Doctor Visit

Just got home from my doctor appointment a little while ago. All the numbers on the bloodwork are good. Cholesterol is excellent (her words once again). Total cholestorol 165, HDL 65 LDL 70. I don't recall triglycerides, but know they were under the 100 that is optimal.

The cough that is lingering is now being treated as acid reflux and asthma. If it doesn't clear up in two weeks, I have to go in for an asthma test and possibly a CAT Scan.

I mentioned the fainting to her. She knows of my fainting history (and that it urns in the family). It hasn't happened in years and will most likely be years before it happens again. She asked a few questions and made note of what I said. If it becomes more frequent, I am to call her and we'll address it then.

Then for my main concern -- the high blood pressure I had at my last visit about six weeks ago! No high BP this time -- 114/82.

So as long as I can kick this cough, I'm set for awhile.

Still Sick...

I'm still coughing, but think I am getting a little better. Very slowly...

The new medication helped with the congestion, but nothing is helping with the cough. My doctor wants me to be on it for a least a week before see her again. If I don't see great improvement by Friday, I will call to get in early next week.

Going Backwards

I seem to be going backwards with this illness. My sinus headache, stuffiness, sore throat, etc. are back. Call the doctor this morning & she is supposed to call another prescription into my pharmacist.

I plan to hit the hay early tonight.

Dinner Canceled

We planned dinner with Bob's parents for tonight, but we had to cancel because Bob is sick. He even had to cancel a work meeting today. That's so not like him. He is already planning on staying home tomorrow.

Lucky for us, Bob's parents said they are willing to "rearrange" their schedule because they "would really like to see us". Where was that wanting to see us the afternoon they arrived when Bob took off work & we were waiting for the phone call that they were in town?

Get well soon, honey!!

Doing a Happy Dance

About three weeks ago, I had a sore throat, chest tightness, cough, runny eyes & nose, and a headache. The sore throat runny eyes, and headache were gone in about three or four days. When I get sick, the cough usually lingers for quite some time after, but it's normally because of that pin or needle feeling in the throat. Here it is two weeks after those other symptoms went away. It was starting to get better earlier this week, but got worse again last evening.

This morning I made the call to the doctor. I was dreading this call because I thought I was going to have to find a new doctor since I got a letter that mine had left the medical group she was under at the time. Along with the other two doctors I had seen at that clinic. I called the clinic number I had in my phone -- it was forwarded to another clinic -- on I can't stand. I was told that entire clinic is no longer part of the medical group. I find the new name, the new number, and call my doctor is still there & takes all the same insurance she did before! That's why I'm doing the happy dance!

Unfortunately, she isn't in on Fridays and all the other doctors were already booked so I have to wait until Monday at 4:30. It's going to be a long weekend of coughing. No over-the-counter products are working...

Wowzer, What a Night

I went to bed around 11:45 last night! Bob was up finishing a little bit of work, but ended up falling asleep in his chair (not unusual...lol). The dogs, Boomer & Chevy came to bed with me. Chevy was down by my feet & Boomer was next to me in Bob's spot. I fell asleep quickly and was sleeping soundly when I heard a loud bang that startled me out of my sleep. I noticed Boomer hunkered down next to the wall panting heavily. He looked really strange and was making no attempt to get up. I called Bob into the room & Boomer finally moves, but he really didn't have control of his body. For a few minutes he could not hold himself up. He would fall over to the right if he wasn't against a wall or being held up. When he did walk, his front legs were really far in front of him and his rear legs were really far behind him.

I called the vet, who I know will be closed, to get an emergency number. Called that number and was told to bring him in. Bob was going to try to carry Boomer, who is 80 lbs, down the stairs, but Boomer didn't like that idea and began to growl & show his teeth to Bob. I went downstairs to get his leash so we have some control of how fast & far he can get on the steps since he was starting to walk a tiny bit better by this time. Boomer decided he didn't want to wait for me to come back with the leash, escapes from Bob & goes down the stairs on his own. Instead of walking down, he fell down the entire flight. He was barely phased by the falling and just got up and walked, as best he could, to the kitchen.

We get him in the car, drive him the 40 minutes or so to the vet ER, and we he gets out of the car he is normal again! Of course! The vet did notice his head was still a bit to the right when he examined him, but by the end of the exam that was normal too.

They aren't sure what happened, but think it was a vestibular episode related to idiopathic vestibular syndrome. A disorder in older dogs -- the disorder causes stroke like symptoms. There are other things that could cause this to happen as well, but since it cleared up so quickly they think this is likely what happened. According to the vet, he may never have one again or it could be recurring.

I spoke to our regular vet this morning. She & the vet he saw last don't think any other blood work is necessary at this point since he just had a complete check a few weeks ago. Neither of them thought anything they would be looking for now would change that quickly in such a short period of time. We are just supposed to keep & eye on him and if it happens again we need to bring him in immediately. If it does happen again, then we will go from there.

I am crossing my fingers, hoping, praying, etc. that it never happens again. That was one of the scariest things I have seen in my life.

On the Mend!

I think I am finally beginning to feel like myself again. Not 100%, but I am hopeful I am near the end of this cold.

It was not fun!!

My Oh My

Where has the week gone? I have been feeling a little under the weather this week and have neglected my blog. I feel like a cold is coming, but it just doesn't want to. This was supposed to be the week I started getting into shape for the triathlon. However, I decided against it because of sinus pain & pressure. Sinus trouble makes for unpleasant enough days without adding running into the mix.

Speaking of the triathlon, the sign-up opens tomorrow for the Chicagoland Danskin Tri. I will be signing up soon, but need to talk to Erin about signing up by age group or mixed age. I screwed that up last year, but I think it worked out well other than missing her crossing the finish line. :(

Sickness

Did you miss me? LOL!!

Bob has been home sick the last two days. That doesn't mean he had the day off. Just that he stayed home and worked from here. He has been hogging the computer! (Bad Bob...lol!) Since he is napping now, I thought I would say hello!

Keep this between us: Men are kind of big babies when they get sick, aren't they? LOL!!

YUM-O, Almost Better, & Knee

Supper tonight was delicious! I made this recipe one other time, but this time it was even better. Rachael Ray's chicken enchiladas and spanish rice (made with brown rice, of course)!

I took my last dose of antibiotic tonight. I have been able to eat without any swelling in my salivary gland the since Saturday afternoon. It seems to have been an infection again. So strange that it happened again a year later almost to the day. I did a little reading online and my symptoms seem to point to the infection rather than something like a stone. Did you know you can get stones that block your salivary gland? I had no idea.

Bob has been having trouble with one of his knees for a couple months now. He went to Dr. Schwab, the doctor he sees for the avascular necrosis (AVN) in his hips, who ordered x-rays. The x-rays didn't show any AVN which is good news. The trouble he is having is similar to how his hips were before he was diagnosed with AVN. Since the x-rays didn't show anything Dr. Schwab wanted an MRI. The MRI show either a cyst of edema on a bone near the hamstring. He would like to see Bob again after about six weeks of physical therapy.

Sick of Being Sick

As some of you might remember, last winter at just about this time I got some weird thing where my face just in front of my ear and down to my neck swelled up. It would change in size quite rapidly. At one point, I stood in front of the mirror and could actually see it getting larger.

It was right before New Year's so I didn't wait to see what would happen. I figured it would get worse right about the time the doctor's office was closed for the holiday. I saw my doctor who was just as baffled as I. He wrote a prescription for an antibiotic and gave me instructions to wait 24 hours before taking to see if it would start to clear up on its own. I waited those 24 hours he suggested, and it got worse. After two pills, it pretty much clear up and by the time the antibiotic was gone it was better.

Last Friday afternoon, I got that familiar tenderness just in front of my ear. It's not something I feel all the time, but it was tender when I was washing my face. Sunday evening while eating dinner that tenderness turned to a tingle, a familiar feeling from last year also. It was the same feeling as when I watched that area swell in the mirror. I moved my hair and told Bob to watch. He didn't believe me last winter when I told him I could see it get larger. It freaked him out and he was ready to run out of the restaurant to take me to the ER. It went down shortly after, but I had already decided I would be calling the doctor first thing Monday morning. I felt fine other than that annoyance.

I saw the doctor Monday afternoon. As I waited in the waiting room for my doctor, I noticed my throat was feeling a raw, I was beginning to feel feverish and a sinus headache. The doctor is still baffled by the swelling thing, but I do have strep and a sinus infection. If this other problem doesn't clear up after I am done with this round of antibiotics, the doctor wants to see me to follow-up it. He thought it was very strange that it happened one year later almost to the day. He said it could be that I got in early enough last time that whatever I was coming down with hadn't taken hold and the antibiotic beat it before it got a chance to. However, he also said it could just be completely coincodential that they both happened at the same time. It could be a problem with one of my salivary glands (he mentioned this last winter as well).

Due to this swelling thing I cannot chew foods. The swelling will go down and if I chew something it pops right back up. I didn't have any swelling at all until I had one tiny piece of cheese. I thought I was over the hurdle, but no such luck. I am so sick of oatmeal, scrambled eggs, cottage cheese, soup, pudding, etc. One the bright side, I have lost 6 lbs this week without working out for one minute.

The laundry looks like at mountain, the tree is still up (I think it's the only one left in the neighborhood). I don't feel like doing anything, but curling up on the couch and sleeping.

ETA: Oh my, I just reread my entry after I hit publish. I sound like a big whiner! I promise I am not! Usually, I am one who takes things in stride for what they are. I know there are many out there with worse ailments than some little infections. Please forgive my momentary lapse there.