PREDNISIONE AND MY eBAY STORE

I am so happy today!  I feel great! 

I wasn't so great at the beginning of the week.  I was really hurting horribly and was fatigued and drained beyond belief. 

Hubby suggested  that I give my rheumi a call, but at first I said, "Why? What is he going to do except tell me to go to the ER?" and I didn't want to do that.

But, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I might be feeling that way because of the reduction of prednisione.  So, I gave the rheumi a call.  We spoke through my tears and came to the conclusion to increase the prednisione to 15 mgs a day.  The doc keeps trying to bring me down to 5 mgs a day and every time I get below 10 I start to flare.  It's amazing how the prednisione works.  There are a lot of side effects.  But right now, for me, the benefits outweight the risks. And, until Rituximab is approved here in New York for Lupus, this and methotrexate is what I have to use.

Here are some:

What side effects may occur:
Deltasone may cause euphoria, insomnia, mood changes, personality changes, psychotic behavior, or severe depression.  It may worsen any existing emotional instability.

At a high dose, Deltasone may cause fluid retention and high blood pressure.  If this happens, you may need a low-salt diet and a potassium supplement.

With prolonged Deltasone treatment, eye problems may develop (e.g. a viral or fungal eye infection, cataracts, or glaucoma).

If you take Deltasone over the long term, the buildup of adrenal hormones in your body may cause a condition called Cushing's syndrome, marked by weight gain, a "moon-faced" appearance, thin, fragile skin, muscle weakness, brittle bones, and purplish stripe marks on the skin.  Women are more vulnerable to this problem than men.  Alternate-day therapy may help prevent its development.

Other potential prednisione side effects from include:
Bone fractures, bruising, bulging eyes, congestive heart failure, convulsions, distended abdomen, face redness, glaucoma, headache, hives and other allergic-type reactions, increased pressure inside eyes or skull, inflamed esophagus or pancreas, irregular menstrual periods, muscle weakness or disease, osteoporosis, peptic ulcer, poor healing of wounds, stunted growth (in children), sweating, thin, fragile skin, vertigo

(the above is from: http://www.bodynhealth.com/inflammation_prednisone.html)

Anyway, I feel pretty good.  I even went out to Target yesterday and did some shopping.

MY eBAY STORE~~  http://stores.ebay.com/OCCUPY-MY-TIME

Please check it out.  And, if you would, please give my store a little plug in your journal.  I would really appreciate it.

I started selling on eBay to have something to do.  Hence, the name OCCUPY MY TIME.  I just went around the house and collected stuff that we no longer used or needed and listed them.  So far I have been selling at a low level, but that is okay with me.  And, when my Lupus flares, I just put the store on vacation.  Or, if I happen to have a few bad days and need to ship stuff out it's pretty easy.  I have a postage scale here.  I can order boxes from the Post Office and they deliver them. Bubble wrap, padded envelopes, packing peanuts and packing tape are easily ordered on eBay for a fraction of the price they sell for at one of those mega office supply stores. Most of the stuff I have for sale is already partly packaged.  So all I have to do is print the postage label out and slap it on the package.  The USPS even comes to the house and picks up the packages.  It's pretty easy.  And, if I sell stuff and make a profit it gives me money in my Pay Pal account to buy stuff we need.  I even have a Pay Pal Debit Master card to use to purchase stuff locally.  I love it.  Most of all it helps keep me sane.  I miss working outside the home so much.  This helps with our finances too!    Check out the store.  http://stores.ebay.com/OCCUPY-MY-TIME

Have a great day Gentle Readers.  I love you guys for all the support and comfort you have given me through the rough times.