I'm not sure what is going on.
My daughter caught a cold from the baby we babysit about two weeks ago. I caught the cold from her - somehow three year olds are great at coughing in your face and sneezing on your food.
Anyway, we both ended up on antibiotics: amoxicillian for her, cipro for me. I am also on my colistin month. I asked for three weeks of cipro. I also asked for a referral to get a port. I have the cipro, buy nary a word about the referral, though my clinic NP did say she thought it was a "great idea."
As seems par for the course when I get sick, I can't seem to exhale easily. It's the darndest thing. Air comes in OK but on the way out it is this wheezing darth vader ujjayi breath. and I'm tired. sooo effing tired. I don't think I am desatting just based on what people who do desat say about it, and I have not typically had trouble with my 02 sats....but I have no idea what my FEV1 is right now. I'd venture to guess it is back in the 50s since stairs have become a trial again. Who the hell knows, it's not like I can be seen when I am sick, my care is all over the telephone.
I've only been on the cipro not quite a week, so I want to give that a chance. Also, I tolerate colistin rather well, but this wheeziness is very reminiscent of how I feel on TOBI and I wonder if my already irritated lungs aren't liking the colistin as well as they usually do. I seem to feel better BEFORE I do it rather than after. I don't know. I'm bummed.
It is so tiring to not feel good. I forget about this when I am doing OK. There must be something different about this bout of illness though because my husband has been nothing but nice and helpful. Maybe it is because I held his hand to my chest the other night so he could feel the crackling and vibrating in there, or maybe just that he can see me pause while doing a simple task like unloading groceries to catch my breath and cough and cough and cough until it looks like vessels will burst on my head and my face turns rasberry and yet NOTHING wants to come up. bah.
I've been self medicating to make it through the day but I wonder if that isn't doing more harm than good...? It works for now.
5 comments:
Colistin makes my airways feel like hell! I hate that drug...more so than TOBI.
Hope the Cipro works for you....I am starting it tomorrow :) we can be drug buddies haha
Though my disease is a bit different than yours, right now I cough and cough and nothing comes up either. I too have the rattle and wheezing. No fun. Hope you get well soon.
Hey girl!
Sorry you are feeling crappy. It doubly sucks to be sick during the summer for me.
With the Colistin, it might help if you increase the amount of saline/sterile water you are mixing it with. I have noticed that when I reduce the amount of water I use, it is harder to tolerate.
Good luck!
Wheezing sucks! Sorry you're still dealing with this cold and not yet getting better.
Do you also take some type of long lasting asthma puffer after all your nebs? I take 2 puffs of Atrovent (little hand held device) after all mine in order to keep my airways open longer. I wonder if something extra like that would help you some. Idk.
Whatever the case may be, it's always nice to have a helpful husband by your side. :) If he needs to feel your crackly chest every night, so be it. I could imagine seeing you struggle physically with simple tasks like bringing the groceries is a wake up call to anyone witnessing it. Sorry it's happening to you!
Do you have one of those small, white hand-held spirometry gadgets to gauge how your lung function is doing? It can help let you know when you're in trouble and need something more from the docts. Just a thought.
Feel better soon, Shannon. Not being able to exhale easily takes so much energy and is exhausting. Even tho' the Colistin sucks, I hope you can finish out the course and feel better after your month on. <3
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