I Like to Move It Move It..."

October 22, 2014

Dear Diary,

I have been thinking about trying to start exercising again . Before I was diagnosed with ITP in June and then Lupus in July, I had been exercising quite a bit.  I was outside walking or riding my bike a good 4-5 times a week. I was eating right and feeling good. Then out of the blue...BAM! My whole world changed. I have been in and out of the hospital twice since then and have been on heavy duty doses of prednisone, as well as Rituxan treatments, which I am still taking. I have my 3rd treatment tomorrow. I really hope they work for me.

Anyway, I have been thinking I need and want to start exercising again in small doses, especially when I feel like I can. I have some Leslie Sansone walk dvds which I have always liked because I can do them indoors, and I also have a Rodney Yee am yoga 15 minute video that a good friend gave me. And yes, while he is sagga bagga all the way, it is a very relaxing 15 minutes. So I got to thinking about Yoga. I already have a little experience with it and a mat, so I figured I will try to find a yoga class to go to. I want to find one to go to because I think it will create more variety in my workouts, it will be community based because I will be doing it with other people, and it will get me out of the house, so even though I am still indoors exercising, I will have had to get out to go do it. This is important to me because I already feel like a shut in sometimes.

Photo from Imgarcade.com

And so I came across this great article. Yoga and Lupus: An Introduction. from the blog, Living Well With Lupus. After reading it I am sure that yoga is the form of exercise I want to invest in next. One thing I really like about yoga and always have is the whole Zen mind and body connection. I believe in that connection and I meditate so it just seems like yoga be my next extension of  dealing with my Lupus and ITP.

I need to "move it, move it" and I want to. Wish me luck in finding a class.

~ Me

Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop ...

Monday, October 13, 2014


Dear Diary,

Here I am again...Waiting for the other shoe to drop.

It's hard not to wonder if I'll get the dreaded phone call after my lab work each week: the dreaded "go back to the hospital call" because your platelets are at critical levels (under 10,000) .  Its hard because the last time I had to go back to the hospital, I felt great. I had even gone out to lunch and movie with a dear friend. And I wasn't too fatigued or sore or anything, and I had no real symptoms, just 1 tiny bruise. It's always hard to be in the hospital, but even harder when you don't " feel" like you should be there because you don't feel like any things wrong.  And so every week when I get my blood drawn, I wonder if I will get the call and I hope that I don't. And as hard as I try to just expect good news and to not worry about getting a phone call, there's always a little doubt that reigns me in. I'm really trying to coexist with this and accept it as part of my immune disease. Not to accept it as the end result or a prison sentence, but to accept it as a stage or a stepping stone to future better days and maybe remission. It's like the Serenity prayer.

Grant me the serenity 
To accept the things I cannot change; 
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference. 

Living one day at a time; 
Enjoying one moment at a time; 
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace...

And so I am ever hopeful  and when I don't get a call, I feel free again if only for another week. But I'll take what I can get. 

It's Monday evening now, and no call. Whew! Now I relax a little bit.

Here's to No News is Good News.

~Me