Month: August 2026

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Three Weeks Later

25 August 2026
4 August 2026

As you can see, there’s been a very noticeable improvement. The combination of the prednisone and a weekly (vs. biweekly) dose of Duplixent has definitely turned the tides.

My upper body looks even better, and while there are a few small blisters still forming overnight (usually on sites that are already healing) it’s nothing like the dozens of new ones that I used to wake up to every morning.

When I saw my dermatologist last week, she said it may take up to six months of Duplixent to totally knock this out. Okay, other than the cost, I’m fine with that. My only concern is what happens when I’m weaned from the prednisone. We agreed that I may need to stay on a much-reduced dose for the duration when this round of treatment wraps up. That’s one of those wait-and-see things.

Being on a high dose of prednisone for an extended period is not without its own set of side effects, the most recent being fluid retention in my lower legs. I could barely get my shoes on yesterday, but before I flew into a panic (my thoughts went to very dark, cardiac-related places even though my heart is in great shape), I thought I’d google “prednisone and fluid retention” and sure enough—to my profound relief—the swelling ankles and calves is a definite side effect. I spoke to my nurse friend and she advised to up my water intake significantly. Also—since I’m now officially an old man—I got several pairs of compression socks which have really helped. (It’s not like I’m going to be one of those guys who wears them with shorts.) It’s only been one day on both those therapies, so again, we’ll see how it goes, but so far, so good.

And did I mention the fungal outbreak on my palms and soles? Another side effect. If it’s not one thing, it’s another. Lamisil is my friend these days.

The wheels on the bus go round and...oops.

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Mellow House Morning

David Visan – Buddha Bar V (2003)

This is an interesting series. All of them are different, but Disk 1 always has a kind of a mellow, laid-back, coffee-in-the-morning vibe, while Disk 2 is 80 minutes of hard core dance.

This one in particular has a decidedly middle-eastern flavor.

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The Wheels On The Bus Go Round And Round

And sometimes they fall off completely.

I dream about cars a lot. Sooner or later, every car I’ve ever owned pops up in one. I remember one time I was driving my old red Eclipse—skimming like a hovercraft into a sunrise above the treetops of an immense forest.

The very first car I ever bought new, a white ’84 Corolla SR5 still makes an appearance now and then, having never sold it and miraculously having been in storage all these years yet still running perfectly.

This morning I woke from a dream where I’d been tooling around (in the rain, no less) in a white Mazda Miata. I’ve never owned a Mazda Miata of any color, but it had been on my “most wanted” list for many years. I don’t remember many details except that I was on the freeway and then pulling into the parking lot at work. I was surprised to see a coveted parking spot right by the main entrance (closer than even the handicapped spots) was empty.

I had some trouble turning into it, feeling like I was either too close to the curb on the driver’s side or the stripe on the passenger side, but got out and saw that I was perfectly centered. (Notice my choice of words there.)

And then I saw that the rear passenger wheel was missing. Yep. Gone. Vanished. Fell off somewhere and I never ever realized it until I saw it and how it explained my difficulty turning into the parking spot.

“Damn, that’s going to cost a lot to replace,” was my only thought upon seeing it as I walked away, but realized I didn’t really need to worry about it because I knew I had enough credit available to cover whatever it was going to cost. Everything would all work out in the end. And at that moment I woke up.

The car-as-body/life metaphor all but slapped me in the face and surprisingly, I came away from it all with a very positive vibe. The missing wheel was a—pardon the pun—just a bump in the road, not an end to the journey.

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