Today is Tuesday, October 13, 2026 and exactly three weeks ago today, what started as just a little bit of sneezing, eventually turned into a full. blown. flu, plus more…
As is usually the case during this time of year with everyone back from their vacations and the kids being back in school, the viruses started circulating. With so many people around me falling sick, I was bound to eventually catch something from someone…and unfortunately I did. The sneezing eventually turned into a runny/blocked nose, major congestion, slight cough, headaches, body aches, fatigue, fatigue and more fatigue! I knew it usually takes me longer to recover because of the immunosuppressant that I’m on but when it dragged to a week and I still wasn’t feeling better at all, I knew I had inform my doctor. She asked me to go and see her at Amiri Hospital where she conducted a physical examination to make sure my muscles weren’t getting weaker and that it wasn’t a flare up that was triggered from the virus I got. She also ordered some bloodwork for me to do to rule out the possibility of a flare up. She was convinced that it was just a strong flu that hit me hard and I just needed a bit more time to recover from it. We just needed to wait for the bloodtest results to come out to confirm that. At this point, 9 days in of either being in bed or on the couch, I was tired from feeling tired. I missed my daily routine of movement, excercise, going to the office, attending my childrens’ extracurricular activities, seeing family, seeing freinds, living. But my doctor asked me to be patient, so patient I would be. Thankfully the bloodwork came back normal…My CK level was 40 which was great! But why was I still feeling so fatigued, so drained, unable to move? By week two I even started developing body pains, especially in my legs. They felt sensitive to the touch and extra sore. Things didn’t feel right. I’ve gottent sick before, and it had taken me a while to recover in the past but this time it was taking much, much longer…And I wasn’t feeling any better. I felt really bad about reaching out to my doctor because she was away on vacation but I messaged her by day 14 and told her that although the bloodwork came back great, I was still really, really, really tired. She suggeted that I start taking Tamiflu since it appears to be a strong virus and that just might be the anti-viral medication I need to knock this flu right out of me. I went to the local clinic, got it and took it right away…A couple of days later I still felt the same, nothing changed. Instead of bothering her again while she’s on holiday, I went to see my back-up doctor to get a second opinion. After explaining everything I’ve been feeling he also conducted a physical examination to check that it wasn’t infact a flare up and thankfully he confirmed it wasn’t. He also saw my bloodwork results which again reassured him that it was not a flare up. He said that sometimes people with dermatomyositis who get hit by a strong virus that lingers could start developing fibromyalgia-like pains that cause the fatigue and aches I was experiencing. He told me to stop taking my immunosuppressant medication (as it was prolonging my recovery) and to start taking corticosteriod medication for 10 days. I have to admit, I was skeptical (and nervous) about this. I had not stopped my medication (Cellpcept) since I was diagosed over 3 years ago….And now he wanted me to stop it for 10 days! Honestly, at that point I just wanted to feel better. I was willing to do anything. By day 5 of being on the corticosteriod medication the pain finally subsided, my enegy levels returned slowly and I was eventually able to feel like myself again. What a relief! ألف الحمد لله يا رب! There’s nothing like feeling healthy, feeling good in your own body, feeling no pain. الله يتمم. The past few days have been great as I’m slowling getting back into my normal active routine. I have three more days on the corticosteriod medication then it’s back to Cellcept. Hopefully the worst is over and it’s just healthy days ahead.
No one likes to be sick, and that was definitely not a fun experience but I’m so grateful it turned out just to be a strong, prolonged flu and not a flare up. During these three weeks I spent a lot of time at home, alone, reading, getting lost in the world of books. I really enjoy reading and I’ve been trying to make more time in my life now to read. It was a nice, slow pace but I think I might be ready for a little more action now. What does the rest of 2026 have in store for me? Only good things I hope!
اللهم بعدد من سجد وشكر، نسألك أن تشفي كل مريض شفاءً لا يغادر سقماً، وتعوضهم خيراً عن كل لحظة وجع وألم، اللهم رد كل مريض إلى أهله سالماً معافاً من كل أذى أو ضر.
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