So far so good
Day 1 of being shot full of drugs. I must say I feel great! My nose and sinuses are clear and the pred has me really wired. But then I have to ignore my burst of energy and sit quietly and take a breathing treatment every few hours. Since this is a double dose of albuterol, I become even more revved up. That's when I have to practice a little mental discipline. Even though I feel like I can take on anything and everything, I am quickly reminded that maybe I still have some healing still to do. I did a few repairs around the house and had a bone jarring, rib bruising, hurt down to my toes coughing attack. It literally floored me. One moment I was tightening a screw on a new towel rack in the bathroom..and the next I was bent over with a severe attack and then I was on the floor trying to figure out what happened. I guess I may have blacked out. My severe coughing attacks have done this to me 5 times in the last 2 years. Other than shaken confidence and a sudden realization that I might want to take it slow, there appears to be no harm done. In light of all this, I know it may be strange that I feel great...but I do. I just have to remember that just because I feel like superman doesn't make me superman...Yet. As for now, I will try to sit still and stop fidgeting (Who said that?...Mom, is that you?). I hope you all have a great day. I am mentally channeling all this excess energy to those of you that need it. I can't use it for awhile. Be well,Tom p.s. I am leaving my "feeling bad face" on for now. Maybe it will remind me to behave. One can only hope.Tom
Replies
I love that first burst of energy when you are taking the pred! When I am on it, I don\'t sleep more than 2 hours a day for the first 2 days. Like you, I try to do too much and end up paying for it.
It must be very scary to black out like that. I guess it would be even scarier for those around you. You are lucky you didn\'t hit your head!
I\'m glad you are feeling a bit better even if it might be a \"false\" feeling due to the meds.
Maybe you need to get a coloring book and crayons to keep your fingers busy while you are trying to relax lol !
Robin
Hi Robin,
Well it\'s 4 A.M. and I don\'t have a coloring book yet. So my fingers are up early with nothing to do. The only things stirring are me and the cat...and she\'s not much company.
I beat your record. I have gotten 3 hours of sleep.
I won\'t crow in my victory though because I\'m in the presence of the all time champ. My cat has just settled back down for another power nap. Sometimes I think that she\'s a fuzzy throw rug..about the only time she moves is when a vacuum gets near her too.
I\'m still breathing easy so I guess a little loss of sleep is a reasonable trade off. I just hate the roller coaster ride of manic highs and crashes. One thing that is sort of funny. According to my taper schedule for the pred, July 3rd is my last day on it. So that makes July 4th my independence day too. God Bless America.
You\'re right. The blackouts are a bit scary. But other than the risk of injury in a fall that you mentioned, it seems I recover quickly once able to get a breath. You do tend to be a little fuzzy headed and disoriented for a minute or so but no permanent harm. I sort of know when I\'m in the danger zone but this one snuck up on me. I just cough so much and so hard sometimes I can\'t get a breath. Once it happened at the pulm\'s office. I was being examined by his nurse practitioner and I had a bad attack and then it was lights out for a few seconds. The next thing I recall is she is hovering over me asking me repeatedly what\'s going on. I remember thinking \"Who is this person and why is she talking to me?\". Like I said, you come out of it a little fuzzy headed. At least I don\'t have to explain it to them. They now know first hand.
I have been told by my pulmonologist and the asthma specialist I have been seeing at the university lung center that I have cough variant asthma. So as the name suggests, my major problem is coughing.
Usually in the absence of outside irritants or secondary illnesses, I am ok. It\'s just that the world is full of irritants.
More than you ever wanted to know, huh? I\'ll not bore you any further.
Maybe I\'ll drive to the 24 hour store and get that coloring book. I sure have the time.
Thanks for your concern,
Tom
Thanks for the laugh Tom! I needed one more than i realized I guess. It\'s hard to be the only one up (the cat doesn\'t count, sorry) and not have anything to do to occupy those itchy fingers. There probably isn\'t anything fun on the TV either.
It may not be fun, but is a relief when you do bad things in front of the doc (like passing out) so they can see what you are talking about. Sometimes I feel like they think I am making things up. Like I have nothing better to do with my time lol
Now you will have another reason to enjoy the 4th! Hopefully you will be back to your 100% and able to enjoy the festivities!
Robin