Today was a really hard day... I'm in so much pain from these stupid boils/hives/rash/bumps (whatever) and of course when I went to the dermatologist I got poked and prodded which made them hurt more. The bottom line is, the dermatologist has no clue what they are - in order to find out, they did a biopsy (whacked off a huge chunk of skin containing a bump) and I'm supposed to come back in 10 days. They put me back on Prednizone and another antibiotic again. At least they were kind enough to give me a prescription for the pain - Darvocet. I don't like it, because although it makes me feel nice and high, it does absolutely nothing for the pain. After the dermatologist appointment, I had an appointment with my kidney doc. No real surprises there. I have to start getting the Procrit (Epogin) injections for my anemia, but before that can happen, I've got to get my iron levels up. In order to do *that* I've got to go sit for 3 hours at the cancer center and have an intravenous drip of iron. I'll probably have to do it once a week for several weeks while starting the Procrit. What a drag. The only good news was that my calcium levels have improved significantly - enough so that I'm now within a "normal" range. My kidney function (as verified with the 12 hour urine collection I did a few days ago) shows that I'm somewhere around 33% function - much higher than we thought previously. Every precentage point counts! After the doctors' appointments I came home and slept for about 3.5 hours. I'm exhausted, still. I really hate having these low days - they're so much NOT like "me". I just want to feel better, all around, so I can LIVE my life. In other medical news... I found out that my aunt has bone cancer. My mom is worried about her and worried about how my grandmother will take it. So, I'm thinking a lot about that, too. Ken was wonderful today - he didn't make me feel bad when I cried in the shower because I HURT all over. He didn't hold it against me that I felt too bad to get up and get my own glass of water. He gave me kisses all over my face and told me everything would be OK. He even drove me to pick up Alek at daycare this evening and went to the pharmacy and bank with me on the way back. Everyone should have a Ken. :)