"Polymyositis - Patient information and treatment

Welcome to Stan's Polymyositis Page. This page will provide you with some good, down to earth information about the autoimmune disease - polymyositis.

I will update this page often with the latest and greatest news, photos, and medical information on my treatment and other information I find while researching myositis. Please sign the guest book and feel free to leave your comments on content herein or content you would be interested in seeing in the future.

Current Treatment Status as of 09/6/2009: Prednisone 1mg / week , Multi-vitamin 1/day

CPK=700 - 800 as of 04/28/2009

Next Dr. Appt: 11/04/2009

In Trying Times Be Determined

It has been 10 years since my symptoms first occurred. The next two were very slow going, but nevertheless improving. The last 7 have been good, however out of fear of recurrence, I haven't done as much as I believe I could. In the past month I have started really trying to build up my core muscles and get back into shape again. Keep a positive outlook and a good sense of humor... This can be controlled and beaten!!!!

Please bare with me for the next couple of weeks, I am going to try to revamp this site so it is a bit more friendly and readable and put in some of the newer web technologies that have crept up over the past 10 years since I initially created the site. I'm in grad school, working full time and have an 8 year old and wife also vying for my time so it may take me a bit to get it all cleaned up. I know I haven't updated in quite some time. To those of you who are frequent visitors, my condition is continuing to improve although I still cannot run any distance so to speak, some of the muscles that wasted are very difficult to build back... more details soon.

Good Luck to all with Polymyositis!

This is dedicated to those people who have contracted this rare muscle disease, or are close to someone who has. Although there are many diseases in this world much more serious than this one, you will find that having this disease will change your life drastically, and cause you and your loved ones to endure some difficult changes as a result.

This picture is from Christmas 1999. The people here have helped me through what I might consider the most difficult times of my life thus far. I can't begin to express my gratitude for all they have done for me.

Kati, Mom, Dad - I love you guys, thank you for everything! By the way, that's me on the left.

Mom & Dad	Thank you for all the lifts from the car, helping me clean, taking me to the doctor, calls to check on me, dinners, breakfasts, and being there for me in general.
Kati my lovely wife and editor	Thank you for sticking with me through thick and thin, for doing dishes, laundry, cooking, cleaning, taking me out when you could, and helping me out of the cars, wheelchairs, fixing my grammar and spelling on this page, etc. You are the best friend a person could have.
Dr. Bertorini, Jan, Amy, Dr. Pushpa, Sharon	Thank you for fighting this disease with a vengeance, for knowing your jobs so well, and for taking blood without collapsing all my veins, for explaining what was wrong with me in plain English, and for explaining my treatments just as well, without you guys I would be in a wheelchair right now, rather than getting my life back on a roll again. From the bottom of my heart, T H A N K Y O U!
Dr. Edgerly	Thank you for diagnosing me flawlessly on the first try, you saved me a lot of unnecessary running and got my treatment underway much quicker than many of the stories of other patients I have read.
Mandy & Bubba	Thanks for picking me up out of the car so I could take Kati out to dinner for her birthday, and for being such great friends.
Reggie, Maria, Jeff, Joe, Bonnie, Mike, & Richard, Doris	Thank you for all the times you helped me up, or just came over to see how I was doing, or checked in on me in the hospital. Thank you all!
Anyone I forgot to list	Like the academy awards, I can' t list or remember everything or everyone, but any of you that helped me, if you ever need anything from me, I'll be there for you! Thanks.