June 16 - 22, 2019 A week vacation?

After being free from the hospital  for about 7 months who would have thought that I had to be hospitalized again. This last 7 months as much as possible I endured and bared the pain so that I will not be admitted. But I this time last Thursday,June 20,I was rushed to the hospital. 

It started last week when I woke up in the morning I am feeling pain in my feet especially when I walk. My fingers too are swelling. But last Tuesday, even though I took pain killers,it was like it didn’t worked. The whole day my feet hurt. I felt really tired and sleepy. But I still managed to go to work.

Then Wednesday, I felt better but I am experiencing muscle cramps especially on my fingers. 

Thursday, when I woke up at around 5:00 am,  I wanted to go to the toilet but I can’t move my body. I tried hard for about 10 minutes and I was able to sit. I tried standing up but as I step my feet it really hurt I was really crying. It really felt a long way to the toilet and I had a hard time bending my knees it took me about 30 minutes for that trip to the toilet. Even though I took pain killers it didn’t work and my whole body ached. I also had fever. 

I called my friend to help me and we decided to go to the nearby clinic. But the doctor there is not my attending physician,so the clinic just called an ambulance for me and we went to the hospital to see my doctor. 

Nagatsuji Sensei welcomed me at the Emergency Room and I don’t know if we will be happy to see each other. The last time I went to the hospital I went to greet him and we were just joking about me admitted,and we didn’t expect that we will be meeting in the ER. He ordered that I have to under go blood test, ECG, X-ray, and CT scan. 

As the results came,Nagatsuji sensei decided that I have to be confined. Because according to the findings,my albumin level,body nutrition,went bad that my intestines are a little swollen which cause the edema to worsen. There is also possibility of infection in my intestines. 

As treatment my team of doctors decided that I have to receive 250mg pulse steroid,albumin and 2 shots of laysix (to make urination easier)via IV for 3 days from Thursday to Saturday. The doctors said that if the medicines are in IV,the body can absorb it quickly and the effects are greater and faster. 

I am feeling better now, the edema is almost gone and I am able to walk since Friday. I exercised in the garden. It has been a while, I missed the view.

As planned,starting Sunday,the 20mg steroids and a shot of lay six will administered via IV. Then if the blood test on Monday will have a good result,my medicines will be back to the normal tablets. I hope I can be discharged as early as Monday but Nagatsuji Sensei told me that Tuesday will be a little tight. 

I guess I will be staying here in this "hotel" until next week.

June 2 - 8, 2019

After cramming,  I finally finished reading the half part of these books and I am able to finish the midterm exam. The exam is due on June 4,but I will mail it today June 2.

It was a long time since I had the chance to eat Kentucky Fried Chicken. As expected,the menu here and in the Philippines is not the same. They are not selling rice here,but biscuit instead. It was a good thing that even though I ate this oily fried chicken,my stomach didn’t hurt. 

I got this cute towel as a belated birthday gift from my coworker. The color is really fit for the summer season.

So it is Friday and I will be self injecting my treatment, benlysta. I am a little nervous. I already took it out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before injecting. If the medicine is cold,it will hurt more when it enters the body. I injected it on my right thigh. The needle was thick so it was painful. The liquid took 15 seconds to enter my body then I waited for 3 seconds then I took the needle out.  So it just totaled 18 seconds and it was done.

This is what the spot looks like day after I injected Benlysta. It is just like a mosquito bite. I prefer this than the IV hemorrhages.

As I took the 1st injection last week in the hospital,thinking  about this week,I was feeling energized and there were no new edema that showed up. But some accumulated fats under my arms formed. It is still little but I think it will be big. It is not painful or anything it is just a lump and it is some kind of hard. 

My 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: 7.5mg of Predonine, 2.5 capsules of Prograf , 2 capsules of Cellcept, anti-cholesterol medicine, half tablet of a blood pressure medicine, and sleeping pills #1 & #2.

May 26 - Jun 1, 2019 Happy birthday to me!

  It is my birthday and I am busy from early in the morning. I went to the immigration office to follow up my visa extension. Still there was no news and the officer only told me that the regular waiting time for now is 3-4 months. This is due to the influx of foreign workers here in Japan starting this April.

At work,I and the kids made this cake and pasta for my birthday. 

At home I ate this cake for my birthday it was delicious! 

And as a gift to myself I bought this dress and rubber shoes. I chose the shoes because the front part has a lot of room even if my foot has edema it will not be tight. It’s light and cheap. 

My coworker went to Vietnam and she gave me this beautiful pouch. This is so cute that I don’t want to use it.

I went to the hospital for my monthly check up. The statistics were not that good. The values for c3 and c4 , the score for my immune system, which supposed to gobe up went down. The albumin, body's nutrition level, went down. And the DNA, which measure the lupus activity, went up instead of going down. Well, mama doctor told me that there is nothing to worry for now. She dimished my high blood pressure medicine since my blood pressure is already stable.  I also asked mama doctor to let me take pain reliver only as need. I got my benlysta treatment changed from IV to self injection. So every friday I will have to inject my self. We will see if this will have a new effect because when I am receiving it via IV, 2 weeks after I am feeling not that  good. I was thinking that the medicine's effect is wearing off. So we will try this weekly injection. A nurse taught me how to use it. We even used a practice kit. It was so fun.

I planned to change my diet to all vegetable diet and as much as possible I don’t want to eat meat, but as a birthday treat my friend feed me Sashimi, raw tuna fish, it is one of my favorite and I can’t help but to eat. He said make my birthday a cheat day. 

There were edema in my hands and feet. I had a hard time walking some days but I managed it though.  

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

May 19 - 25, 2019

I received a gift from my co-worker. It is a cute pair of ankle socks. 

Today I got my birthday package sent by my parents from the Philippines. They sent me the LTO certification that is needed for the conversion of my driver’s license. They also sent me my favorite foods. I’m so happy.  But last week I started to try the no meat diet, but I think I will break that diet because the sardines and the corned beef look very delicious.

I had a check up with the dermatologist as referred by mama doctor.  I had my accumulated fat checked if it is really accumulated fat. Well, the doctor said that it is caused by the skin symptoms of lupus and also it may be the side effect of steroids. The dermatologist only gave me an ointment since I am taking so many medicines already. He also said that if I want I can have a biopsy, but he said that let’s wait if the ointment will have a good effect.

I got my mini face shaver which I ordered online. I will try if this will be effective. 

Since it is my rest day and I completed the requirements needed for the conversion of my driver’s license, I went to the testing center. But it was very disappointing because since my visa has already lapsed, I need to present the new ID card with the new visa. But since many foreign workers are coming to Japan, the visa process is taking a long time. I have to wait until July for the result of my application. Until then, I cannot convert my driver’s license.

Then after that, I went to an agriculture expo together with my friends. It was very amazing seeing new technology for farming. Comparing to the old ways of growing crops, nowadays it is very high end and very convenient. There are drones, computer programs which control the water system, temperature, and everything. Everyone can easily use this technology. Agriculture has become very POSH, I wish younger generations can see the beauty in agriculture.

I received these samples. These are mini tomatoes and basil seedlings that will be planted only on water. I am excited to try these if it will work.

I was so busy this week, but thankfully my body was feeling good. the edema is not that but, there are still some on my feet but it was not as bad as the past months.

My medicine dosage:

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

☀　Noon: furosemide (to make urination easier).

🌃Evening: 7.5mg of Predonine, 2.5 capsules of Prograf , 2 capsules of Cellcept, anti-cholesterol medicine, f 1 tablet of a blood pressure medicine, pain killer + intestinal medicine, and sleeping pills #1 & #2.

May 12 - 18, 2019

It`s been a year since I came here in Osaka. Time really flies. 😄😊 Congratulations to me?

I noticed that the hemorrhage from my IV is fading. That almost took 3 weeks.

But my fingers are swelling. Every morning I wake up I have a hard time bending my fingers because of the swelling and it hurt. 

I bit my tongue and I easily got a wound on it. I have to be careful because mama doctor told me that my skin is getting weak and it will be easy for me to have wounds.

I went to a seminar about employment insurance. As I listened about the benefits of it, I realized how the insurance system here is so great. The seminar also includes how to compute the insurance due and the filing process.

On my way home I had the chance to window shop. I found these green peas and Cornick snacks. It has been a while since I ate this so I bought it. To my surprise, the cornices are from the Philippines. I am excited to eat these but I must be careful about the salt content.

This week I am starting to try the no meat diet.  I don’t know if this can last long but let’s try. My doctor advised me to eat lots of green leafy vegetables so I want to try. 

My medicine dosage:

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

☀Noon: furosemide (to make urination easier). 

🌃Evening: 7.5mg of Predonine, 2.5 capsules of Prograf , 2 capsules of Cellcept, anti-cholesterol medicine, f 1 tablet of a blood pressure medicine, pain killer + intestinal medicine, and sleeping pills #1 & #2.

May 5 - 11, 2019

I and the kids went to a botanical garden where there are plants and fruits from other countries. The children found the plants fascinating because it is their first time to see those. One of the children called me and he said “teacher, there some really serious problem!” And It was just funny that the Japanese name of lychee is close to my Japanese name. Lychee = レイシ and Lacey = レイシー. 

We were supposed to go to Nara park today. But since it is still a golden week (a long holiday here in Japan), the park will be crowded as expected. And since the time was also not enough, we ended up going to a dumpling/gyoza fair held at Osaka Castle. The weather was so hot and we have to walk around. It was hard for me. Mama doctor said that as much as possible I have to avoid the sun’s UV rays. I can notice that my skin was really red. 

I am trying to get a Japanese Driver’s License ( I’m planning to write another blog about it).As a part of the requirements for converting my driver's license to a Japanese Driver’s License, I went to the city hall to get a residence certificate. It really took time for me to get this because it was just the 2nd day of office after the 10 day holiday and it was crowded. 

I am very busy. I went to the Japanese Automobile Federation JAF office to get a translation of my Driver’s License. I went there early in the morning and I didn’t imagined that I have to walk for about 30 minutes from the train station to the JAF office considering also that there were overpasses. Walking for 30 minutes was very tough for me and I was starting to have leg cramps. 

It’s my rest day at work and it is Friday so I decided to go to the Licensing office. I got there early and I submitted my application. I thought I prepared everything as stated in the requirement list, but the officer told me to submit another document which will be coming from the Philippines. I was so irritated and angry because the officer cannot explain well why I have to present that document. I can’t argue with him because he was just saying that I have to present the document so I can move on to the next step. It was like he was saying that my current license is fake. I got so mad that I lost my appetite to eat. 

I told to my boss what happen and he was kind enough to go with me to the embassy to ask about what can I do about the needed red ribboned document. But the embassy just told me that I have to make a Special Power of Attorney and send it to the Philippines so that my representative can process the papers.

I was really angry that I got tired. I ate chicken nanba for late lunch. And that night, I don’t know why I vomited many times and my stomach and back hurt. Maybe because of the oil in the chicken and also the stress. I don’t know. The next day I was really feeling tired. 

My medicine dosage:

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

☀ Noon: furosemide (to make urination easier)

🌃Evening: 7.5mg of Predonine, 2.5 capsules of Prograf , 2 capsules of Cellcept, anti-cholesterol medicine, f 1 tablet of a blood pressure medicine, pain killer + intestinal medicine, and sleeping pills #1 & #2.

April 28 – May 4, 2019

I am feeling good and I decided to go on grocery shopping and I found this mango drink. Yes, it is from the Philipines. I tried it, it was delicious, but my Japanese friend said that the taste was a little blunt, he was expecting more mango taste. Well, I guess it can`t be helped since it was processed into juice and water was added.

I got a letter of invitation to attend a seminar about insurance coverage and computation. My boss applied me to this seminar. I am nervous about this because the lecture will be Japanese and there are a lot of special terms to be used. I am afraid that I might not understand all, but I will try my best since mathematics is not bound by language.

A new emperor has taken over the position, the Heisei Era here in Japan has already ended, and it is the start of the Reiwa Era. The very first 10-day holiday here in Japan has started.

Even though it is a holiday, since the children in our day service have no classes in school, they come to us. That means I have work and in seasons like this, we tend to go outside for walks or other activities.

We went to what they called athletics. This is an obstacle course located in the mountain woods. There are 30 obstacle courses for each round. It is really exciting and a great experience for the children because it can help them improve physically, the way they think about how to get through the obstacles and also improve their social skills. Though it was tiring for me because I wasn’t in the half of the course and I felt shaking on my knees already and I was very tired. I also slipped and tumbled many times because the mountain path was rough. Since I have to guide the children and I have to carry some of their stuff it was very hard for me to finish the course. At night when I got home, I feel feverish and my body hurt all over as if I can't move. Even though I took pain relievers, it was like it was not working and I had a hard time sleeping. I guess this exercise like hiking it too extreme for me.

We went to the national museum of arts, the theme of the displayed arts was about life and death. It was deep, some of the children we were taking care of doesn’t appreciate the items and they wanted to go out immediately, they think it is boring. 





So we went to the Osaka Science Museum, which is just across the art museum. There are interesting pieces of stuff, it has been a while since I went to a museum. I felt really amazed. I think the children enjoyed their time here.

I got a day off and I went out with my friend. We went to a garden above a water recycling plant that is near my place. I was so amazed that there is a facility like this and the rooftop was converted into a park and pond. It was very beautiful. 

Then we went to the riverside park. As expected since it is the Golden week, there were many people doing barbeque in the park, it was so lively. Then we went to a nearby mall and we ate ice cream! Perfect for the hot weather!

Overall it was a tiring but very amazing week. Being with the children makes me learn new about them every day and what they interest them. I need to build up my stamina to keep up with their pace. It was a good thing that the weather is getting warmer and my leg muscles are improving. And I just had my monthly charge of Benlysta ( the medicine for lupus), so I am feeling recharged. It is just that when I walked too much my edema worsens especially at night. I have to sleep with my feet elevated on the cushion and pain killers are my best friend.

My medicine dosage:

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

Noon: furosemide (to make urination easier).
x

☀ 

🌃Evening: 7.5mg of Predonine, 2.5 capsules of Prograf , 2 capsules of Cellcept, anti-cholesterol medicine, f 1 tablet of a blood pressure medicine, pain killer + intestinal medicine, and sleeping pills #1 & #2.