One Shot, Two Shot, Three Shot, More...

"Bonnie the Nurse" called me Friday night and said that Saturday would work for her if it was ok with us. I said, "Yes" and she was set to arrive at 8:30 Saturday morning.

Wow, that happened fast, but I was ready to get it over with.

Come Saturday morning we were all ready to get things started. D was instructed to keep Bean busy with cartoons and toys back in their bedrooms. When she arrived we immediately dove into the instruction.

It seemed fairly easy but at times I found myself in sort of a daze. Not really listening nor caring about what she had to say. "Just give me the facts, let me get it done and move on", I thought. She was really very sweet and helpful and even allowed my crazy bloggin' ass to take a picture of her (above).

After showing me how to do it and practicing a few times, Sean did the same. He did a good job and was excited about possibly giving me a manual shot one day (should I be upset by this?). That'll never happen. We learned using the Autoject and also practiced the manual a couple of times just in case.

I administered my first shot with Bonnie and Sean watching. I did fine except for the pricking part. You're supposed to pull the Autoject straight off so the needle doesn't prick your skin. Sounds simple enough but it's easier said than done. It's hard to grasp what is 'straight up' when you're shooting into the back of your arm and can't get a good look.

Here's the effect from my first shot...

Note to self: Must tone arms.

I had some swelling which you can see in the middle of the redness. It went away in about an hour or two and the next day (Sunday) I was left with a small bruise. No biggie. It was sore that whole day but I could only really feel it if I touched it or rubbed it up against something. I went to the Hesperia Zoo shortly after receiving the shot so really, all was well.

My second shot was administered myself and was in my right arm this time. That one went much better, no pricking and no bruising afterward. Still the same redness and swelling as the first but it went away in a couple of hours too. See below.

I'm administering them in the morning. So far it's been between 8:30am and 9am which has been working for me. I'm able to get up and do my morning routine without the rush or worry of getting my injection done.

When injecting, I don't feel the needle at all. However, there is a major sting that happens once the medicine gets in. A bee sting (in my opinion) is an understatement. I've been stung by bee's before and they don't hurt that bad. But it is better in different areas.

This morning (Monday), I injected my hip for the first time (no pics for that one) and the sting wasn't nearly as bad and it didn't last as long. I still had redness but there was a lot less swelling and now, 50 minutes after the injection, it's barely noticeable. I've heard the arms are the worse and after injection 1 and 2, I kind of believe it.

It's still amazing to me that I'm able to do this. I don't think about it until the moment I have everything laid out on the counter and then I tell myself, "No biggie Sarah, you've already done 1 (or 2 or 3 and so on), you can do this".

And I do. I don't have a choice. For me, that's the best way to look at it.

Soccer Party at Hesperia Zoo, CA

Yea D! Another trophy :)

Soccer Coaches

Hmmm....these seem a little out of place here.

They wouldn't stop staring.

I think they just want food.

Rudolph is hiding out in the desert before the Holiday's.

Have you seen The Chronicles of Narnia? That's him. At least that's what the 'grounds keeper' says.

He's a BAD monkey. Psycho may be a better word.

Meds - Check! Insurance - Thank You!

I came home yesterday to see this sitting in my kitchen.

Looks like I'm getting an organ transplant.

I knew it was coming but still, I felt a little queazy when I saw it.

However, the little (warning) penguin on the top was quite cute.

The Copaxone has reserved a spot next to...


Sean's caramel syrup. I swear it's not mine. Really.

With this new addition in the fridge, we had no choice but to inform D (8 years old) of mommy's current health situation. I don't think any 8 year old should have to hear that their mommy is chronically ill and will need to give herself a shot everyday. So we sugarcoated it a bit.

We told him that mommy is sick but everything is going to be OK. And that mommy will have medicine in the fridge that she has to take everyday but he is not to touch it. Maybe I should put it next to the onions instead of the yummy caramel syrup?

He took it very well. Sean asked, "Do you have any questions?" and D said, "Nope! Can we do something fun today?".



Meet my worst nightmare

Needles. My needles. Dammit!!!

And...

the needle injector aka Autoject.

Much bigger than I expected it to be. I guess I was hoping for mini syringes and a mini autoject which would surely mean, mini pain.

I use to (and still do) feel sorry for diabetics. I remember thinking, "I could never inject myself like they do." Surprise, surprise. I know there's an oral med in the works for MS so I can't wait for that to come out.


On to the BILL


Take a look below...

HOLY MOLY! For ONE month of Copaxone my bill comes to a total of $2,610.28. WTF!

And DUE IMMEDIATELY from me is $0.09.

No Problemo!

I can guarantee you that if I didn't have insurance, I would NOT be on this stuff.

Thank you Sean. 143!



I asked the hubs if he thought I could just tape a dime to the bill and mail it back? LOL! He came up with an even better idea.

He said we should tape a dime to a bill to Copaxone for $0.01. HA! HA!

On a serious note, I am really handling this well. I'm ready to start this stuff and get to the point where everyone say's "It's easy". I'm a little worried about the side effects and I'm not sure if I should 'shoot up' in the morning and get it over with, or in the evening so I can sleep through the pain. I'm sure I'll find my way soon enough.

Right now, I'm waiting on a call back from my nurse so we can set up an appointment to teach me how to do all of this. Thank goodness for that, I'd be a wreck if I had to figure it out myself.

Have a good weekend everyone. :)

Purely Entertainment

This first video is Bean when she was one.

An oldie but a goodie.

Some Complaining - I am Human

I’m noticing things now. Things that I do that annoy the hell out of me (and probably everyone else), that are most likely due to the MS. Like starting a sentence and pausing halfway through because I can’t remember the word I wanted to say. If I want to say, “Put your plate on the counter please." I’ll say, “Put your plate on the….. (then in my mind I’m thinking, is it the cabinet? The drawer? The table? The……oh! It’s the counter.)” But there will be a long pause before it comes out. Usually, my son or the hubs will finish it off for me. I feel like an idiot standing there with the ‘DUH…’ look on my face. Trying to figure out a simple word that is there, but it’s floating around my head and I’m not able to quickly get it to ‘fall’ out of my mouth.

And lately when I write, I notice I make a lot more mistakes. I’ll write “of” when I meant to write “if”. Or I'll write a complete sentence that seemed to make perfect sense to me at the time but when I go back to read it, I sound like I'm five. Very irritating. I’m a little OCD’ish when it comes to those kind of things.

Anyway....

I’ve made a decision on a drug. But I’ve been second guessing my decision to take Copaxone* since the day I made it. I think, “I don’t wanna be on this sh!t forever.” But then I remind myself that as of right now, MS is a forever disease. (Dammit!)

I got a call from Shared Solutions (Copaxone) on Friday. Way sooner than I expected. The lady on the line confirmed my information and asked me if I could remember the day I was diagnosed. “That’s an easy one. Yesterday.” I said. She told me that my medication and autoject* would be arriving in the next 5 business days. (Dammit!) She also said, “a nurse will be calling you soon. If she calls before the meds arrive, take down her number and call her when you receive everything. She’ll then schedule a time to come to your home and teach you how to use your autoject and medication.” FAN...TASTIC!

Friday evening, ‘Bonnie The Nurse’ called me. She gave me her number and told me to give her a call when everything came in.

This is all happening so fast.


*Copaxone: Disease modifying drug (supposably slows progression) that comes in prefilled, ready-to-use syringes and is delivered just below the skin with a small needle.

*Autoject: A re-usable automatic injection device.

WINNER! WINNER! WINNER!

Since I had only a few names to choose from I figured I'd pick the winner the old fashioned way. Well, maybe not. I put the names in a cool Monsters Inc. mug instead of a hat but who cares.

The entries...

The inside of my cool mug.

The outside of my cool mug.

THE WINNER!

Congrats Amber!

Thank you everyone for entering. I wish I had 3 books to giveaway. :)

Halloween Pictures & A Book Giveaway

Bean and D, a Cat and a Skeleton, ready for some candy.

She was so excited to go Trick-or-Treating. We went up and down our block and towards the end she started getting greedy. When she went to a door (with her brother) it went a little something like this...

Bean: TRICK-OR-TREAT!!!

Homeowner: Awww...you look sooo cute! (dropping candy into bag)

Bean: THANK YOU!!!

Homeowner: You're welcome honey.

Bean: I want more! I'm a cat, meow....

Homeowner: Awww....(putting more candy in the bag)

D had been waiting for this moment all day, or all week actually. He had a little button that he could push that made blood squirt down his chest. Lovely.


Lets go get some CANDY!!!!




An hour or so later...

They did pretty good for only one block. They had a lot of fun and everyone made it home safe. I think people asked us about Lola more then they did the kids. LOL! She was going to be a ghost but she kept stepping on the sheet. I guess a 155lb dog can create a lot of conversation, costume or no costume.


ON TO THE GIVEAWAY

I purchased the book above in hopes of getting a little inspiration. It was an OK book but if you love Patrick Swayze and have seen many of his movies, this is probably the book for you. Lisa Niemi was on Oprah this past Friday, If you watched the show then you have a little bit of an idea of what this book is about.

He talks a lot about his career and his love for Lisa, his illness is only mentioned in the last few chapters. I only saw 2 movies by Patrick, Dirty Dancing and Ghost, and it was cool to read all about the making of the movie and how things really were behind the scenes.

HOW TO ENTER:

Just leave a comment and a way for me to contact you. If your comments already link to your blog then you're good. If not, just leave your email address in the comments section.

I'll pick a winner sometime tomorrow (Monday) and I'll contact you for your mailing address.

Christmas is around the corner so if this book isn't for you, maybe you can give it to someone else. It's in excellent condition and comes from a smoke-free home. :)

Good Luck!