August - September 2020 - I'm alive once again

I was in the ICU for more than a month. I don’t have the strength because the only nourishment I was receiving was from the IV. In addition, I was in dialysis non-stop. The only time that I can move was when the nurses will measure my weight, and when there was a rehabilitation hour wherein the therapist will massage my body and do some stretching. There was a massage machine attached to my legs, they said that it will help my muscles to be alive. Even though I am bedridden, I can still feel the weight of the massage machine, for me it was so heavy. 

In my times in the ICU, I experienced the diaper life. I pee and poo on the diaper. And the most difficult of all was vomiting. When I eat or drink, I vomit or will have loose bowel movement. I was feeling embarrassed every time I get my diaper changed, because sometimes the nurse is a male. 

I got better but still bed ridden. I was transferred to the Nephrology ward for me to recover. I am still under dialysis for 3 times a week. But the treatment for the rare bacteria, Mycobacterium haemophilum, is still on process. Many antibiotics was tested but it didn’t match to my body. I vomit and have loose bowel movements. Until there tried AMIKACIN. It was given to me by IV 3 times a week. But I am starting to feel the side effects of this medicine. The side effects were really scary, my hair fell, I was almost bald and I thought I lost my hearing. The feeling is like water entered my ear and there is continuous ringing. I can’t hear well. I had the difficulty of understanding high tones, plus everyone is wearing face masks and face shields. I was really a horror. I was so depressed, thinking why did this happened to me. 

I cannot eat and drink well. I was literally skin and bones. I was not able to sit down or stand up without help. I was so weak. The rehabilitation was continuous. I was exercised and massaged. I was there in the ward recovering and I was able to walk with the help of the therapists and the walker. But the learning process of everything was so difficult. It was like you are a baby again, learning to stand up and walk. Sometimes I wonder if I am doing right because I am so conscious about my movements. I also fell many times when I was practicing to walk, luckily I didn’t have broken bones, only bruises. 

I thought it was my ending. This time, as far as I can remember, when I passed out it was like I was walking to the light, everything was so calm and heavenly, but there was someone who pulled me back. I was blessed with a miracle because I lived despite that challenge. In dark moments, remember there is always a Light. 

Sorry no relevant pictures. I was bedridden.

July 2020 - Am I dead?

 After almost 2-3 weeks outside the hospital, early July I was admitted again. Since I cannot urinate well, the water is accumulated in my body. This time, it was accumulated in my heart and in my lungs, I had a difficulty of breathing. In addition, I also have edema. It came to the point that I cannot urinate so I have 24 hours IV of anti edema medicine. I have catheter so my urine can be measured. The urine for 24 hours is merely 20cc, and I am swelling more. A catheter for IV was implanted on my neck and I am undergoing blood dialysis 3 times a week for 3 hours so they can take out the water from my body.

 

I was brought to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) because my condition was not getting better. I must undergo dialysis for 24 hours. The ICU doctors are continuously monitoring my vitals especially my heart and breathing. My Nephrologist also always visits and checks on me. When my condition was better, I was transferred to the Nephrology ward again. At last, I can have a good night sleep. In the ICU it was noisy because of the alarms and the doctors and nurses were coming in regularly.

 

July 11 midnight, came that I cannot really sleep because I am having difficulty in breathing and chest pain. The nurse gave me pain killers and put oxygen mask, somewhat it helped. But as hours passed it was very difficult to breath that I was chasing my breath, the mask for the oxygen was changed into a plastic bag structure. In that way, there will be more oxygen that I can take. I was feeling dizzy, and I think I will pass out. The emergency doctor told me that they need to bring me to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

 

I really did pass out, and when I woke up, I have the catheter for IV on my right hip. I am beside the dialysis machine, and I was under dialysis for over 24 hours. My body was so weak. I can only move my eyes. I cannot eat and drink because my stomach hurts and I am having loose bowel movements. I was so happy that even though the visitation is limited because of the pandemic, if the patient is in the ICU, anytime and there was no time limit. K always visits me. He was the messenger for my family. He brought recorder so I can voice message my family. He also brought pictures of my family and DVDs to cheer me up. Even though he was busy he still came regularly.

            

June 2020

I was discharged from the hospital on June 6. For the celebration, I and my friends went to eat out. For lunch, we had a hamburger. And for dinner, I craved sukiyaki. It would not be sukiyaki if it will not be dipped in a raw egg! The meat was so tender and there were plenty of vegetables. But as the hours passed, my stomach hurt, and I was vomiting. I also had loose bowel movements. My stomach really hurts so we put hot pack but to no avail. It really came to the point that I cannot bear the pain anymore, so I asked my friend to take me to the hospital. We went to the emergency room, and they gave me IV fluids to rehydrate me and more painkillers. When I finished the IV, we were able to get home. The cause was the raw egg that I ate with the sukiyaki. It was my first time to have a stomach upset with sukiyaki’s raw egg. Maybe the egg was not fresh, or my stomach is still delicate.

 

I recovered from the stomachache, and I was able to claim my new visa and I was granted 3 years of extension.

I am resting at home but one morning, I vomited blood so we called an ambulance. I was rushed to the hospital. The doctors said that it was because the nerves in my lung area and air tract were raptured. They gave me medicine to stop the bleeding. After a few days, I was able to go home again.

 

I am continuously doing my rehabilitation because my legs are getting weak and I am getting tired easily. So in the rehabilitation, we are focusing on knee exercise and breathing exercises.

 

My boss doesn’t want me to go to work so, I am staying home to recover. I can still move but I get tired easily. I also noticed the volume of my urine is not the same as before, I think it is decreasing. My doctor said that I will continue to take the anti-edema pills so I can urinate. When I take the medicine, after 2 hours, I really urinated well, but after that, the volume is decreasing.

My medications are still almost the same steroids, cellcept, tacrolimus, blood pressure medicine, and vitamins. In addition to that, I have many antibiotic medicines. I think I am taking almost 20 tablets each time.

 

 

I'm alive!

 Many rough months have passed but I am still alive!
 
 
Please look forward to it.

Sorry that it took a long while to update my blog. I will be posting my life and death adventures from June 2020.

Happy birthday to me!

It`s my 7<sup>th</sup> week and I`m back at the Nephrology ward. From now on, I will be recovering here. I can still feel the aftereffect of lung surgery. Even though the pneumothorax tubes were taken out, the doctors put a gauze to apply pressure to the wound so there will be no bleeding. It will be stuck to my side for a while. I must exercise my arms and walk to exercise my lungs. I got strength enough to go to the hospital garden. 😺The weather is getting nice, and the flowers are blooming. Technically it is spring here in Japan, but the temperature is like summer. I can even go to the garden wearing short sleeves.

I was starting to have edema again, and it was so bad that I gained 3 kilos. 😟My feet swelled as well as my legs. My skin was so stretched that it hurts.😢 I was advised by my dermatologists, Doctor Kusutani and Doctor Arai to put on tights supporters to my leg because my skin became thin and it is prone to wounds. I have IV of water pill so that I can urinate more. But it seems that it was not working fast so the doctors increased the dosage.

Many tests were done, and it seems that my lungs are recovering fast. 😏They are observing if there are holes still left, but there seems to be none. Based on the blood test, my white blood cell levels were decreasing, maybe because of the antibiotics are working effectively that it also kills the white blood cells. Also, LDH, Lactate Dehydrogenase, was high. When cells are damaged or destroyed, this enzyme is released into the fluid portion of blood. In addition, the infection level was high. These are not good. 😥My doctors told me that these may be due to the operation.

I was complaining that my lower right back abdomen was aching. An echo test was done, and the doctors found out that the tract of my right kidney is slightly swelling. Maybe I am urinating more than the usual, so it has led to this they said. 😡Lastly, the protein level that is found in my urine too was high and it is alarming. As a result, I will be under further observation.

My doctors are very apologetic, we thought that I can go home before my birthday, but I still can`t. 😖 I am confined for almost 2 months now. As of now, the edema is almost gone and I am feeling better without taking pain killers frequently. Tomorrow, I will have a blood and urine test and a CT scan. If the results are good, maybe we can plan the discharge.  

Today is my birthday!🎆🎉🎈

I am very thankful because I even though there are tough times, I am blessed that I was able to overcome it. Thank God!💕 I would also like to thank all the people who support me, especially my family, doctors, friends, co-workers, and group co-members.🙇

Another year and more challenges ahead, but still getting stronger.💜

Everything happened fast that I was not able to keep up.

It is the start of the Golden Week here in Japan. 🙌

I am in my 5^th week now and hoping that the virus will go away so I can go home. I am getting better and it has been 4-5 days that I am not taking pain killers.😊 But the edema was still occurring so I have albumin drips and additional medicine so I can urinate more.

One day I woke up, it seems everything was fine and I was feeling good. But, I suddenly felt back pains, pain in my lower right rib, and gradually difficulty in breathing. CT scan was taken and the doctors found out that one of my lungs was ruptured.😱 It was like a balloon that was out of air. The air that I am inhaling is not getting out of my body which caused the difficulty of breathing. They said that it could be due to the bacteria that damaged the lungs. Although the bacteria is cured, and the lungs got better unfortunately it is still swelling so it is vulnerable to tearing. Also, it may be the side effect of the current treatment.

*By the way, in some other cases, when a woman`s menstruation is coming the possibility of ruptures is high.

Because of the rupture, I must have a pneumothorax. The air must be taken out so that my lungs will be back to its normal shape and will naturally heal. 😥Even though they used anesthesia during the process, I still felt the pain when the tube entered my body. It was placed on my right rib side. The tube is connected to a machine that sucks up the air from my lungs. There is an indicator that air was sucked out, the sound was like blowing bubbles in glass of water. The doctors said that if the machine is making that sound, the ruptures are bad. There was also some water from my lungs extracted.

But hours after the procedure, my breathing is almost back to normal. 😹All the air is not yet sucked out so it will be a while that I will be having this. Also, I am using oxygen because there is still difficulty in breathing.

The next day, I had an X-ray taken. My lungs did improve a little bit, but still far from the normal shape. So there is no choice but to put this on for a little while. The next day, the Pulmonologist, Doctor Sumitani, checked my condition and said that the rupture is worse, that with this machine only, it will not be healed naturally. Then, he consulted with my family of doctors. Before lunchtime, Doctor Sumitani and my family of doctors together with two surgeons came to see me. They told me about my situation and the only way to be healed is to have surgery.😨😟

WHAT???!!! A surgery? 😭I was so shocked that I don’t know how to react, I only laughed. It didn’t sink-into me easily but I got a hold of myself, and said, I have to do this, this is the only way. They said that it is urgent. Then I said, can we do this today?! And they were all surprised. They looked at each other and seems to have a conclusion. They said that I have to contact my family, but my family of doctors said, your family is in the Philippines ☹, do you have someone to contact? A! your colleague, Matsumoto san. Then my attending physician, Nagatsuji Sensei, contacted Matsumoto san and said that he is needed for the explanation about the surgery procedure and his signature is needed as an agreement. Later that day, Matsumoto san came. It has been over a month since I last saw him. Due to the covid19, the visitation here in the hospital is prohibited, but there are some other cases that we can have visitors, just like my case. I even received cookies. Lucky me! 😼He said to eat it as a reward after the surgery.

The procedure was explained. As a summary, the goal of the surgery is to patch the hole in my right lung. My tissue will be used for patching. Tei Sensei said that even if the patching will be successful there is a chance of reoccurrence. If will happen, the affected area will be taken. What?! Taken? And if it will be cut, it will not grow again. Oh my God!!

Unfortunately, the operating rooms were not available that day. I was scheduled the next day, May 9, 2020 at 10:45 am. I was thinking that after this everything will be back to normal and will be okay. I was not nervous or anything, in fact I was excited, even though it was my first surgery.

So the moment arrived. 😰I was observing the room at that time and there are so many doctors and I don’t know why and what are their parts. The new nephrologist in charge of me, Miyamoto sensei, was there too. I felt relieved seeing a familiar face and cheered for me. The whole body anesthesia was administered while I am still awake. It was such a good thing that I am used to pain that it was no problem for me. It took about 15 minutes or so. After that process they put me to sleep. I don’t know how but I just blacked out.

I heard someone was calling me and when I opened my eyes, the surgery was over. And the patching was successful! They need not cut my lungs. It was 14:00, it took 3 hours. I was brought to my room. The doctors told me to breath using my nose and as deeply as I can. I realized that many things were attached to my body. There were drips, a machine that monitors my oxygen levels, oxygen, 2 pneumothorax tubes, and catheter. I was feeling over drugged and my body was aching especially my right side. Every time I inhale, I can feel my lungs expand, as in literally I can feel it expand. Even though it hurts I need to do this. I was not able to sleep that night. I think of the things I want to eat the next day (I was granted permission from my doctors that I can eat anything I want after the surgery 😊)

The next day, the doctors told me that the catheter and the machine that monitors my oxygen levels will be removed.😕 I was worried because I am taking the water pill and I have to go to the toilet often. But the doctors told me that I have to walk so that my lungs will be exercised and will heal faster. I tried to walk even though it is painful. I went to the toilet, I had the trouble of getting up, but the nurse was always there to help me. I felt so sorry for myself that I wanted to cry. Because I can`t do the normal things I can do and I felt pathetic. I tried hard and walk around as the doctors advised.

The next day, they told me that the recovery is doing good, 😲and one of the pneumothorax tubes will be removed. Tei sensei removed it for me. It was painful but relieving. On the third day, even though it was still painful, it was like nothing happened. I was brought back to the nephrology ward. Tei sensei and Kanou sensei was checking my condition so every day (for 3 or 4 days) I have to take an x-ray. Since there was no problem, the last tube was taken out. it took a week from the surgery to the taking out of the last tube. I have 3 scars. It was so fast. Now I can feel the pain from the wound, I think it still swells but I am trying my best to exercise it. I can`t sneeze or cough hard because I am afraid that my lungs will be torn again (but the doctors said it's okay).  🙋

It was the golden week here in Japan and for me it was a golden week after all. 😜

I thought it was just an ordinary house mold

Hi once again and I’m back. I was so busy at work and cannot update my blog. It has really been a long time.

It was then August last year that I started to lose my sense of taste and I observed that my tongue is getting white. I looked up on the internet and I found out that it is an indicator that something is wrong with your body. My doctor referred me to tongue specialist and he said that it was oral candidiasis Oral thrush produces slightly raised, creamy white, sore patches in the mouth or tongue. He gave me medicines for it but it was not improving my conditions, so he eventually stopped the medicines.

The winter was harsh, and it really brought damage to my health. I was suffering from severe edema and rheumatoid arthritis. There are times that I woke up due to pain and times when strong pain killer wont effect. I tried using opioids, but the side effects were not good.

December, some wounds were coming out of my skin. It started with the redness of the skin. Then it became a rash but was not itchy or nothing. The wounds on my arms and legs started to increase in numbers. It will swell until pus came out. I was referred to a dermatologist since I am taking much medicine, the treatment was through ointments. Due to edema when the wounded skin was stretched the pain will be worsened. So, every time I move, walk or sit, it really hurts. The dermatologist needs to take out the pus with a syringe so that I can move my hands and feet again.  

March came and still my cough is getting worse and I am having flu especially in the mornings. I have difficulty taking a bath because the wounds really hurt, and my fever was nonstop. My wounds were so severe that I must clean and tend it for 1 hour. My condition was not getting better and I must receive help from home visit nurses to dress my wounds. The edema was worsening, I even gained 6 kilos and was not able to walk. Mid-March my phlegm was mixed with blood. I knew it was not an ordinary cough and colds. I consulted my doctor and she advised me to be hospitalized for treatment.

It was such an April fool's day! I was admitted to the hospital. My edema was severe that my veins cannot be seen. Taking blood samples was exceedingly difficult. The only way to administer Intravenous drips (IV) was through my neck. Many tests were done. They saw spots/fungus/molds on my lungs. My doctors told me that it was a Non-tuberculosis disease, so I was relived. They said that ordinary house molds too can be the cause. As I looked back, because it is winter, I must use a heater and air humidifier. It was so cold that I cannot open the windows. As a result, the air inside the house caused the growth of molds. So, it was just NOT an ordinary house mold, don’t underestimate it! It can be extremely dangerous.

What are the exact bacteria? Was the question, until answered right medicine can not be prescribed. So, my doctors planned to do intensive general antibiotic treatment until the bacteria will be discovered. Some of my medicines were stopped because it will have bad effects with the anti-biotic treatment. I must take a general check up to see the current status of my organs because the treatment might have severe side effects. These tests were necessary to track the side effects if any. Fortunately, my eyes, ears, and other organs are well.

In the first week of the treatment, my edema was gone, and my wounds were starting to heal. But I still cannot walk, my legs were still weak, and my body feels so heavy.

I continued to gain the progress of healing until the second week. The treatment continued but the bacteria was extremely hard to identify. The bio (culturing the bacteria) failed twice. And the next way was to use molecular detection. It took time because it must be done in another laboratory.  

The third week, the test showed that the spots on my lungs have increased, still, the high fever never stops and blood coming out with my phlegm. My doctors thought that the infection is getting worse and it maybe an infection from the needle on my neck, so the only choice was to take it off. IV was transferred in my arms. Finally, the bacteria were identified!

It is Mycobacterium haemophilum. Never heard because it is rare. These bacteria causes mainly ulcerating skin infections (upper and lower extremities) and arthritis in persons who are severely immunocompromised. Disseminated and pulmonary infections occasionally occur. If worsened, the eyes will also be damaged. It seems that taking immunosuppressant medicines like steroids and other medicine for lupus made me vulnerable to the bacteria.

Entering the fourth week, the antibiotics were lessened, and prescription of oral medicine for the bacteria was done. The test results said that the spots on my lungs were slowly diminishing. Coughing became rare and blood with the phlegm was also gone. But the Cytomegalovirus (CMV) in my intestine had remission. The virus is one of the causes of the swelling of my intestines. Sometimes when it attacks, my stomach feels so bloated and it is extremely hard to move because my back and hips hurt. So, I must continue the treatment. But from this time, a lessened dosage of antibiotics.

How to convert your Philippine driver's license to Japanese Driving License

How to convert your Philippine driver's license to Japanese Driving License

Yatta! I got my Japanese Drivers License! 

I would like to share my experience on how I got my Japanese Drivers License last September 6, 2019. It was a long and very stressful journey but finally, I got it.

The conversion of a foreign driver's license to a Japanese license is called the gaimen kirikae 外面切替. 

You don‘t have to go and learn in a driving school which really cost a lot of money, (as far as I know it cost 300,000 JPY). So the gaimen kirikae is the cheapest and easy way to get a drivers license.

First, before conversion, you should be living in Japan for at least 3 months. 

These documents are needed:

1. Alien card 在留カード

2. Residents certificate 住民票 from your ku yakusho 区役所

3. Valid Philippine Drivers license with the receipt. If you don't have the receipt, I think it is best to bring your old license so they can verify the date when the new one was issued.

4. Apostille stamped LTO Certification, which can be obtained from LTO main office in Quezon City. This is very important and this was not listed on the websites. I was surprised that I need to present this since I already presented my valid and old licenses together with the receipts. If you don't have this and you are already here in japan you can ask someone to process this for you. You need to write an authorization letter and a copy of your valid ID. This takes 1-day processing and you can get it the next day. 

5. Translation of the Philippine Drivers License which can be obtained from Japan Automobile Federation JAF. You can go to their office and you can get your document in less than an hour, or you can apply via mail. http://www.jaf.or.jp/e/translation/switch.htm

 6.Passport which will prove that you have already stayed here in Japan for more than 3 months. 

7. 2 pcs ID picture

8. Accomplished application form which you will get from the licensing officer.

If you already have these following documents, go to the nearest Drivers Licensing office / 運転免許試験場in your city. As for me since I live in Osaka City, I have to go to Kadoma licensing office. https://www.police.pref.osaka.lg.jp/tetsuduki/untenmenkyo/3/3696.html

After completing the application form, I submitted the documents it will be evaluated by an officer. Be prepared to wait for hours, bring something that you can be busy with. As for food, there is a cafeteria there and konbini outside the building so there is no problem. The officers are kind and very polite in explaining. Some foreigners are not that fluent in Japanese and they don't have translators, but the officers are really trying hard to explain very well. Upon evaluation, I was interviewed of course in Japanese. 

Basically,it is about how I acquired your license, whether I studied in a driving school, what test did I take when you applied for my license, etc. 

Then if everything is okay, I was called to take the written exam. It is a 10 item exam about safety and road rules. I was asked to take the exam in 15 minutes in front of the officer who evaluated my documents. It is written in Japanese and English. You have to get a score of 7 to pass it. The results will be out immediately. I read this book to know the Japanese Rules of the road. You can get this book online or order it from JAF.

I passed the exam and I have to pay for the application fee of 2,550 JPY. 

Then I have to undergo an eye examination. And then book for the driving exam. This will be depending on the open schedule, some times there are so many applicants that the waiting time is very long. As for me, I applied July 1, but my driving exam was July 22. You will receive these, test permit and some booklets for you to study. They will also give you a copy of the course that you have to remember.

And the schedule on the exam day.

Then my driving exam day came, it was July 22. I passed my test voucher for verification and i have to pay 1,450 JPY for the rental of the car and the course. Then I waited in a room together with all the people who will take the exam. There will be an officer who will explain everything about the exam. How is it graded, about the course, precaution and other things. Then I undergo again for an eye exam, back to the waiting room and waited for my turn.

The examiner and another examinee will be in the same car while you drive. And the examiner will give you direction on which road will you take. But it will be very advantageous if you memorized the course. I failed. I didn`t even manage to drive half of the course. I was totally out because I wasn`t able to fully stop at the stop area. Then the examiner will explain the things you need to improve. I need to apply again for the next driving exam and pay another 2,550 JPY. I was lucky that the next open date for the driving exam was July 26. So I tried again. I paid the 1,450 JPY rental again. 

I learned some lessons. I went to the exam site early and tried to walk into the course twice so I can have the feel. I memorized the course. Also, another thing is, it will be advantageous if you will have the chance to ride in the car of another examinee. In order to have this chance, before paying the 1,450 JPY rental, the will be a line for registration. Let the others fall in line first, it will be safe to say to have 10-15 person ahead of you. Even though you will wait at least you will have the chance to ride as a spectator. This time I got that chance. Then it was my turn. I am a bit confident, I tried to keep calm as possible and reply to the examiner when he gives you directions like 「はい」 or「わかりました」. But I think I reached the limit of deduction for the passing score. I was out and managed to drive 3/4 of the course. I failed again and lost my confidence. The examiner told me that I should not stop in blind curves because I can check it with my line of sight. Also, I need to check the back when I shift lanes. And I should go more on the left side when turning left. It was very hard to see because the side mirror is attached to the hood of the car and it cannot be adjusted.

I need to apply for another exam and pay the fee of 2,550 JPY again. I was really having some depression I think my driving skills are not enough. I think this time I really put a lot of caution which made me failed.

The next driving test day was scheduled on August 23. But I canceled it because I have to go for a sudden trip to the hospital because I was not feeling well. I am vomiting and suffering LBM. So I called the licensing office and asked for a change of date. I moved it to September 6.

So September 6 came. I again came in early and walked the course twice. I was lucky to ride as a spectator and the examinee finished the course. I saw him passed the exam. So I copied his moves, make it easier for the examiner to see that I am really looking at the mirrors and the back. Memorized the course. Put in mind the tips and caution from the last exam.  Go over more to the left side when turning left. Remember to reply to the examiner and be very calm. And Yes! After 3 times, I managed to pass! I was so happy and relieved. Also, the examiner still gave me the points that I need to be careful of.

So I have to wait until 11:30 for the explanation of the process that we will undergo today for obtaining the license card. It was a good thing that even though I will wait until 14:00, I can get my card. So this is what my application looked like when I passed the exam. They gave me the yellow card which will be used for the picture taking later. I have to pay the driver's license card fee of 2,050 JPY. Then set up Personal Identification Number (PIN) for the card. 

Waited for the picture taking and waited another 30 minutes and, I got my Japanese License card! 

Well, 3 times was not that bad, spending around 17,000 JPY to get a license rather than going to a driving school. It was a good experience. Don`t lose hope, 1 application is entitled up to 10 times driving exams within half a year. But if you failed 10 times, you have to re-apply and submit all the documents again. Plus you have to be careful of the validity of your documents.

I hope you got some tips from my experience. Have a wonderful journey!

June 23 - 29,2019

Last week was shocking,but as they say,there is always a rainbow after the rain,this week was good.

So instead of the doctor’s plan of   Friday discharge,I got out of the hospital Tuesday,June 25. The Monday blood test result was good so all my medicines will be reverted back to tablets and capsules,the doctors said that I should be under observation under 3 days but I insisted that I will go home and have self observation. We had a deal but I need to go for the out patient consultation on Friday,June 28. I was thankful that I was able to go home earlier than what have they planned. 

Business as usual,the next day I went to work already. I am so happy to see everybody,though I was sorry to made them worry. But as the saw me I got better and they were happy too. 

And another blessing came! After almost 3 months of waiting,the immigration office finally answered my petition for the extension of my visa. I got extended! So I went immediately to the immigration office to get my new Identification card. 

Friday,I went to see my doctor and the results were fine. Though my medicines increased,the laboratory test results were improving. The self injection of Benlysta still continuous. 

By the way,the medicine representative of Benlysta gave me something. Better late that never! I got this tote bag,insulated bag (because the medicine should be refrigerated),    Yellow disposal bag (used injections should be disposed in the hospital)and another set of pamphlets. 

I was able to maintain my weight this week so that means there was no edema for now though my muscles aches. I am taking pain killers so I can manage. Because of the steroid pulse I am having difficulty in sleeping even though I am taking sleeping pills. 

My new medicine dosage:

🌅Morning: 10mg of Predonine, 2 capsules of Cellcept, anti-osteoporosis, half of blood pressure medicine, medicine for uric acid, intestinal medicine, Plaquenil, furosemide (to make urination easier) and additional medicine for infection every Monday only. 

Noon: furosemide (to make urination easier) and pain killer + intestinal medicine
Benlysta A self injection every Friday

🌃Evening: from 7.5mg to 10mg of Predonine, 2.5 to 3 capsules of Prograf , 2 capsules of Cellcept, anti-cholesterol medicine, half tablet of a blood pressure medicine, and sleeping pills #1 & #2.