Caitlyn’s Polymyositis Blog

Still haven’t heard from my doctors…but everyday I’m making a little bit of progress.

The biggest excitement of the week is that I’ve finalized my back to work plans! April 6th.  The first two weeks I’ll be on a modified 25 hour work week, and then after the 19th, I’m back to my 40 hour weeks!

Last night, mom and I went to Starbucks and the movies.  This little trip would have been panic attack inducing just a few weeks ago…icy parking lot, stairs in the movie theatre lobby, and low seats in the theatre.  However, it was no problem! 

I’d hoped to start doing a bit of working out on the elliptical trainer upstairs.  Unfortunately, the one foot step up onto the machine is still a little more than I’m able to do right now.  So I’ve settled on the Nordic Rider. Haha.  I’m also trying Yoga.  Mostly just the standing positions as I’m still hesitant to get down on the floor even though I’m quite sure that getting up wouldn’t require a spine board anymore!

Things are going quite positively…

• My leg is still continuing to heal well.

• Going up and down the stairs is a little easier each day.

• I’m much more steady on my feet.

• Getting into the shower doesn’t produce massive bruises on my shins.

• Since my steroid dosage is a little lower, I’m not ravenously hungry all the time (just some of the time…haha)

• The sore spots on my scalp have decreased.

• I’m no longer short of breath or constantly yawning.

• My heart doesn’t race.

• My mind doesn’t race quite as badly as it had before.

The only negatives…

• Hair is growing on my face where I don’t want hair.

• Hair is falling out of my head where I’d like it to stay.

• My face is still breaking out and I have skin problems along my hair line.

• Still having random nightmares that wake me up at 5am.

• My nails are brittle and they have deep ridges so I’m constantly buffing them.

This afternoon I’m heading off to do some more packing at my condo.  I’ve got most of my stuff out of the kitchen and pantry with the exception of some pots and pans that I’ve left for my roommate to use.  My parents will be going on vacation in the middle of April, so I plan on being completely out of my place by then.  A lot of my stuff will be put into a storage unit, and the rest will come home.  It’s still overwhelming to be packing everything up (especially since its been less than a year since I moved in, and I’d planned on staying there a long time) but sometimes things don’t work out quite to plan…