the immunosuppressant drugs helped, haha. For some reason, I thought it would be the other way around!
I am still soooo sad that Waddle is not on our team. It’s going to be a hard season.
That hotel lighting reel is the Most True Thing I Have Ever Seen on the Internet.
I’ve got my fingers crossed that the Humera kicks in soon. Hopefully the side effects from your vaxes will be minimal.
Happy birthday to your bro!
I really hope I start seeing some good results from Humira, too. I just need to be more patient, but gah, it has been such a long journey!
That book about anxiety sounds really interesting. I find the mind-body connection to be so fascinating. I loved The Body Keeps The Score, which is more about the origins of pain and how it relates to stress and trauma. I think I’ll look this one up! Hopefully the library has it.
I’m sorry your pain has been so bad. I hope this works for you.
My son Jake’s birthday is the same as your brother’s!
I think you would really like The Anatomy of Anxiety. I think there is a lot of truth to what she says about how inflammation, what we eat, our sleep, etc., affects our mental health!
The sling bag looks pretty cool, and you got a great deal! That Reel was hilarious! I hope the Covid/Flu shots go well, and that you stay healthy all year long. Darn about the pain. I hope you can get things balanced so that you’re feeling good. Your weekend sounds like fun!
Thank you, Michelle! I am just going to call 2026 a wash and hope that 2027 is my healthiest year yet!
I hope you did ok w/ your vaccinations. I have yet to have a reaction to any Covid booster and I attribute that to being on immune suppressant drugs. Our immune systems are suppressed so we can’t react like our bodily normally would. At least that is what I tell myself!
I hope you and your rheum can find a treatment plan that works for you soon. I know you WILL find something but the trial and error process is so very frustrating. I can so relate. Infusions are a PITA but they have been working really well for me. I’m trying to space them out more so am going every 5 weeks currently after going every 4 weeks for about 2 years. It’s a 2.5 hour time commitment between the drive there/back and the 1 hour infusion + getting the IV places. So it’s not very convenient, but it is effective….
I was worried I was going to have the OPPOSITE reaction to the flu/covid shots, but then I remembered how you reacted to the first covid shots! I guess it makes sense that the side effects are limited since we’re not getting the full effect. Silver lining!
I’m glad that your flu and covid reaction was a nothing burger. I need to do that soon.
That reel was cute, and so true.
The search for relief from autoimmune issues is so frustrating. I think it was about 6 months before I found the treatment that ended up working for me, and then it took about 6 weeks to START working, and then several months to remission. You will get there, but it takes time and sometimes you have to try different options before you find the right one for you.
<3 Thank you, Julie! The long process is wearing on me, especially since I've gained so much weight over the past year with all these meds and lack of exercise, so that's hard, too.