Overstating the obvious

The Bitchslap I got from Karma for thinking bad about my mother (see previous post) , was an eyeopener in more than one way.

Apparently I've also swallowed the text-trend  in interior design sink and hook.
This pic woke me up:

At the bottom left corner. What do I see?

I'm not blind, nor stupid. I can see there's tea there. Why the text??

I'm sooo painting this over. 

Then I turn around, and no less than 3 meters away, there's this hanging on the wall by the fridge: 

Huh. Guess I have to rethink the not stupid statement, right? 

However, this does not contain tea... Bazinga! 

After doing it's foremost duty; reminding me to take the meds I'm on, it also  holds an assortment of all the little knick-knacks I don't know where else to put, but which comes in handy in the kitchen. Such as rubberbands, breadbags-clips, toothpicks and extra fridge magnets.

But why haven't I scratched off the text? Poor guests! I always tell them to make themselves at home in my kitchen, and yet here I am misleading them terribly. He, he, he... ;)

By now I'm intrigued. What else text-wise is there really here? Quite a bit it turns out. 

Just in the kitchen area I found:

Sink backsplash.

After 1,5 year in the house, I still don't remember which knob turns on what.
The controlfreak in me loves the labeller so...

True.

Again, true.

Truth #3. Sign remade to magnet,
hanging on the edge of  the stove fan, facing the living room area. 

The living room area had been spared, almost. This is the Man's addition of text in the house and it's going out to the Party-Barn come spring.

Moving on throughout the rest of our little house:

Hallway.

Bathroom. Colorcoded sortingstation for laundry.

Little bathroom, cabinet. Labeller in use again.
Top shelf: Batteries-Plugs-Insects-Sun
Lower shelf: Medicines (Me, the Man, All purpose)

The little bathroom again. Small window, no real need for curtains,
 so why not a framed comic? I do not know how my mind works...

Desk.

Bedroom mirror. "Life's simple pleasures:
A seed to sow, a place to go, a walk to take, something to make"

Bedroom again.

What do you think? I'm thinking maybe I need a text-detox. I'm really overstating the obvious, aren't I?

Funny thing is, the only "statement" we have deliberately placed in our home doesn't even have text on it.  This is it:

Hint: It's not the lamp nor the fern.

Sincerely,

Pepsi-Mama

Karma-curtains revisited

I'm a take what you have kind of girl, so the pink fabric is a sheet.
Sorry you didn't get to see it steamed straight.
The energy for that came much later.

Bitchslapped with knuckle dusters by Karma.

I needed some items for a project I was thinking of the other day, so I went shopping with my mother. I came back practically empty handed, but she filled the entire backseat of my car with stuff. As I saw her accumulate more and more things, the minimalist-me started worrying.

Where's she gonna put all this junk? At one point I actually had to ask her to come back from the 1980's and step away from the plastic red roses.

So for every new item that grabbed her attention, I kept asking her: What are you going to use it for?
Her reply: I don't know, but it's so beautiful, and on sale, so...
To my shame; Me: Well just because it's beautiful doesn't mean you have to buy it. That's consumerism. Just enjoy it's beauty for now, and if you can't stop thinking about it you know where to find it later.
Mentally snorting I even thought: Thank Goodness I'm Over Buying Just Because It's Pretty Enough.

Once back home at my own place, what happens? First thing I see wipes the smugness of my face.
By the sink the abominations hung.
Too long, touching the floor, bought because of their beauty, but too pretty to actually be used. All the things I thought about my mother's shopping.
I slap my self mentally and promise to never think bad about my mother's shopping habits ever again. Bad, Bad Daughter!!!

After sleeping restlessly, plagued by my condescending thoughts earlier about my mother, I decided I needed to correct my own mistake first thing the next morning as a penance of sorts.
The abominations became curtains:

Not the prettiest curtains, but I'll add some more pink fabric later on.

"Keep it simple, Less is more". Oh, the irony...
Sometimes Karma taps you gently on the shoulder, sometimes it literally Bitchslaps you in the face - With knuckle dusters.

Sincerely,
Pepsi-Mama

Serveras med Diabetes

Surfade nätet efter nåt lyxigt att baka till helgen till ära. Amerikaner är specialister på att kombinera sött med sött, gärna i trippellager och med en oanständig mängd fyllning som sedan täcks med topping, gärna även den en kombination av flera godsaker.
Hittade ett recept på Coca-Cola kaka som verkade enkelt nog. Men efter att översatt de amerikanska måtten till de mer europeiska så som deciliter och gram, kunde det bara konstateras att kakan borde åtföljas av en varningsetikett:

Serveras med Diabetes.

Gjorde den förståss ändå ;)
Kommer definitivt att göra den igen!

Mvh,
Pepsi-Mama

Project "Tablefan"

Before - After

Spraypaint is fantastic. 

Sincerely,

Pepsi-Mama

Project "Hallway" revisited

I've completely changed my mind... again. This is what I should do with the hallway:

I just have to wait for my next wave of energy.

Sincerely,

Pepsi-Mama

Project "Hallway"

When I bought our house in 2011, we renovated our hearts out. But somehow, the hallway was forgotten. Until this week.

Originally it was painted a porncave velvety brownish-red, as though someone had been murdered in there and instead of cleaning up the evidence, some lazyass just smeared the blood and gore all over. *Shudder*
In our hurry to get on with the other rooms, we quick-fixed it. White paint and cheap lighting, which by the way is still hanging there, threatening to fall down anytime someone slams the frontdoor shut.
(Note to self: Get on that, pronto!)

Well, this week I finally got tired of looking at it. Anemic, impractical, boring, every smudgy fingerprint clearly visible. I couldn't take it anymore!

Left to do is to change the frontdoor completely. We know the model we want, but now I'm stuck on color. White seems so boring. I'm thinking black? Maybe dark granite grey? Any ideas?

This is the model we're getting. 

Wanting happiness

A while ago I saw this picture floating around the internet:

This is not an actual quote people, the Buddha didn't actually say this, but it gets the point across.

I like the picture, it's simple and it gets the point across. Happiness honestly comes down to those two things. Every selfhelp site on the web already know this, but it is usually phrased in the style of  "stop being selfish", "concentrate on others", "count your blessings", "see the possibilities", "let go of anger" or "stay in the moment". Those are all platitudes, describing some of the End Results rather than the How To.

So then, if it really is that easy to be happy... why aren't we?

First step - what's ego? And how does one go about removing it?

I really couldn't give you an honest answer to that even if I tried. All I can say is that it has to do with our preconceived notions of our selves. I for example had always had the notion of being a kind, smart and beautiful person. (Well, don't we all? You're telling me you're dumb, evil and ugly??)
School, IQ tests and university told me so, my parents told me so, the mirror and the beauty magazines told me so. But once I realized all that they had been telling me was that I was a push-over, really good at processing data, and that I stood up OK in comparison to the current picture of beauty, what was I left with? Empty handed, that's what. Doormats and desperately needed to be loved persons are kind as well, not protesting being stepped on. Computers can process data faster than I, not to mention the even smarter people who've written the programs. Outer beauty is not constant, it peeks for most during late teens to late twenties, because that's when we're most fertile. I had believed in the hype all my life.

So I had to start over. Am I really smart? Heck no! We all know there's more to being smart than the ability to be able to grind, digest and spit out data.
Am I pretty? On the outside? Who cares?! Why is it even important? What does it accomplish? Beauty standards change all the time, and so do you with age. Some days I compare, others not so much.
Am I kind? Well turns out, once I had grown a pair - kind of, but not all the time. I try to be polite though, no need to spread negativity around.

Ego's hard to get rid of. In fact, you'll probably never get rid of all your preconceived notions of self, and even if you at one point do, you'll still have to watch out for fall-backs. You've been thinking one thing all your life, believed in it fullheartedly, so breaking out of old thinking habits require constant vigilance. And if there's one thing to be said about being human, it's that we're not constant in any way, and concentrating deeply on something  lasts what? 10 minutes?

Removing the ego and the desire, or as I like to call it, rethinking everything on your own again - now that's the tricky part. Meditation helped me (some, still got some work to do) break the patterns of thinking that do not serve me on the quest for happiness, but which rather serves to cling to the first part of the problem; ego. 

Once ego is set aside, desire has nothing to cling to, so you're getting rid of both steps at once. So start thinking. Who do you think you are? Why do you believe that? Who told you, and why did they tell you? Got any proof that it's the exhaustive truth? Does it matter if you're not? To whom does it matter, and why? Keep digging with questions like that! The topics to cover are endless.

I found that once I got to the bottom of who I really was, I could let go of the hang ups that were holding me back from being truly happy and content. (Yes, *Sigh*,  I know this sounds unbelievably conceited). I'm a deeply flawed individual, but by realizing that, I could accept what really is, not keep fighting and faking my reality into something it is not. I could stop appearing happy, chasing happy, faking happy -  and instead actually just be happy.

Sincerely,
Pepsi-Mama

Membranous glomerulonephritis. Round 2. Week 5.

Medication: 200mg cytotoxins (Cyclosporin), 64mg cortisone and other assorted goodies.

I'm having serious trouble sleeping, so I'm back. This is the third night I'm up at five in the morning NOT HAVING SLEPT YET ALL DAY. These meds are going to send me to the loonybin in a matter of days if this continues.

I'm seriously contemplating just letting go of having a "schedule", or maybe changing the time I take my meds. Maybe pills in the afternoon and late mornings would work better, match my activities better with the rest of the family? I'll figure it out somehow. It being the weekend, and the family being around all day constantly distracting my short attention span has probably just taken its course. 

Have you ever noticed how sometimes something happens, and then there's just more of the same all day? No chance of stopping it? Like the phone, one day ringing all day to the point where you just want to throw it against the wall so it would shut the fuck up, just to be completely dead and quiet for days afterwards? Today's been one of those days. 

*It's been lovely, but I have to scream now*

Whatever the reason, here I am, five in the morning with a cup of tea and a whirlwind mind. The ''ideas and to-do list'' I've conjured the last hour has 23 items on it, and it keeps getting longer. I've always done my best thinking at night anyway. It's finally quiet enough to hear yourself thinking.

Oh yeah, this post is supposed to be about the Membranous glomerulonephritis, so I'll try to update you on something more relevant than my middle of the night ramblings. Here goes: I 'm pretty sure I have a throat infection. So much for preventative antibiotics, huh? 

The swelling is now affecting my eyes, the pressure to them is tangible. It's pretty bad around my throat and neck as well, I'm getting trouble turning my head to the side and finding a comfortable position on my pillow at night.

Aaaand my period is early, and completely weird. Add medically induced skinsensitivity into your nether-regions on top of the natural sensitivity some women experience during menstruation and you've got me;  buying tonnes of the softest babywipes available instead of regular toilet paper and a bad attitude on top of that. During Round One I stopped menstruating completely, but I do not remember being affected this early on. But don't worry, it'll come back to haunt you when you're well again.

Looking into a mirror is now a daily horror show. Remember how I warned you to get the tweezers out? Forget that, I'm now shaving daily, shaving cream and all. Today I discovered that I've started growing whiskers on the top of my cheekbones, and my eyebrow hair has started taking on the texture of old men's nosehair; 2 cm long, white like glass and rigid as hell.

I'm also sniffling like crazy. I think it's my brain leaking out.

Me at the end of week 5.
You probably won't believe me, but the swelling WILL get worse.

Sincerely,

Pepsi-Mama

Project "Outside"

House and barn decorated for Christmas. The heart was made for  Spring and Autumn.

Lanterns and chime in the apple tree. Battery driven lights.
I tried, but the picture does not do it justice. 

Project "Fleemarket makeovers"

4 € at the fleemarket. Otherwise ugly as hell wooden bowl and candle holders,
given new life by repainting them in  high gloss black. Kitschy!

Project "Pringles"

Project "Window"

Bedroom Before.

Restored an old windowframe, painted it highgloss black and stuck text on it.

Membranous glomerulonephritis. Round 2. Week 4.

End of week 3 on medication. Bib and hamster cheeks galore :)

Week 4:

Medication: 200mg cytotoxins (Cyclosporin), 64mg cortisone and other assorted goodies.

My doctor called after a series of tests. There weren't enough cytotoxins in my system, so we've added another 50mg. He didn't mention lowering the cortisone as planned, so I guess the time frame we initially discussed is delayed.

Week four, the side effects: I sleep 4-6 hours per night. Dryness and strange taste in mouth. Mood swings, easy bruising, and more swelling. My face literally feels like it's in a pressure-cooker. The added cytotoxins burns in my veins, it feels like my blood is cooking or something. It'll pass once I get used to the dosage, but it is one of the side effects I have forgotten to describe earlier. I've also experienced some aching of the joints, particularly my knees and ankles. It could have something to do with my muscle mass, which weren't restored from Round One, now starting to run on empty and me overdoing it. I'm not sure.

I'm still chatty as hell and quite manic.

This is pretty much what my schedule looks like at the moment:

06-07:00: I wake up

10:00: Take my meds

12:00: Nausea, cold sweats, weakness

14-16:00: Nap

22:00: Take my meds

24:00: Nausea, cold sweats, weakness

01-02:00: Fall asleep

Tip: If you have a full day planned, set aside the next one for nothing but taking it easy. You'll need to recharge.

If you're not receiving preventative antibiotics of some kind, you will be more receptive to fungi infections. Check your toes, your crotch, armpits, under the breasts and mouth. Make sure you're completely dried off after a shower, maybe even walk around in your birthday suit a while ;) There are prescription free salves at your pharmacy.

Mental health: Getting depressed could be so easy, if you'd let it. Which we won't! Here are some of my feelgood tips: 

• Skip the chores at home which you find tedious and indulge in whatever you feel like doing. Being at home does not a domestic slave make. 
• Play corny, but happy music on high volume. Bananarama, BeeGee's, Katrina and the waves. Pretty much anything from the 1980's is good fun. Disco too. Sing along!
• Socialize. Never mind the way you look. Your friends and family already know your particular type of  crazy. Now your outside just matches what they knew was on the inside.
• Other people's remarks. No doubt, someone is going to hurt your feelings one way or the other. You being so obviously sick scares immature and ignorant people, and reminds them of their own mortality. Quietly wish them a healthy dose of personal growth, not to hell. Be better, not bitter.
• Keep busy. Pinterest is good for a shitload of ideas.
• Take self portraits. They're no fun to look at now, but with distance you're going to appreciate having proof of what you've gone through. Don't believe me? Take a look at this one from Round One: 

Hot Damn, I couldn't be more gorgeous :)

Moving on to more serious things: I've mentioned the importance of moisturizing before. The reason for this is not only the annoying skin sensitivity. Cortisone makes you swell up like a pig, and the longer you're on cortisone, the more you will swell. The change is quick, and your skin, if anything like mine, won't be able to keep up. The results: Stretchmarks. I wasn't warned about this during Round One. My doctor's only warnings were: “Your immune system will suffer, you'll be a little disoriented and experience some swelling. Stay away from salt, stop smoking and loose some weight.”

So, needless to say, my first set of treatment with cortisone ripped my skin open like crazy. On the shoulders, under my arms especially, behind the knees, and on my upper abdomen. I wear my childbearing stretchmarks proudly, mother nature gave me those for a purpose. I'm not so crazy about this second set of scarring.

The scars  on my shoulders. There are a few more on the back, but they are smaller.

The stretchmarks start at the lower end of my breasts,
 goes up under the armpit, arm and continues almost all the way to my elbow.

By now, I think I've covered pretty much the basics, and there will be just more of the same for as long as I'm on medication, so my posts on Membranous glomerulonephritis, Round 2, will dry up a bit. I will post sporadically if something comes up, and when it's time to cut down on the medication I'll be back with posts on the withdrawal symptoms. Yes, there are those to battle a well. 

Until then I'll leave you with a before and after picture of me. Day One and by the end of the fourth week on meds. It ain't pretty, but it's true. :S

4 weeks of medication and swelling.

Take care, and don't be too shy to be in contact should you have any questions!

Sincerely,

Pepsi-Mama

Membranous glomerulonephritis. Round 2. Week 3.

End of week 2 on meds. Good thing I'm not a contender for The Next Top Model, cause I'd so win that show ;) Just look at the splendor of that chin and the energetic twinkle in my eyes... 

Week 3:

Medication: 150mg cytotoxins (Cyclosporin), 64mg cortisone and other assorted goodies.

As I posted earlier, skin sensitivity is now a factor. Any seam feels like barbwire, clothes have the texture of sandpaper, and orgasms are quickly becoming a thing of the past. It's time to make moisturizing a new habit. If you won't you'll make permanent new best friends with stretchmarks. If you haven't had a facial, now it's too late. The skin on my face might look rosy and healthy, but in reality, the swelling is camouflaging some serious clogging of the pores. The tweezers are in constant use, because now, excessive hair growth is one of my companions. I don't mind looking like a freak if I have to, but I do not intend to find out what the offspring of The Bearded Lady and Quasimodo would look like. The hair on my head has also changed texture; it is now as smooth as a baby's bottom, and totally unmanageable. Hairspray accomplishes nothing. I look like a hobo in my sweats and unkempt hair, but at least I’m semi comfortable and without a mustache.

The ever present swelling has started to affect my throat, and from now on it will only get harder and harder to breathe. I expect to be sleeping sitting upright within a few more weeks.

My mind is being a bitch. It closes down during the day and goes into overdrive at night. Insomnia is a new acquaintance, and so is chattiness. Talk, talk, talk... I'm hardly ever quiet around people. Given the chance I'll talk until hoarse. Once, in band camp... No, really during Round One, I spent half an hour talking to a stranger in the grocery store. What about? Well, he was trying to get to the sugar, upon which I was leaning, so naturally we had to contemplate whether something as sweet as me would actually fit in to his cart.

You can either feel dumb and embarrassed about things like that, or just go with the flow. Me, I go with the flow.

Tip: Moisturize and shave. Place a notebook and a pen by your bedside table. If you don't purge you'll never sleep. Clear a space for yourself somewhere in the house where you can do all the projects you have thought of, but do not give in to whims with longtime consequences. Painting the entire house purple might seem like THE BEST IDEA EVER right now. But trust me, that impression won't last. Tomorrow it'll be lime green with pink polka dots instead. Take the advice and hints your friends and family will undoubtedly give you and calm down, even if it's hard with all the accumulated manic energy. Do the smaller projects instead, reality is you won't have the energy to tackle the bigger projects anyway. You're just mindfucked, that's all.

My doctor told me to stay away from people who are sick, and especially sick kids, due to the cytotoxins that finishes off whatever immune system the cortisone has left you with. I'd like to add: Stay away from persons that are in plentiful contact with furred animals. They carry mites, which can give you eye infections. Also, because of the vanishing immune system, make sure you load up on antiseptics and that you treat every scratch and cut, no matter how small. Trust me, I have scars from Round One to back me up on this one. Preventative antibiotics is a part of my cocktail this Round, but I’m still not taking any chances.

A paper cut turned into a infection the size of a tennis ball during Round One. It had to be cut open and drained for months. Hurt like a son of a b*tch, and left me with these "vampire bite marks". I'd rather give birth without painkillers (again) than go through pressing the puss out of something like that once more.

Sincerely,

Pepsi-Mama

Membranous glomerulonephritis. Round 2. Week 2.

End of week 1 on meds. Tired and swollen.

Week 2:

Medication: 150mg cytotoxins (Cyclosporin), 64mg cortisone and other assorted goodies.

Week one was spent learning the effect my medication had on me. When to eat, when to sleep, when to think. I wake up energetic, but get sick and weak 1,5 hours after the meds, and it lasts for a few hours, longer if I don't eat regularly. After that I crash, and nap for about 2 hours. The nap works wonders. I wake up to some energy and a clearer head. Pretty soon it will be time for meds again, and the hamster wheel goes round and round...

Week two came with its own challenges. My taste buds started changing; Ketchup without added sugar now tastes sweeter than chocolate, and all kinds of soda tastes metallic. This will mess with your eating habits and screw your eating patterns up further. I've found that high protein, modest fat and low salt serves me best. Small portions, but more often, and I add carbohydrates for an extra boost as needed. 

One of the seriously bitching side effects of cortisone is swelling, and it gets bad as you'll see from my pictures. From Round One I've learned that all the different stages of swelling will give me a new problem to deal with. This time I really started to feel the swelling during week 2. It starts in the face and then slowly ascends over the throat, neck, shoulders, back and upper half of the abdomen. By the end of the treatments I know I will look like Quasimodo from the Ringer of Notre Dame, face and hump and all, but there's nothing to do about it.

For me, the inability to concentrate, is so far the most disappointing thing about all this. For a super organized, highly efficient person, like I used to be, that’s frustrating as hell. Think 'high as a kite and dumb as a door nail . That's me, right now anyway. I get spurts of manic energy, overdo it and then crash, all with the attention span of a three year old. Needless to say, I try not to drive any more than necessary, and I know from experience that this is not the time to make any long lasting decisions.

Tip: Beware of overeating when your taste buds go haywire. The low levels of energy had me aching for energy drinks, which normally tastes metallic and artificial to me, but now tastes like canned heaven. Problem is, they, like any soda, also add to the swelling, and leave your mouth dry. Besides, the effect really doesn't last that long, and only makes you crash that much harder later on. Find healthy snacks to boost your energy, and don't feel bad if hardcore carbohydrates is the only thing that'll do. Listen to your cravings, your body knows what it needs. It's better to feel a bit like yourself than worry about your weight. Weight can be gained and lost, but feeling like shit will stay with you and eventually drag you down so badly you'll get depressed. So eat, and be happy. Also, fishoil is supposed to be good for your kidneys, so you might want to get some of that. I know it is consistent with the type of cravings I've been having, so I'll be picking some up.

By now you'll want to make sure you have a good pair of tweezers, sufficient lighting in your bathroom and plenty of shaving gel. Hairier days are coming. Also, visit your local pharmacy for some basic but high quality moisturizer, you're gonna crave it.
High quality bed linen, as soft as you can get them, and seamless underwear will be good purchases. Skin sensitivity is around the bend.

Sincerely,
Pepsi-Mama

Decluttering tips #1

# Blankets: How many people are there in your household? Let everyone keep their favorite one for those chilly nights when they're needed, and one as a part of the emergency kit you should have in your car, but sell/give the other ones away.

# Wires: Label your tech-wires and get rid of duplicates. Hint: I found I could use the same wire for both the camera and the mp3-player.

# Bed-linen: A maximum of two sets/bed  is enough, at least for those of us with easy access to a washing machine. If your household is big, 1,5 sets/bed might be sufficient. After all, one rarely changes all the linen at the same time.

# Paper: Keep one notebook for everything, and maybe some paper for your printer if you have one. That's really all you need. Bonus: Going through the notebook later during the year will help remind you of all the fun you actually did during the year.

# Candles and assorted holders: We seem to get these every Christmas or birthday. Stop feeling guilty and just throw them away. I've kept a generic one which I can change with the seasons. Sand and seashells in the summer, red candles and moss/pine cones/i.e. during winter. It also serves as a incubator for plants.

More to come!

Sincerely,
Pepsi-Mama

Membranous glomerulonephritis. Round 2. Week 1.

One of the more noticeable changes is the one on ones appearance. Medication is not easy on the looks. But fortunately, I'm not too vain to medicate. This is me, day 0. Without makeup I might add, but surely you already noticed :P

Day 0

Week 1: 

Medication: 150mg cytotoxins (Cyclosporin), 64mg cortisone and other assorted goodies.

He spoke gently, tilted his head in an attempt at sympathy.

Am I distressing you? he asked as my blood pressure measured 175/110 (True number, btw). Me distressed? Why doctor, whatever do you mean? How could I possibly be distressed? Being told I'm back at ground zero after a year on, and just four months off, meds can't possibly be distressing can it?

As he droned on on the new and improved side-effects of the planned medication; this time almost guaranteeing diabetes, I more or less zoned out whilst he told me of the weekly blood-sugar and blood-pressure appointments, the bi-weekly other testing, what to look out for, and other signs to check. As of yet I'm not sure I got it all. I can pretty much guarantee I missed some major important stuff. I know I missed the 'take it easy and relax' part in particular. Oh, and breathing. Forgot about that too :)

I got two months of sick-leave to start with. The plan is to half the cortisone within a month.

The side-effects I experienced during week 1 were: Nausea and cold sweats about 1,5-2 hours after taking the meds, and a complete inability to concentrate on anything more than a few seconds.

Tip: Eat a sturdy but healthy breakfast before taking the pills. I skipped breakfast the first day, and all those meds on an empty stomach hit me hard. An all time low energy level is to be expected, so I've started drinking a Green spinach smoothie every morning to get the extra energy I need. The smoothie recipe I use comes from here.
You'll also want to get a deep cleaning, but non corrosive facial, and if you like me got some grey hair, a coloring. Those won't be possible later on.

Sincerely,
Pepsi-Mama

Membranous glomerulonephritis. Round 2.

In December 2010, I went to the doctor's, having legs swollen to the size of three trunks. It took 6 months before I got my diagnosis: Membranous glomerulonephritis. Treatment with high doses of cortisone started immediately.

Now I'm undergoing Round 2, because after only 4 months off meds, the Membranous glomerulonephritis is back. This time the coctail is cortisone and cytotoxins.

So, that's what these posts will be all about. Battling the Membranous glomerulonephritis. Round 2.
A kidney disease I'm told is kind of rare, and for which in my case, they do not know the cause of. Apparently it's not that common, at least not here in Finland. 

I'm planning on posting photos and weekly comments on the side effects I'm experiencing. 
Please realize that everyone responds differently to their medication, and that this is merely my experience, NOT a foretelling of your journey should you receive the same diagnosis and treatment. Drug intensity, duration, and personal reactions varies. Still, my hope is that by telling you my story, I might offer some insight on what's to come and provide helpful hints.

Sincerely,
Pepsi-Mama