No further info…

Atrium inside Mayo Clinic Gonda Building, Rochester, Minnesota (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Well, okay…that’s not exactly the truth.  What I should have said was that I have yet to see the specialist so I’m not really sure where we go from here as far as the medical treatment goes…but, as you can see, that would be entirely too long for a title.

However, I do have information…I had no idea there was so much info out there about RA.  (Makes sense since I never really gave it a thought before, right?)  My first stop was the website of the Mayo Clinic and there’s an abundance of information there.  I’ve also visited the sites of several other hospitals (Cleveland Clinic being one since I have a friend who has a son who was treated there for several years and I know how well-respected their pain management program is) to gather info.  I’m trying not to become immersed in this…I’d prefer it not control my life.  But knowledge is power….who said that, anyhow?

And then there are the blogs!  Oh my goodness, I had no idea how many wonderful people are willing to share their journey with us.  It really does help to hear from folks who live with this from day to day.  Doctors are one thing, having gone to school and been in practice for a while, but people who live with rheumatoid arthritis have a unique perspective.  Those who are in the trenches are sometimes better able to provide encouragement and suggestions.

After doing some research, I realized how dumb I was.  When the doctor told me it was rheumatoid arthritis, I thought it was no big deal.  I’d be able to pop a few pills and continue on my merry way (and that could be what happens…will have to see how it runs its course).  Then I began reading.  Whoa!  I had no idea it could be so serious.  But, I’m trying to remain positive…no use worrying about things that may never happen.  See the specialist and then proceed from there.  Hey, really what else is there to do?

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Some answers

English: http://rheumatoidarthritis-symptoms.com – Rheumatoid Arthritis in the hands (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When I think about how I’ve felt in the past six months (really, six months…hard to believe) and how many doctors I’ve seen during that time, I get to feeling a little discouraged.  I start asking myself if we’ll ever figure this out.  Well, I got a few answers this week.

I saw my doctor Monday because I was in so much pain…joint pain…just about every joint in my body.  She had me move around, doing some range of motion movements.  Then she said she wanted me to have some lab work done, checking for autoimmune ailments.  I went down to the lab where the tech proceeded to take about a gallon of blood (okay, I may be exaggerating a bit), vial after vial.  She said they’d be able to do some of the testing themselves but would have to send some of it off.

Then they called me later in the week to let me know that just about everything came back normal with the exception of the markers for rheumatoid arthritis.  So, okay…I don’t really know a lot about rheumatoid arthritis, but it doesn’t sound like it’s as bad as some of the other things.  Of course, that’s me talking when I know very little about it.

My doctor is setting up an appointment with a rheumatologist (?) for me, so I’ll know a lot more then…at least I hope I will.  I’ve put off doing any online research about it, not wanting to worry myself…the old ostrich with its head in the sand thing.  I suppose I ought to do a little research about it soon, you know, so I at least know what questions to ask.

I’m not sure if this is THE answer, but at least it’s part of the answer.

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She’s baaack!

Before you say anything…I know I’ve been MIA for much too long. April has been an extremely hectic month! I went back to work after being sick for two months…believe me, that wasn’t (isn’t) easy. I’m still not at 100%, but I’m getting there…slowly…

And, being the crazy chick that I am, I decided to do another Camp NaNo during April…yep, you read that right…writing 50,000 words over the course of the month. I managed to hit 50,378 today…early, well, at least a little early. Some of it’s good, most of it’s not…but the whole point of NaNo is to simply write…and I did do that. And I think I may come up with, you know, maybe 10,000 publishable words from this month’s writing…maybe.

Now it’s time to focus on my health…I’ve got a big, several-hours-long pulmonary test coming up on the 9th and maybe then we can figure out what to do to make it a bit easier to breathe and do something else at the same time…in the meantime, I’m trying to eat healthier and exercise as much as I can without negatively affecting my breathing.

And speaking of eating healthier…let me ask you all, do you use a juicer? If so, what brand? Pros and cons? I’m trying to eat more organic foods and working diligently to avoid GMOs and making my own juices would be another step in that direction.

All I Know Is I Know Very Little

Healthy lungs (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Does that make sense?  Oh, who cares, right? I haven’t made a lot of sense for several weeks now…

I saw the pulmonary specialist yesterday (yes, I showed up at the right time and on the right date…how about that?).  I still don’t have very many answers although the answers I do have sound pretty good.  I know that I don’t have cancer.  I know that I don’t have COPD.  I know I don’t have emphysema.  That’s what I know.

What I don’t know is what’s wrong.   Why I can’t breathe.  Why I can’t move without having a prolonged coughing fit.  Why I’m still so sick after such a long time.

They performed some tests…something to measure lung capacity, another to measure lung function, something else that I’m not really sure what it was supposed to test…anyhow…for now the doctor is terming what I have as an acute long-term upper airway infection.  (Is that another term for “we don’t really know”???).

His prescription to treat that was multi-faceted…one inhaler to administer steroids, another inhaler to open the airway,  a different antibiotic, an old-fashioned antihistamine (he said he’s had better luck using these rather than the more modern ones to treat conditions like I have), and something to relax the muscles in my chest and back.  Fortunately, he had samples to give me for both inhalers and the antihistimines…enough to get through a month…which is when he wants to see me again.

He told me to keep kind of a journal detailing how the different meds affect me, when I get to feeling better (or worse), what I’m doing when I have one of those coughing fits, if I have a fever (how high, how long it lasts), and so on…That kind of tells me this is still a mystery to him and that he’s looking for clues as to what’s really wrong and what we can do about it.  But he did spend a lot of time with me, asking questions,  making notes, explaining things, and talking about what we can do if all of this doesn’t help.

My next appointment with him is in the first week of April.  He did say that if this “cocktail” doesn’t work, he’ll want to do a CAT scan of my lungs as well as some other tests.  In the meantime, guess what!!  I’m off work…and before I publish this post, I’ve got to call my boss and let him know…whew!  I know he won’t be happy about it, but I don’t know what else I can do.  I can’t imagine that they want me in the store scaring the customers with that constant barking cough (and really, I’m not able to do anything that involves any kind of physical activity and that’s what most of my job consists of).  Now I don’t want anyone to think that Chris is a bad guy because you honestly could never find a nicer boss anywhere.  He’s said, on multiple occasions, that I just need to get better.  But I also know having a manager out for a prolonged period of time makes it rough on everyone else…and I do feel guilty about that.  I know, I know…it’s not like I got sick on purpose, but you know what I mean.  I care about the people I work with (most of them…haha…you know who you are) and hate that I’ve not been able to be there to do my job.  Hopefully, what we’re doing now will do the trick and I’ll be able to return to work after my next appointment…keep your fingers crossed for me, would you?

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Dazed and confused…adventures in medicine

Old hospital (Photo credit: urbanlegend)

Seems to be my permanent state right now…confusion.  I lose track of what I’m saying when I’m trying to talk to someone (who knows what my writing is like…I reread it multiple times and am still not absolutely certain that I’m making sense, so…if you can’t figure out what I’m talking about, now I have an excuse), I can’t remember what I’m supposed to be doing (thank goodness for lists…just write it down when I think about it), and the date?  Oh my!  The date, even with the date displayed prominently on my computer and  calendars all over the place, I still can’t keep the days straight.

And today exemplified that.  I had a doctor’s appointment with a pulmonologist today.  I’ve had the paper my doctor’s office gave me, with the info, on my fridge since my last appointment so I wouldn’t forget it.  I woke up feeling pretty awful, wishing I didn’t have to go see a doctor today, but knowing that I did.  So I eventually got ready and left in plenty of time to arrive early enough to find my way to the office.  You know how it is when you go into these big buildings and don’t know your way around, right?  So I knew I was going to have to stop and ask for directions and then find my way to pulmonology.  No big deal.

I stopped at the desk right inside the entrance and asked the lady there where I could find this particular doctor.  She looked at my paper (the one they gave me last week at my doctor’s office) and told me I was in the wrong building, would have to go out and drive over to the next drive and go in that building.  Well, okay.  I walked back out to my car feeling more than a little confused.  The next building over is where my doctor’s practice is.  I was pretty sure (even in my confused state) that the specialist I was supposed to see wasn’t in the same building as my doctor.

So I called my doctor’s office and spoke with one of the receptionists.  She laughed about it and said that lady must have been confused…there is a Doctor Trueblood in their practice, but she is definitely not a pulmonologist.  So I told her where I was and she said I was in the right place, that she didn’t know exactly where the pulmonology department was but she was pretty sure it was upstairs.

Alright, I walk back into the building, stop and ask the same lady where the pulmonology department  is.  She tells me to take the elevator upstairs and then she points down the hall and says I need to go all the way to the end of that hall.  I find the elevator, go upstairs and start in the direction pointed out for me.  Then I stop and look at the department listings and arrows.  Hmm…if I do what the lady downstairs says I’m headed in a different direction than if I follow these little arrows.  How about we try the arrows?

That just might be the only good decision I’ve made all day.  I walked right to where I needed to go and stopped at the desk to let them know I was there for my appointment.  The very nice lady there looked it up on the computer then looked at me.  She said, “Well, unfortunately your appointment’s for tomorrow.”  And she apologized…like it was her fault that I’m a dork.  And to compound how goofy I must have seemed, I asked her what today’s date was.  She told me it’s the 7th…hmm…the little paper in my hand tells me my appointment is scheduled for the 8th…what do you know?  She’s right and I’m crazy.  So I thanked her and told her I’d see her tomorrow.

I guess a couple of good things came out of this…now I know where I need to go tomorrow…and the lady at the pulmonology department desk will have a funny story to tell her co-workers and family…

I’m telling you, all of these drugs I’ve been on have to be messing with my mind…or am I confused about that?

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Just another Monday

Come Monday (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Not a manic Monday, not a hated start of the work week Monday…just Monday.  I guess I never thought about how we give certain days special significance when we’re working. It seems like just about everyone hates Mondays. I suppose because most people don’t work on the weekends, Monday means a return to the dreaded work week. Now I’ve pretty much always had jobs where I’m required to work at least some weekends, so there have been times when I really liked Mondays because that would often be the start of my “weekend”.

But still being off of work on medical leave kind of changes how I look at things like that. I woke up today thinking that I could be going in to work today on truck day…a hectic, active, yet kind of fun day…it’s all what you make it! If only I could actually be going in to work…but…nope! Still off, still struggling to breathe, wondering what’s going on and what’s going to happen. I have to admit, it’s more than a little scary. I’ve always worked, since I was 14 years old. So not being able to work has me questioning myself. I mean, how am I going to cope if I don’t get better? What in the world would I do?  I have some money saved up, but not enough to get by on for the rest of my life.

No…stop…I’m not going to go looking for trouble where it might not exist. I see a pulmonary specialist Thursday afternoon and we’ll go from there. It’s not like worrying about it between now and Thursday will do anything to make it better anyhow. In the meantime, I’m off for this week and next week, and then we’ll see. Hopefully they’ll be able to figure out what’s going on and then correct it.

I think I’ll go rummage around in my yarn stash and sit back and crochet a scarf…take my mind off my worries for a while.

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When am I going to feel better?

English: Shown is a male technician taking an x-ray of a female patient. This image was used to demonstrate the myth about exposure to radiation during the x-ray procedure. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When?  I’m so tired of all of this coughing and not being able to breathe.  And, as surprised as I am to say this, I miss work…I miss my work buddies…I miss having a routine…I miss the adrenaline rush of having too much to do (haha).  I wouldn’t have believed that a couple of months ago, but now I see how much I really do like my job.

So…saw a different doctor today…coughing my head off, as has been my daily routine any time I do anything and especially any time I go outside in the cold.  They did several tests in the office, then sent me to the lab for some lab work (one of the things they were testing for was whooping cough…seriously…) then over to the radiology department for x-rays.  I just love having to get x-rays, don’t you?  I always wonder if I’ll start glowing in the dark, hasn’t happened yet though.

Then I had to go pick up more prescriptions, one of which was an inhaler…I really, REALLY don’t like that.  And some of the pills just about gag me trying to swallow them.  Then I stopped at work for a few minutes to fax some paperwork in.  Talked a few minutes to some of my co-workers.  Then decided I needed to get home.

So I’ve been sitting here at home trying to recover from my active day (or at least active compared to how I’ve been living lately).  It’s still painful to breathe, I’m still coughing a lot, and I keep asking myself how much longer it’s going to go on like this…so, hey…if anyone has any positive, healing vibes to send my way, I’ll gladly welcome them.

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Medical issues still hanging around

L-13-02-05-C-052 (Photo credit: US Department of Labor)

Who would have thought, all those weeks ago when I first got sick, that I’d still be sick in February…the middle of February at that?  But here I am, on medical leave from work trying to regain my health enough to at least be able to go back to work.  Still having respiratory issues, much activity at all and I start this high-pitched coughing…to the point of pain and headache.  We’re still not sure exactly what’s going on…the original diagnosis was acute respiratory infection.  When I looked that up online, it seemed to be kind of a catch-all, covering several different illnesses.  I’ve been seeing my doctor at least once a week…tests, meds, etc. Maybe one of these days we’ll get it figured out…keeping my fingers crossed on that one.

You’d think I’d be able to get a lot done without having to go to work, but you’d be wrong.  I just don’t feel up to doing anything.  I feel like I’ve had a good day when I do dishes and feed the cats.  I haven’t been writing at all…thank goodness for my Kindle…not going to run out of books to read.

A couple of my friends have called, wondering if I needed anything.  So far I’ve been okay…that’s one of the benefits about stocking up on cat food and treats…I’ve been in the habit of stopping at Pet Smart every other week and always buying enough for two weeks and two days…that way I have a stockpile of food for the little darlings in case of an emergency (of course, the emergency I’ve always thought about being prepared for was a severe snowstorm…not sickness).  But to have friends who are thinking about me makes me feel good.  And one of my neighbors told me they were heading out to the grocery store and wondered if I needed them to pick up anything…nice, huh?

It sure would be nice to have all of this time off if I felt like doing anything…of course, if I felt like doing anything, I’d be at work…can’t win that one…

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Paleo diet

Paleolithic-style dish: seafood stew (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’ve heard a lot of people talking about the Paleo diet and how good they feel after being on it for a while.  I never really knew exactly what it was, assuming it was about eating unprocessed foods like the cave people did.  But when I looked it up I realized it’s similar to the clean eating diet, except no dairy, no grains…Hey, I know I’d be better off  eating foods that are as close to their natural state as possible, giving up sugar, and of course throwing out the soda.

But…but…no dairy, no grains…does that mean (gasp) no pizza?????  Who could live without pizza?  Like, forever?  And I gotta tell you, I’m not that fond of meat…I’m just not…this may sound crazy, but it makes me feel sluggish and too full for too long.  So I just can’t see myself being able to adhere to that kind of diet for very long.

I have given up dairy milk, I started paying attention a few months ago and realized I felt kind of congested every time I drank a glass of milk.  So I thought I’d do a little home based experiment, see how it would affect me to not drink it for a few weeks.  Didn’t drink any for that time, then started drinking it again and felt the congestion again.  So I decided to give it up…I thought it would be more difficult than it was, I’ve always really, really liked milk.  But I honestly haven’t missed it…I use almond milk on my cereal and like it.

And I’ve been eating more natural foods…a lot more fruits and veggies, I’ve even baked my own bread a couple of times.  Just this morning I baked an English muffin bread and it turned out pretty good…kind of chewy with an English muffin like texture (huh, imagine that!  Maybe that’s why they called it English muffin bread…go figure!). I haven’t given up my diet Pepsi yet, but I know I’m going to have to force myself to do it…nothing good for you in any soda, so that’s on my healthy to-do list.

But I just won’t be following the Paleo diet…clean eating is more my style…or even vegetarian.  What about you?  Do you adhere to a special diet?

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Being sick isn’t as fun as snow days

A sick cartoon Pig Complete with orange juice and an ice pack for his terrible fever. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Seriously, being sick is a pain.  I actually feel a little better, but still have a fever and am not able to keep anything down…so, still trapped in my house.  See, if I felt good, being stuck at home would be nice, a treat.  But being sick finds me either in bed or on the couch, with just a little stumbling around the house trying to do a few of the basic housekeeping chores.  What a waste of time.

I talked with the nurse at my doctor’s office today…they’re calling in another prescription for me.  And she told me to stay at home until I go 24 hours without a fever..okey dokey…fun, fun!

You know, I kind of feel guilty for abandoning my co-workers, but I’d feel even worse if I gave them what I have…but I really am going to work on improving my immune system…simply have to eat a healthy diet.  I know it, it’s just a matter of doing it.  But I’m making plans for when I can actually start eating again.  I’m tired of getting sick…

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