Wait for it...

YES!!!! Yes, yes, YES-- Laura is posting her NINTH bit of wisdom. Brace yourself, Effie-- its really happening!

For those of you who were wondering (or who didn't know, but care regardless), I had yet another appointment with my opthamologist (Dr. Larzo) in Morgantown today. On the heels of my neuro appointment there Monday, this follow up dealt with the findings of the last few neuro tests (all essentially non-noteworthy in and of themselves) & discussing a plan of action. Got there for my 9:45 appt, sat in the lobby until almost 10:45, then sat in an exam room alone until 11:30 (NOT the usual experience there, to give them credit). After the nurse's check and administration of the goofy drops, I then sat in the wait-for-your-eyes-to-bug-out-lounge (as I call it) until noon. Then I got to meet faux doctor-in-training Something McConnell (personality of a bed pan), who lugubriously examined my eyes: in passing, he had FASCINATING ears-- Walt Disney could have named a cartoon character after him...

THEN, the doctor came swooping in (at 12:30) with blond uber-student doctor in tow-- he apologized for the delay, reviewed my latest labs / results, and took pleasure (I felt) when he turned, looked at me in my gooned out eyes, and said, "It sure isn't any fun being an enigma, IS IT??"

To which I said, "No-- unless JAMA wants to pay me for me case history, then NO."

The outcome was the decision to drop from 20MG of prednisone (which I've been on since March-- the longest stint to-date) to 10MG. The thought processes being that he wants to see how I respond to LESS pred (since I've lost ground lately on exactly the same dose that worked before... The logic is that we can see 1) how quickly things go south with my vision (anyone wanna place bets?), and 2) when I DO tank out, I'll be almost weaned off of the pred and can move quickly to the NEXT ugly steroid they want me to try-- supposedly, it has "different" side effects than the prednisone. Like WHAT-- sprouting horns & a penchant for dancing the hora at a moment's notice??

No matter the outcome, I made lemons outta lemonade, as is my wont-- I ate a hella good Steakhouse burger from BK (hush, my WW friends, HUSH), reveled in the beautiful weather driving home, enjoyed several nice phone calls from pals checking in on the appointment, then did some just-because-I-wanna shopping along the way. I deserved it after this freakin' week, dammit!

I'll keep you all current on how the weaning process (my doc kept referring to it as such-- way too many lactation & boob images floated through my head, making it hard to maintain eye contact with the guy) goes.

Until then, grab the hookah, smash some dishes & give a resounding "Hoppahhhhhhhhh!" as you cavort in spritely circles-- Laura's home, child-- Laura's HOME ~