I can’t believe it’s Sunday again! Seriously, where do these weeks go? I know a few of you have asked after Casper. He’s fine, he’s currently in a garage getting some work done to him. I can’t wait to get him back! Miss being out on the road exploring.
For anyone who is new to my blogs, Casper is our little camper van. He is known as, Casper the friendly camper, and he’s great! This year with been on so many incredible adventures with him, exploring England, Scotland, and Wales. We’ve had some of the best trips of our life with him! But with the highs, there have also come the lows. From being kept awake all night as we battled 60mph winds on the north coast of Scotland. To battling horizontal rain as a Scottish storm hit, causing water to leak into Casper, soaking all our bedding. Then there was the time when the water tank fell off on the bumpy Scottish mountainous roads and had no running water for a whole 2 weeks. Yes, all in Scotland! So poor Casper he really has had a fight. But the problems are getting fixed, and soon will be ready for our next adventure. I cannot wait!
There’s Alot Going On
This week has been quite physically and mentally challenging. Life with the wolf hasn’t been great and added to that, there’s been a lot of personal stresses. Good things are happening, but it’s the stress of getting things organised all at once.
We are currently signing the final documents for the house, ready to set a moving date. I’ve got a lot of mixed emotions about moving. I’m looking forward to our new house and turning it into a home. But at the same time I’m sad to say goodbye to the house I currently live in now. I’m slowly getting everything boxed up. Trying to do a little bit each weekend to take off some of the pressure nearer the moving-in date.
We’ve then been trying to sort our wedding and honeymoon out for the 2nd time. Honeymoon is all booked. Took us 4 days to rebook all the hotels, flights, etc from 2020. For anyone who doesn’t know, we’re doing Route 66 for our honeymoon, my dream road trip. I can’t wait! I am anxious about the whole COVID situation with it, but I’m trying to not let it ruin any more of my plans. I will take any precautions I can, and hope that it’s going to be enough to keep me safe.
I’m then trying to sort out my guest list for the wedding, update our wedding website with the new information, and get new invites sorted. We’ve decided on having a smaller wedding than the original wedding we had planned. The situation has changed since 2020. I want to try and make it as COVID secure as I possibly can. Make sure there is enough room for anyone who wants to social distance, give people space, and try and reduce the risk of COVID as much as I can. I know having a wedding during a pandemic will always impose risks. All we can do is try and minimise the risk. We can’t wait until the pandemic is over, as that could be years. Nobody knows when it’s going to end. I just know one thing, the C-word isn’t going anytime soon! Likewise, with our honeymoon, we are just going to have to go and do it and do what we can to minimise the risk. Otherwise, we will never do Route 66!
On top of that, I’m trying to get my book out for Christmas. I know I’m pushing it, but it’s doable! Next week I’m hopefully sending it off to get printed! It’s been a long 2-years of writing and editing, but now there’s that light at the end of the tunnel and I can’t wait to see the final copy in my hands as an actual book!
Ok, I think that’s enough of my personal life! I feel like you know everything about me now!
Let’s Talk About The Wolf
This week has felt as though there isn’t something quite right with my body. I don’t know if it’s just because I might be feeling quite stressed with everything going on and it’s having a bit of an impact on the wolf, or if there is something else going on. I ended up having a telephone appointment with my doctor on Friday. I just said to him, something isn’t right about my body and I don’t know what. It’s not stopping me from being able to do normal everyday jobs like cooking tea, going out to work, or doing housework. But doing these ‘normal’ jobs feels harder. I then notice on the days I do feel a bit stronger, I try and do a workout, my body really struggles with the recovery afterward. My muscles seem to be taking twice as long to heal. I’ve also been suffering from a lot of cramp in my hands and feet. On top of that, I’ve had really low mood. But maybe that’s because I’m feeling so tired all the time, which then gets you down. It’s like a vicious circle.
So anyway, I had a good conversation with my doctor about it all. We’ve decided to get my magnesium and zinc levels tested next week. I’m on a very high dose of Esomeprazole. Being on any Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) for the long term can reduce the absorption of magnesium and being on a high dose can also put you at high risk of magnesium deficiency. I’ve been on PPIs for years and years, and am now on a high dose, so I could quite possibly be at risk of low magnesium. A lot of the symptoms I’m getting are a sign of magnesium deficiency too.
I might find out next week my magnesium and zinc levels are fine and my symptoms are just linked to my Lupus and stress. But I do believe, anyone who’s on PPIs like Esomeprazole, Omeprazole, Lansoprazole, etc. should get their magnesium tested regularly, especially if you are on a high dose like myself. I’m currently taking 60mg of Esomeprazole per day. The recommended dose is only normally between 20mg and 40mg.
Stopping My Iron For A Short While
While I was on the phone with the doctor I explained how bad my stomach has been lately. He suggested I stopped my iron tablets for a very short while just to try and heal some of the inflammation in my stomach, but not for too long overwise my iron levels will drop right down again. My iron levels are currently reading 40ng/ml, a lot higher than 11ng/ml back in March, but still not as high as I would have liked them to be. Considering I’ve been taking the tablets since march, I would have expected my levels to be near 100ng/ml by now!
I have to say, since stopping my iron tablets on Friday, my stomach is starting to feel less sore and inflamed which is lovely. I’ve had a bad, painful week with the stomach. Partly my own fault, but this just shows you how fragile my stomach is. How easy it is to upset it!
I started drinking these isotonic drinks to see if that helped to make me feel better and help with recovery after exercise. It was lemon flavour, but I didn’t think much of it. I thought it would only be flavouring so shouldn’t be that acidic on my stomach. I was wrong! After just 2 days of drinking them, my stomach was on fire. It wasn’t like I was drinking them all day long. I just had 500ml one day, 500ml the next day. It’s a powder you mix with water, so you would have thought the acidity would have been neutralised with the water anyways.
The best time of the day with my stomach is the very first thing in the morning, after resting all night long. As soon as I start putting food into it, starting taking all my meds, I can feel it’s getting angrier. Some days are worse than others, just depends on how inflamed it may already be from the previous day. Somedays, you can feel the disagreement going on inside my belly when I take my morning meds. It’s just exhausting fighting this battle with my stomach!
Anyways, that’s it from me this week. Next week I’ve got my lung function test for my Asthma and my blood test for my magnesium and zinc levels.
Until next week,
Goodbye for now
Emma
xox
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