Getting Back To It

Hi everyone. Just wanted to take a moment to let you know what’s been going on. Over the last few months you may have noticed my posts becoming fewer and less frequent. Then about a month ago they suddenly stopped altogether.

Work has been getting busier and busier leaving me more stressed and tired. Then about 2 months ago I got sick. It wasn’t much at the time, just a sinus infection. I treated it as I normally do when I get sick with herbal remedies and vitamins. The infection faded but I wasn’t able to get rid of my cough. After about a month of coughing I gave up and went to the doctor. The doctor prescribed prednisone and an over the counter cough syrup and scheduled a follow up a week later. That’s when I got really sick.

I began having trouble sleeping and lost my appetite. I would walk short distances only to find myself out of breath and unable to breathe. When I went to the follow up it was determined I had severe asthma that needed to be treated right away. I was given an inhaled powder to treat the asthma and a rescue inhaler.

The next follow up visit things hadn’t really improved. The doctor prescribed Singulair to go along with my other medications. When I went to fill the prescription the pharmacist let us know they were out of the inhaled powder and had ordered it and the Singulair needed approval by our medical insurance. So we decided to wait the weekend and try to get by without the inhaled powder. The medicine that was in my system took abut a day to wear off. When it did I began to feel really bad and have trouble breathing. I began having severe anxiety attacks brought on by the inability to breathe. I used the rescue inhaler they had given me but it didn’t seem to work and only made things worse. Finally we loaded the kids in the car, dumped them at my in laws and spent the night camped in the Emergency Room. After sitting in the chairs for 3 hours I was feeling better so we headed home.

Over the next week I was in the doctors office at least once a day. The Monday following my ER visit I was at urgent care because my normal doctor was booked up and I was still having issues breathing. They gave me a different inhaled medicine but it proved to be too much for my system. My heart rate was extremely fast, and I was having a very bad reaction to the medicine. Tuesday I went to a different doctor in my normal doctors practice and was given a different medication with less side effects. I was also scheduled to see the asthma counselor on Thursday. The asthma counselor was great. She showed me how to use the inhalers so they’d be more effective and help me breathe easier. She also noticed what sounded like pneumonia in my lungs. After playing phone and email tag with my doctor all day I was finally told to come in to so a different doctor in my doctors practice could check me and hopefully rule out that I’d contracted pneumonia. Xrays showed no signs of pneumonia but I was prescribed antibiotics because my temperature and blood pressure were still elevated showing a possible infection somewhere.

Antibiotics helped immensely. By the 2nd day I began feeling better and my appetite returned. Allergy medicine helped lessen the coughing and an air purifier made it so I could sleep at night almost uninterrupted. Memorial Day came and went and I started feeling better.

I felt better and better until the day after I finished the antibiotics. I began having problems sleeping again and my appetite decreased. I woke up frequently during the night or went to bed very late and woke up very early only getting a few hours sleep. Friday, Saturday and Sunday passed and on Monday I scheduled an appointment to get in to see my doctor. The fever had returned along with an inner ear infection. I was again given a new, stronger dose of antibiotics.

After 6 weeks the medical insurance approved the prescription for Singulair. The inhaled powder, antibiotics and allergy medicines are working and I’m finally functional. It’s been a long ride through Hell and happy to finally be feeling better. Thank you everyone for your support in emails and on Facebook. Hopefully I’ll be able to post some of the awesome stuff people have been sending me in the next few days.

Thank you all again,

Loyd
Yosemite Blog.com