Today’s post isn’t going to be full of wisdom or give advice on how to do something. It’s not even really that wellness-related. Today we are going to talk about what happened when Julia was on steroids for 12 days. Let’s begin.
The reason I was on steroids, Prednisone specifically, was because I am very prone to having physical symptoms of anxiety. One of my favorite symptoms (sarcasm) is hives. Since I was in high school, I have gotten stress-induced hives. It began by them coming on full-body including facial and throat swelling after something traumatic had happened. Or at least what my teenage brain perceived as traumatic. This would then entail a trip to the doctor to get a steroid shot to rapidly stop the reaction. (That whole swollen airway thing being kind of problematic.) As I got older, the hives would generally appear after a longer period of stress. It could be a busy few weeks, a concern with the kids, or in one case, trying to get us all to and from our summer vacation. The hives would generally wait until after the event was over and things started to calm down to come out. Basically, once the actual stress was over, my body was like, “Oh you think you handled that well? Think again!” I would still have the rapid-onset hives with swelling but not very often. They gradually became less severe, would move in location, but lasted for weeks.
Fast forward to this summer. I haven’t had hives for a few years. This summer was a lot—camps, dance trip to California, county fair, Cowgirl Queen—and while I love all of it, my body likes to keep me on my toes. I started having the “moving hives” sometime in June. When they were still there mid-August, I decided I needed to do something about them. I had a regularly scheduled yearly follow-up with my dermatologist. I explained the whole history of the hives to her, she checked my medical record, and prescribed 12 days of Prednisone.
Unlike a lot of people, I don’t experience jitteriness or difficulty sleeping on Prednisone. This time, I felt great. Not only were my hives going away, but all my inflammation was gone and I was jumping out of bed in the morning with nothing hurting. This was also after all of our summer things were done and I was transitioning into our school routine. So what happened in those 12 days?
I got so many things done! I was on the rack to bale hay and lifted at least 180 bales off the baler before helping stack them in the barn. After a summer of camp supplies and random things getting piled on my front room couch and desk, I sorted through everything and got it all tidied up. I also moved the furniture to vacuum underneath all of it. I cleaned out a large cabinet in our laundry room, the costume closet in our laundry room, moved the washer and dryer to clean behind them, and scrubbed the floor. I donated about 4 bags of clothing and other items. I washed the outside of the house with soapy water and a big scrub brush on a handle and then sprayed around the foundation and key spots for bugs. I re-organized our linen closet. Between the linen closet and the laundry room cabinet, I put many things in vacuum-sealed bags. I washed sheets and scrubbed floors. I painted a wooden cut-out of Todd (basic black—nothing fancy), made a pennant banner for Madison for back to school, and sent it and the Todd to her in a care package with other items. I also made a pennant banner for Mackenzie and meal prepped some things for back-to-school. I cleaned out the refrigerator and washed the shelves and drawers. I instituted a new method of getting tasks done each day to go along with my weekly planning. I had energy and getting things done was motivating to get more things done. Mackenzie said that I was making her a little nervous and that every day she came home wondering what I had cleaned/organized/made now.
I knew the end was coming, however, and hoped that my period of successful daily accomplishment would help me keep that momentum going. I have been off the steroids for about a week now. I’m still getting things done but not like I was before. My brain is back to thinking about too many things at once. Various joints and muscles hurt when I get out of bed. But I also don’t have hives, am not itchy, and am feeling calmer than I was before the steroids. It was a nice little re-set and a very productive one at that.
Now that I am hive-free and back to normal functioning, I want to make sure I keep that momentum going. I need to stop being distracted by my phone. I am putting a little focus on rest because I don’t do that very well. I am trying to keep my daily To-Do list to 5 or 6 items and not add more until those are done. Time to move on with the school year!
Peace from The Edge,
Julia
