Saturday, June 16, 2012

year one recovery

Around the time that my last final exam was submitted for Core, I slept until 3pm.  I got out of bed at 3pm for the sole purpose of seeing Prometheus.  I went back to sleep immediately afterward.

Since that day -- roughly 2 weeks ago now -- unless I am in lab or otherwise actively doing something, I am constantly exhausted.  The kind of exhausted where I opt to remain where I am sitting/laying instead of obtaining food.  Since almost nothing (sans incredible pain or nausea) has the power to make me abstain from food, this state strikes me as noteworthy.

In the same period, I have now had 2 bouts of extraordinarily painful attacks.  The kind where the pain can't be contained by the gut alone and invites the spine to orchestrate the party in nearly paralyzing waves.

It occurs to me that this is yet another one of those instances where stress has suppressed my immune system (the other part of the immune system that Remicade does not touch) so intensely for so long that immediately upon release from said stress, the body goes wild exercising all the things it could not do during suppression. Namely, sleep and flare.

Thank you, Core.  Damn you, and may we never meet again.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

grad school priorities #7

What I should be doing:
Writing my final take-home exam.
What I am doing instead:
Anything and everything else that I can possibly think of.