Progress report & Health update

Released version 0.3.7d. Another exciting bugfix patch.

Been tidying up issues with the recent cross-platform mobile launch. Also been dabbling with performance improvements for the upcoming Nintendo Switch version. Juggling priorities between all the platforms, while still paving the way for upcoming game modes, such as the Kitten Collect-a-thon.

Biosimilars soon

Still battling autoimmune health issues, but some good news has come about at least:

• My rheumatologist has given me the green light to finally qualify for a heavy-duty biosimilar injection medicine, to try and suppress my haywire immune system from my psoriatic arthritis. I've tried several different oral immunosuppressants over the last ~4 years, but they have not been very effective. So, finally, we are keen to start the injection medicines soon.
• It's been about two months since I stopped taking the oral immunosuppressants, to prepare for the injections without overlapping and causing conflicts.
• As such, coming off the oral medicine for the interim, there have been some pretty painful days. Fatigue ramps up, as does the pain. Not really anything new, but still common and present to slow me down. Most days, still lose many hours to the brain fog, unable to think or concentrate properly, which doesn't help when trying to code.

But first, let's deal with Cushing's

During the recent weeks with this medicine downtime, I was referred to an endocrinologist to try and tackle some residual weight issues; hard to exercise when muscles hurt and I'm too fatigued to move very fast!

After running several blood tests, urine tests, and ultimately an MRI scan of my abdomen, my endocrinologist has diagnosed me with Cushing's Disease.

• A small, benign tumour has grown on my left adrenal gland, which messes up hormone signals, and causes excess steroids and cortisol production in my body. I'd guesstimate I've had this tumour for a fair chunk of Tallowmere 2's development, probably 2 or 3 years.
• Cushing's Disease results in excess fat build-up on the face, shoulders, and gut. Also brings on muscle weakness, which explains my gradual decline in walking speed in recent years, and why my shoulder muscles hurt so much from doing mundane chores, such as washing dishes and doing laundry.
• The body is not meant to endure years of excess cortisol; another stress response of mine gone haywire! I thought the 1% chance of psoriatic arthritis was unlucky – Cushing's Disease has an occurrence of 10 per million people, so that's 0.00001%! The RNG gods really love me.
• Ironically, my rheumatologist believes that Cushing's is actually helping suppress my immune system, as steroids are sometimes given to patients for extreme flare-ups and swelling issues – and here, my body has been naturally(?) producing its own steroids due to this Cushing's tumour. But long-term, this is not good.

I am currently in contact with a surgeon. I will likely get keyhole surgery to remove this tumour in December 2022 or January 2023.

After surgery, I will need steroid medication for some time, as going cold turkey will not be good for my body! And my rheumatologist expects my immune system will ramp up even worse afterwards. But, we will then begin the biosimilar injections after the surgery once I recover enough, to suppress my immune system with greater force.

Onwards

All in all, I do not know how much of each disease has been causing what. It's like a weird, perfect storm of ailments to slow me down, which slows down development speed. Pain inhibits the ability to think, as does fatigue and brain fog.

We shall see what improvements come about over the next couple of months.

Thanks for hanging in with me. Still going with this project, one day at a time!