2013 in Some Pictures

In Vegas, we had to ask for the accessible shuttle to take us to the hotel

the 7 blind mice…whose idea was this?  who knows…but we having good times in Vegas

Let the good times begin in Miami (Miami carnival)

Assenna Orgenetnom, how meh boy (who i didn't know) woulda pull this off with a basket in front???

Driving thru the party - doh get tie up!

MS Walkers 2013

Everyone loves the scooter I

this is an old picture…but everyone loves the scooter II

Everybody loves the scooter III

Good times in Vegas cont'd 

Getting my eyebrow pierced

Ready for 2014...

Helllllloooo 2014

Happy New Year to you and yours from me

Pimp my Ride

K….this isn't mine but this is exactly what it looks like and i have a basket in the front

Needed a upholder because driving, steering and holding a cup just didn't go together

My cars have been Stax1, Stax2 and Stax3 - i thought this made perfect sense

My cane is actually only "posed" for the picture because the cane holder that can actually be used with the scooter was too expensive

 so…the scooter also has a basket (as i mentioned up top).

• Without the basket, it's cool
• With the basket, it loses all its "coolness" (in my book) so the only time i really use the basket is when i go to check the mail :-)

 Hope you had a lil chuckle…i gone so...

HO! HO!! HO!!!

Here's hoping Santa brings you all everything you asked him for and more :-)

No MS Round Here

Fellas…we hadda vote!!!  Voting closes at noon tomorrow…for all the Trinis out there - allyuh know how we do - we hadda get we boy in first place.  Everybody else, you can vote however you want (i suppose) but we looking for your vote for Bunji Garlin - Differentology for song of the year.

• MTV Iggy's Song of the Year

Okay

Well things kinda worked themselves out sorta - thanks for all the prayers and well wishes across the miles/ocean/etc. I got to the MSCA early yesterday because, of course, I wanted to buss a small lime with everyone there whom I haven't seen in 6 months.  Talking with the nurses (in the infusion room) was a MUST because (as much as I like my doctor), I prefer talking with the them and getting their feedback/opinions.

One of the first things that Anita asked when I talked bout going back on Tysabri was, "what is ur titer levels?" Eh???  I had no idea what she was talking about.

Turns out, there's now a test to measure the level of JCV antibodies in my system. This particular test gives them an idea of the risk of actually contracting PML. They started doing that test AFTER I stopped. If course, nothing is absolute so jes because I may be in the "safe zone", doesn't mean that I WON'T contract it, but it'll b slightly comforting to know that I'm "safe"- am I making sense?

Anyway...they drew blood yesterday to do that test. I felt really good (armed with this info) going in to talk to Dr. Gilbert. I explained to him that my disability is much worse - he could see it himself - and he was in agreement that if my titer level comes in at less than 1.2 (that's the number of the hour), tysabri it is! Fingers/toes/eyes/legs/arms all crossed that this happens...I'll worry about the money involved later. 

If I come in greater than 1.2 (I'm also going for an MRI-if that shows additional scarring means Tefidera is NOT doing what it's supposed to doing) I'm going to switch to Gilenya (in his opinion, it's a better drug), 1 of the other oral options available.  And then he told me bout Lemtrada!

It's been submitted to the FDA for approval...the MS community (researchers,doctors, everyone involved) is hopeful that it'll b approved soon (it's already been approved in Europe and Canada). From what I read last night (this article), this drug is coming with at least 20(!!) years of research. Wow!! Of course there are side effects, but that's a story for another day over some drinks.  Dr. Gilbert also shared that the drug is even better than Tysabri and is only administered (by infusion) twice a year. 

So much has been done (and is currently being done) wrt MS these days, I guess now is as good a time to have it as any. 10/20 years ago, there weren't as many options, it took so long for patients to b diagnosed and so little was known…

alright…well on to ur regularly scheduled programme - i gone so!

Day of Reckoning

I go to Dr. Gilbert today. Times like this, I wish I were a kid again - my parents would have to make the decision for me. Steups...being an adult is overrated.

• Do I tempt fate and go back on Tysabri?
• Do I try 1 if the other oral drugs available?

Additionally, going back on Tysabri means that I'll hadda come up with at least $3,000 for out of pocket costs. GRRRRR!!!  I really am torn tho. I eh go lie. 

Go back to Tysabri 

•  i know what to expect or do I? Just because I had a good experience before, does it mean I'll have another good one? 
• More money
• Proven to improve disability in most patients 
• Shots - having to find my non existent veins
• buh AA…how i forget this before???  (updating with this after i published) high risk of contracting the fatal brain infection that does appear and u may not even know

New Drug

• Have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA what to expect
• U have to b observed for 6(!!!) hours the first dose because it completely slows down ur heart rate (will slowly go back up (hence the 6 hour observation period and generally go back to absolute normal within a month)
• Oral (once a day)
• May improve disability

Decisions...Decisions...

Parang

Nothin like ah lil parang to get you in the spirit

Traveling

I talked about traveling with my scooter the last post buh we talking traveling again...

So they let me drive the scooter all the way to the plane door. They treat it like they would a stroller so I get a little claim tag to hang off it. I drive it down the ramp, park it there and then they bring it whenever we get to the destination right back in the same place so I just walk off the plane and ride away.   It's great...and remember that time a while back when they changed the gates on me and the rude ass delta gate agent asked me if I cyah walk? With the scooter, I can just ride away and leave her ass in my dust :-)

But of course, there are cons...I actually do feel a little more pressure after I park it. I think it's because I'm by myself so the air hostess has to realize (or made aware) that I need help (the other day I swear the ramp was bout 2 feet lower than the plane so my step into the plane was lil problematic) to come help me. And of course, u can imagine how well my body works when I under pressha! Ugh!!! Walking off is always better than walking on because I'm so much more relaxed. 

The other thing that I don't like about it is going thru security (only in the kissmehass winter). During winter, is boots, jackets, scarves and everything else you hadda put on to try and get warm...all of which hadda come off. Fuckin-A!!! Well I've started putting on a sad poemeone kinda face and begging not to take off my boots (I will surely miss my flight if I had to spend time putting them back on) and when I was heading to TX for thanksgiving, I kinda manhandled a man to help me with getting the security bin and maneuvering out of my jacket (I was very nice). He had a badge so I knew he wasn't a passenger and he was extremely helpful...but the point is that had I a chair, the attendant would have helped me with all that.   

But...all that is small ting. I really hope that my experience with any other airline is the same. I was concerned about different airports (because Atlanta's is one of the best when it comes to accessibility) but so far so good.

btw...I typed this on my phone using the Blogger app.  It's not as frustrating as Dragon altho it's a little more work but at least the stupid white border is not there.  Ah gone so!

Hi

It's been 5 months… I haven't posted since July.  It started off as a result of my being busy busy busy at work.  For a few weeks back then, I barely knew my ass from my elbow because I had so much shit going on and then when things eased up a bit and I actually had time to publish something, my left hand started working against me and typing became the most frustrating/annoying/depressing/fill in whichever word you’d like here and so, I just stopped doing it (on my personal laptop).  Remember, I have the Dragon software installed on my work laptop so things were much easier there.

A few weeks ago, it occurred to me that I could type on the work laptop, e-mail to myself and then publish using my Mac and so this is how I’m publishing today (how did this never occur to me before???  LOL)…i remember now too that i don't like the white border that's placed around the words when i do this - but small ting i spose.

so… Where to begin??? Bear with me, this may be long - it's been 5 months!

Well lemme start with the medication.  I don't like Tecfidera; I really miss Tysabri and would like to go back on it.  Tecfidera is the third disease modifying drug that I’ve taken – I’ve been on Copaxone, and Tysabri as well - and I can say with confidence that Tysabri was the best and my favorite.  Now don't get me wrong, I still have no side effects from the Tecfidera and it may be doing its job (slowing down the progression of the disease), but it does nothing for my general feeling of well-being and my disability has definitely gotten worse since I came off of Tysabri (which has shown to improve patient disabilities).  I don't trust myself as much as I used to, I'm not as confident as I once was (especially when stepping up) and my general feeling of well-being has definitely diminished.  I'm still positive and upbeat but… Anyway, I go to see my neuro on 12/17 and will talk to him about this then.  I went to see him sometime in August and decided at that time not to make any changes because I'd only been on Tecfidera for 3 months so figured I'd give it a chance… well its time is up!  Like I said, I really want to go back on Tysabri but is that really advisable?  I’ve been off it 8 months now; doesn't that reset the clock??? (Using Dragon to type this is extremely frustrating - it still doesn't understand my accent - FCUK!!! Using it for work is not this bad because e-mails at work are much shorter)

My handy-dandy scooter was the best money ever spent!! Unfortunately, I can't use it when I'm on my own because it needs to be dismantled and placed in the car, but boy has it made my life easier on so many levels.  As usual I went to Miami carnival this year. I'd decided from early on that I was going to take the scooter with me to go to a specific fete down there.  Some of my friends who live in Atlanta drive down for the weekend and I was going to send it with somebody but at the last minute, I decided I would travel with it.  Well let me tell you - that was one of the best decisions I ever made (in my life I think :-) ).  I called Delta and found out what I had to do and braced myself for a trying experience - it was one of the easiest things I've ever done!  First of all, I can't say that I've ever seen anyone riding around in a scooter in the airport, but there I was riding up and down the concourse – just because I could!  Going through security? A breeze!!  Using the scooter gave me so much independence that (like I said), I was just riding all over the place, just because I could :-).  It was also easier on my pocket because I didn't have to tip anyone for pushing me around and when I went to Vegas in October, I saved $125 because I didn't have to rent one. I want somebody to tell me I cyah travel with it in the future; I DARE YUH!! - aye allyuh, I not sure when allyuh getting another post because this is really friggin annoying - but I digress… then in the party in Miami, EVERYBODY (including people I didn't know) was bussin ah wine on me and it - it was hilarious… a complete hit! Oh… And how could I forget, I even secured 2 (long story about why I have 2) cup holders for it – driving it while holding a cup was a lil difficult, so solved that problem!!

The masquerade ball happened again last month.  It wasn't as well attended as it was last year, but those who attended had a good time nonetheless.  I must say, I was really touched by the number of folk who were there from the MSCA (including a doctor who’d only seen me once).

What else, what else… Christmas is nearing and I’m yet to get into the spirit but hopefully soon.  I can't think of anything else to write nah; I know I'm missing some stuff and will probably think of it after have published this but say wah, so it go sometimes.  Besides, I don't want to bore you too much for right now.  So until next time, allyuh hol it dong!!  I’ll be back – I promise

One Month Later

so it's been a month since i've been on Tecfidera and i haven't had any issues.  no flushing, no stomach problems, nothing - GREAT NEWS!!!  its always unnerving to start something new because u never know how u might react to it.  Beverly (at the MSCA) mentioned that it takes a number of weeks to actually get into ur system and start working, so who knows what benefits i may eventually see.  i go back there in August, so more to come on that for sure.

i talked about my telephone woes in my last post (the only issue i actually had) and everything worked out so i got the new pack yesterday.  as it turns out, i had missed a dose (of course) last month, so i had an extra pill that i took Monday morning so i only missed 1 dose (monday nite).

after my rough month last month, i'd said that i was back to normal.  i thought i was just based on how i was moving about a few times...the truth is, i'm not.  Doing things that i'm used to doing (out and about) are not as easy for me anymore.  i am still hopeful that there might be an explanation other than "the MS is progressing (ugh)" - maybe i'll write about that later.

for now, i'm hanging in there...

Really?!?! Steups

once again, i'm just shaking my head right now...

so who thought that it was a good idea to preauthorize me for ONLY the starter pack of Tefidera (the 1st pack of medication includes 7 "beginner" pills that are actually half the normal dose to introduce it into ur system and then u increase to the regular dose after that)?  some asshole somewhere amongst my doctor's office, the insurance company and the drug manufacturer.  Now, if that's how things are supposed to work then that is just downright STUPID!

apparently the insurance company will not pay for the drug unless preauthorization is given.  okay, no problem i can live with that.  what i cannot understand for the life of me is, "why give preauthorization one month ago for the starter pack of the drug and nothing else?"  was i going to take the starter pack alone and come off the drug??? why not authorize the starter pack and (oh by the way), lets authorize the maintenance (subsequent months of the drug) one time because...well that just makes sense!  of course i didn't find out about this issue until last week thursday or so but the person i spoke with said, "looks like u will still be able to get ur shipment on the 5th"....okay so i thought all was well, until i got an automated message to "call the pharmacy because there's a problem." on Monday of this week.   long story short, today is Friday and it appears that when i run out of medication on Sunday, i'll be up a creek without a paddle for a few days.

i wish i can be brave like all those out there who are managing this disease without the drugs!  i'll have extra money in my pocket and not have to deal with foolishness like this.

People's Reactions

it's always interesting to me to see people's reactions to their learning that i have MS.  sooooooo many people ask me what's wrong regardless of where i am when they see me walking with the cane.  i've mentioned before that the usual question is "what happened to your foot?" and my standard answer is, "nothing happened to my foot, i have Multiple Sclerosis"  i've stopped saying MS because i don't know just how many people know what MS is.

• right off the bat however, i can tell whether or not the person even knows what " Multiple Sclerosis" is - they just kinda nod their heads and keep it moving.  no reaction (not that i need one), no additional comments, nothing.  it almost looks like they were embarrassed that they asked.  
• then there are those who say things like, "oh i'm so sorry to hear that" and we may engage in some small talk about "life throwing u curveballs and u jes hadda deal"

• lol...there was this old man 1 time, after i told him what was wrong, he said something that to this day i have no idea what it was.  i'm not convinced that even  he knew because he kind had the "deer in the headlights" look as he was saying it...but then he said, "well at least you're out and about here doing your thing" and i smiled and said, "i sure am".

now and again i might wonder if i'm giving them too much information by telling the truth, but the way i figure is that you should be prepared for anything if yuh fas enuf to ask the question.  if u can't handle the truth, you shouldn't ask any questions.  and then there was this guy...

Me: i have multiple sclerosis

Him: oh...now is that the one that progresses and there isn't any cure?

Me: yup.  it sure is

Him: and it lives in ur spine?

Me: well it affects the Central Nervous System so it could attack ur spine so it could affect your mobility 

Him: so what happened?

Me: i gave him a shortened version of my eyebrow twitching etc

Him: oh...and when did it happen?

i was actually in a nail salon and he was working so i never got a chance to respond because someone else had entered and he had to go do his job but, i was cracking up inside because i had NEVER encountered anything like this.  i had no problem sharing, i'll talk about it to anyone who wants to listen but it was just so funny to me how he kept going on and on and on...i think we'd still be talking if that chick didn't enter.  lol

Wednesday June 12th

what a day!  it was the Wednesday after my last post.  so i'd tell allyuh that i wasn't feeling good/things weren't normal and i was struggling with whether i'd gotten worse or WHAT???  i'd been in touch with the MSCA so many days that week that i know they were tired of me.  anyhoo, so the thursday of the awful week, they told me that if things didn't get better by Monday (9th), come in and see them.  well i was feeling better but i still wasn't normal, so i made the appointment for 6/12 at 11am.

i didn't want to drive myself so i asked S-dee to take me and off we went (i used my scooter).  I saw Beverly (my favorite nurse practitioner) to do something called a relapse evaluation.  as we were going thru the exam, she explained to me that one of the things that could happen is that if i contracted any kind of infection, my immune system will have kicked into overdrive to fight it and that exaggerates whatever MS symptoms might be plaguing us at the time.  infection?  i have no infection do I?  i didn't think so...well wouldn't you know it, I did.  really?  what??  is that what's going on???  is it really that "simple"?  she decided to give me a 3day bout of steroids (to help with my MS related increased instability) and prescribed some antibiotics to fight the infection.  i heard 3 days and got concerned because the thought of having to go in there for the next 2 days (got the 1st one that day) - well that would be difficult.  turns out, they could send a nurse to me that thursday and friday for a home visit.  GREAT!! so at that point, only time would tell if that was really what was going on and i would get back to normal.

the exam over (and I, having some answers and hope), S-dee and i made our way back to the car to leave.  i got off the scooter,  she proceeded to dismantle it and put it in the car, i took 2 steps to get to the front door and went down and went down HARD!!!!  (it appears that i may have tripped on my pants that needed to be folded - fcuking a! Stacey)  Luckily i have some padding round the hips/ass area, so my right hip (i fell on my side) took the brunt of the fall, but i hit my head and it hurt.  in fact, when i sat up, i felt lil woozy and all i wanted to do was lay flat on that parking lot ground.  i guess it couldn't have happened in a better place, so (after i was able to stand up and move) we just made our way back upstairs and this time i saw a doctor from the internal medicine department.  he gave me a through exam (in fact at some point, i said to myself, "instead of asking me all these damn questions, you can just look in my chart and find all the answers. of course good thing he WAS asking me those kinda questions) and when he was satisfied that i was lucid and ok, he told me that i probably had a slight concussion.  he sent me on my way but also told me that if ANYTHING were to change, call them back or go straight to an ER etc...of course, my original plan was to go back to work after the MSCA but that was thrown out the window as soon as i fell so i went home and just took it easy for the rest of the day.

the time between then and now I've been getting better and feeling more and more like Stax vs. who the hell is this person and where did she come from.  i would venture out (now and again) but i have to admit that i was not as sure of myself as in the past and it was almost like i didn't trust my body/myself a whole lot...i believe that i'm back to normal now though because i went out yesterday and things were fine, so i guess it really was that "simple" and all i had to do was get rid of the infection so that things could go back to normal.  i still have some (very slight) positional vertigo only when i get in and out of bed but i'm sure that too will get better with time....

Relapse? No Meds? Flare up? ARGH!!!!

oh geez...i'm not sure what is going on.  Am i one of the "lucky" ones who really fall victim to the Tysabri rebound effect???

so i've had a rough week.  the first time that i noticed that "things weren't right was Monday.  I had a dentist appointment and for whatever reason, i WAS SO VERY STIFF.  i was still moving on my own but things were just not normal.  at one point, the hygienist even asked me if i was getting worse because 3 people from the office were trying to help me out.  at some point, they told me to just sit on an office chair and they wheeled me where i need to go.  by the time i got home, i was feeling a little better but...

Tuesday after work i just didn't want to move from where i was.  My trainer cancelled and when i found out, i just didn't move for about 1 1/2 hrs and then it hit me.  i've mentioned here before (i think) that if i stay in the sun for too long (GASP!!), my limbs jes get rhell heavy and it's a chore to do anything - well that's how i'd been feeling for most of the day...problem was, there is no sun INSIDE!!!  oh no...what the hell is this???  i didn't feel badly, i don't feel sick but things just weren't right.

• is it the rebound effect?
• is it a flare up?
• is it because i have no medication in my system?
• is the MS rearing its ugly head because i'm actually really frustrated and unhappy at work?
• oh no...am i getting worse???????

I'm going to start the Tecfidera tomorrow - today is the last day of my 8 week waiting period so we'll see what happens but...

Over the years, things slowly shifted/changed; there was never any drastic changes; i feel like this is too drastic.  things still haven't gone back to normal but i don't feel as "heavy" as before.  I didn't work Wednesday but i did thursday and today - geez, i don't know but i'll start the pill tomorrow and deal with things as they come along.

Got Mail!

the Tecfidera is in the house...

smh..twice!

sometimes things happen and i shock myself by how i react.  i don't always remember (today) what i wore (last week or even yesterday) but amazingly (how the brain works), there are some things that i know i remember perfectly!

the last time i went to see my neuro, Dr. G, he told me specifically that he wanted me to have 2 sessions of steroids 3 weeks apart and that even tho there was no waiting period with switching from Tysabri to Tecfidera, he wanted the Tysabri completely out of my system first (should have been my first clue that there is some kinda waiting period).  anyhoo, so i left the exam room, went to the front desk and made my 2 steroid appointments - 5/10 and 5/31.

last week thursday, my phone started blowing up from the MSCA.  well i've been really busy, so by the time i called the chick back, she'd just walked out the door.  finally (after some more phone tag) we connected Friday just before it was time for me to leave for the appointment.  that's when i found out that:

• steroid sessions are supposed to be 4 weeks apart
• there is actually an 8 week waiting period before which i can start Tecfidera

STEUPS!!

He told me that i could start in the first week of June, hence the reason i should be getting my shipment today (or tomorrow)...well luckily i didn't actually start anything so i've pushed my start date to 6/9.  when she found out that i'd only had 1 steroid session, she said that it would be okay to keep the appointment on 5/31 even tho it had only been 3 weeks...i just cyah bother get all upset; makes no sense but would have been nice to know all this up front.

Fears Part Deux

i was looking back at this list and things have changed (kinda) over the years...

• i am no longer afraid of falling (sort of).  i don't WANT to fall but it's such a part of my life now that i don't fear it as much as maybe "hope for the best" when it happens (which has not been a recent occurrence *knock on wood*)
• walking between cars is a non issue (for the most part) since i have my handy dandy cane (i'm up to 10 by the way...excessive?  maybe but i don't care)

the others are still on the list...fear of not being able to walk, pain, the unknown (all justifiable in my book).  in addition, i am afraid of...

sneezing when i'm not around something that i can hold on to.  those who know me know that this is can happen often.  my sinuses don't act up like they used to but i sneeze more often than a regular person (i'm sure) and if i'm walking or can't hold on when it happens, it's a precarious position for me.

walking in the wind.  "what??" u say.  1 of the earliest memories i have of myself is walking in Toronto between my aunt and my mother in my little red, shiny jacket.  it was WINDY and as they were walking forward each holding 1 of my hands, the breeze was pushing me back! well. it's the same thing now...i just know that i'm so friggin shaky now that a lil hard breeze will send me packing - cane and all - and i'm deathly afraid of that happenin.

i still stay away from the children - c'mon i only have 1 hand/arm to work with; they require (at least) 2!  speaking of children, they ALL used to be  fascinated by my canes; i guess the ones around me alot are used to me now but when i started coming around with the canes, all the kids were fascinated and wanted to play with them (i didn't mind, but some of the parents didn't find it as cute as i did) - lol.  it was something that i never understood but it always happened without fail - maybe it's because i was different from everyone else?

now that i'm re-reading this post before publishing it, maybe i am still afraid of falling because the end result of both these new situations is a possible buss ass so maybe deep down that is truly my ultimate fear!

Well Wouldn't u Know it...

wow!

cooler fete 2013 was NOT shut down..we partied and had a good time till 6am the next morning and weren't bothered at all by the morons :-)

hopefully the promoters will continue having the party in that place going forward and the fete will get back its good vibe that it's been lacking for the past few years.  i used my scooter and it was FULLY initiated - it wine dong d place (and get wine on), drank alcohol and even had a doubles or 2 - lol...all in all a rhell good time.

Nothing to report on the MS front...i go back for my 2nd steroid treatment on Friday and start Tecfidera next week.


On another note.  got a phone call today asking me when was my last infusion and shouldn't i be thinking about scheduling May's infusion right about now?  the call was from THE SAME PEOPLE WHO CALLED THE LAST TIME TO SCHEDULE THE TECFIDERA!!!!!!!!!!!!  oh my goodness - the shit is right there "in your computer" (as the people say).  i'm happy to report that i didn't get my panties in a bunch, i didn't have any attitude.  i just rolled my eyes, sighed inside and answered the lady's questions.  one of the questions she asked me was, "did you talk to your doctor about this?"...sigh.

i know allyuh feel i make this shit up but i swear to u, it's the truth.

my Conversation - smh

earlier went like this...

hello?

hi...this is Caremark specialty pharmacy calling for Stacey

hi, it's Stacey

I'm callin about your upcoming order to see if you're ready to schedule a shipment

(WOW! someone is actually calling me in my head) (out loud) oh...ok, sure...oh wait, which medication is this?

uhm...let's see here.  Ampyra

my heart sank...this is normal, just not an automated call this month

we discussed the ampyra and then i asked about Tecfidera (oh boy.  i figured i might as well schedule it now because i'll wake up tomorrow morning and it'll be June)...he had to transfer me and placed me on hold.  of course

8 minutes later...

someone else answered and original fella was GONE so i had to explain myself all over again (of course)...and i won't give u all the details but my question was,

"can i schedule my shipment now and how much is my copay?"

"looks like ur copay is $50 for this medication"

"oh...so i was supposed to have been approved for the $10 copay program"...(deciding to take in front), i continued, "i spoke to Biogen and they were supposed to have sent whatever approval to u"

"oh, let me check" she says..."oh yes, it's been downloaded to ur file, so the copay is $10."

so...i wonder.  if the shit was already downloaded to my file, why the hell did i have to ask for it before she told me that the copay was $10???  i know they doh give a damn about me and is really up to me to be diligent but geez, does it always have to be difficult, can't anything be smooth and easy???

i guess i shouldn't complain.  the shipment will arrive on 6/4 and i'm only paying $10!  let's keep things in perspective after all.

Steroids

LOL.  unbelievable...

i have NEVER seen my vein protrude/stand up at attention like it did on Friday when i went in for my 1st rounds of steroids.  it was unbelievable...Anita went as far as to call over the other nurses to "look at this! wow..come see, come see.  this has never happened in here before".  it was unreal!

anyway, so it was administered; there were no issues although the 1 thing that i forgot bout the process is that it leaves one helluva NASTY metallic taste in ur mouth.  it's almost like everything jes tastes bitter for a while after...i ate a few pieces of candy to see if that would make a difference and it did but only for as long as it was in my mouth.  for a few hrs after, i still had that bitter after taste hanging around.  say what, small price to pay.

so far, so good...nothing else to report