Friday, October 19, 2007

Health Update

Asthma: a chronic lung disorder that is marked by recurring episodes of airway obstruction (as from bronchospasm) manifested by labored breathing accompanied especially by wheezing and coughing and by a sense of constriction in the chest, and that is triggered by hyperreactivity to various stimuli (as allergens or rapid change in air temperature)

But the doctor's not going to tell me I have Asthma because I don't have a history of it. And there is no reason why a 28 year old woman would be getting asthma now (I hope I'm not allergic to my cats. eek!) But it is Asthma.
After curves the other night I could not stop coughing. I coughed so much it hurt. I have sore ribs and sides and even my back aches from all this hacking. I sat through work all day yesterday just thinking how much I hurt and couldn't breath and I just wanted to go home and die. I emailed my manager and told her that I was "calling in sick for Friday so don't expect to see me tomorrow."
I got an appointment with a doctor. not MY doctor because he doesn't work on Friday's, but I saw a very nice young fellow named Dr. Fife. Seriously he couldn't be any older then me, but he was very nice and his nurses were very helpful. (He did have a dead fish hand shake though and that is a annoyance to me.) Of course the first thing anyone asks you when you walk into a doctor's office is "what's wrong with you?" I can't breathe was an easy enough statement and from then on out it was chest x-rays, and questions and everyone I encountered at the facility told me I sounded awful. (gee thanks I couldn't tell). My chest x-rays were clear so there was no scar tissue or congestion but for some reason I am wheezing and coughing and can't breathe. In the end it came down to Asthma.
They set me up in the exam room and gave me 2 nebulizer treatments. And a steroid shot in my bottom.
Pumping your lungs full of steroids in the morning is great... I was jittery and shaky and I couldn't hold anything still. It's been almost 12 hours since then, and I'm just barely starting to not shake. BUT it worked. I stopped wheezing and I was able to take a nap without waking up coughing up a lung. It was nice. John had to check on me while I was sleeping though because he couldn't hear me. I told him I was in stealth mode.
However now I have a variety of medications to take. I have an Inhaler, Steroid pills, and more Hydorcodone Cough Syrup. Yay for me. so what this is 5 medications I now take on a daily basis (plus an allergy pill). It could be much worse though because these medications for this asthma attack are just temporary and I should be done with them in 12 days.
He also told me not to go to Curves for a while.

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