Monday, Monday

August 30, 2010 in Filed Under: Allergies 2 Comments

So far (fingers crossed) I am actually having a good allergy day!!  My breathing yesterday afternoon was bad, but so far no major problems today.  There goes my workplace theory, maybe?

AllergiesI feel like my recent allergy struggles have offered me just a little perspective of what all of my CFer friends go through on a daily basis.  I’ve dealt with extra doctor visits, blocked sinuses, a lot of new medications, restricted breathing, and being out of breath when I try to do something.  I’m not claiming to know what it would be like to have CF, but this is the first time I’ve experienced ongoing health issues.  My coughing is almost gone and sinuses have been clear the last couple of days.  But now Jesse has caught whatever bacteria I had, and it’s taking him a bit longer to recover.  He just smiled when I told him how awful it would be if I had to stay on both of my new prescriptions forever.

The next step in my allergy plan is to go for allergy testing on September 15th.  The worst part is that I can’t have any allergy medicines for a whole week before the testing.  While I understand the idea behind not wanting any antihistamines to interfere with the test results, I don’t think it is entirely necessary.  If my reactions are this bad with the medicines, I don’t want to imagine what a week will be like with NOTHING!

After the testing I will most likely begin allergy shots.  At a weekly visit to the doctor’s office, I will receive larger and larger doses of whatever I’m allergic to until I become immune.  This seems like a sucky solution, but it is really my only option at this point.  The allergy doctor said that each allergy medicine I take will eventually stop helping as my body gets used to having it, which is true for the last three medicines I was on.  So it will only be a matter of time before my current choices no longer help.

Flash Me Friday: Dishes

August 27, 2010 in Filed Under: Flash Me Friday 3 Comments

Yay… Flash Me Friday is back!  I’ve missed the flashing!

This week’s Flash Me Friday is your dishes.  You can join the Flash Me Friday fun too, check out The Groettum Family blog and join in.  Come on, you know you want to be nosy too!

Here is what our table looks like when we sit down to dinner. Our dishes have a lot of pattern on them, and we love all the color.Place setting

We picked these dishes out before we were married. We had been looking around for a while and were having a hard time agreeing on something we would both like. Then we found these on clearance. That store only had one box left, but they were able to call to another store so that we ended up with a setting for twelve. Good thing too because we still go through them quickly for there only being the two of us.Small plateBowl

Here’s where our dishes would be… if they weren’t all in the dishwasher right now. The dish sets also came with matching mugs which we hardly ever use, so they stay stashed on the top shelf.

Glasses cabinetDishes cabinet

Your turn to flash… what do your dishes look like?

Clinic Visit

August 21, 2010 in Filed Under: Cystic Fibrosis, Jesse 4 Comments

We had a full day of doctor visits yesterday.  Before my afternoon appointment, I went with Jesse to his CF clinic visit.  It’s not the first time I’ve gone to clinic, but they have changed the process a lot since I last went so I wanted to see what he does now.

Waiting roomJesse said the check in process is a lot smoother than it used to be.  They checked him in and we waited for stop number one.  The nurse came out shortly after that to take his weight.  He ran across the room to give me a very loud high five when she called out 132!  He has been working very hard at meeting the weight goal they gave him, and they were more than happy with his progress.  Next, we went through to the back where they check his temperature, oxygen levels, heart rate, and blood sugar.  All were good.

Jesse with BillThen it was time for his PFTs.  I was a little disappointed with the PFT machine.  I was picturing them putting him in the glass box with a bunch of tubes hooked up to it while they measured his breathing (that’s what I’ve seen on TV).  It was much simpler than that.  He held the device while he breathed out as much as he could.  He got three chances to see the best that he could do.  He told me he likes to watch the laptop screen while he does it to push himself to blow for longer.  It was fascinating!  We were slightly disappointed that his FEV1 only went up 1% since last time.  But the doctors said he was doing great to be steady and not decreasing.  And with all my coughing and hacking this week, we were just glad I didn’t get him sick.PFT

Jesse with RolfeAfter all that was done, it was time to get to his CF doctor. Jesse also happens to be doing a new website and forum for the New Lung Associates. So it was really pretty funny that both doctors wanted to talk about website stuff before they talked about health stuff.  When the business meeting was over, Dr. Rolfe did the normal listening to his breathing, checking his fingers, and other stuff. He has a few adjustments to his current meds, but all together he got a very good report.

Clinic ran a lot smoother than before. I’m sure we were there for about three and a half hours last time I went. This time, the whole thing took barely an hour. Plus it goes faster when the doctor doesn’t have to give him a hard time about all the things he should be doing that he wasn’t. The first time I went with him I was shocked to hear him answer no to so many meds and vitamins. I didn’t know he was skipping so much. He wasn’t too happy I was there to hear all that back then, but this time he had no worries. It’s amazing how much better he is doing!