Yes, I am coughing a lot again.  I’ve been coughing for quite some time, it got better, but it has gotten worse again.  So much so I had a hard time swallowing because my throat has been so raw.

It started getting worse on Friday, I saw the doctor yesterday.  She says my Asthma is not uncontrolled.  So I’m on a different inhaler for a while, she said I’d probably start to feel better in about 4 days, I know I slept better last night. Thank goodness.

This issue has been causing a lot of symptoms that we thought were from my other illnesses.  I have not been getting enough oxygen, they tested it yesterday and it was at 95%, not bad, but not great…..and I wasn’t having an attack, so my oxygen levels will drop a lot during those times.  I was also given another test…and frankly I’m not sure what it was called, I had a hard time hearing the doctor, her frequency just wasn’t hitting right.  Anyways, the test showed how much air you can expel when you blow out as hard as you can.  It was supposed to read 380, the highest I could get it was 300, I had to blow 3 times, and I almost passed out.

So what does this mean?  Not getting enough oxygen, and not having my lungs working properly can be causing a lot of my dizziness lately.  Especially when I go from sitting to standing.   I was getting worried because I can’t walk from one room to the other without getting winded and the room starts to move.  I thought the getting winded was because I can’t really do cardio, it hurts my head too much….it raises my CSF pressure.  But now I found out that I’m getting winded so easily because I’m not getting enough oxygen. I also found out this is probably why I’m so exhausted and lethargic all the time.  I sleep so much, and have no energy to do much of anything except maybe watch TV, and sometimes read.  But reading takes comprehension and recall, things I simply haven’t had lately.

Having your oxygen levels just a little bit lower than it should be can really cause havoc.   I knew my mother was going through a lot when she had lung cancer, and her oxygen levels were low, but I feel so much more for what she had to put up with.  I remember the insurance company not wanting to pay for my mother to have oxygen at home…I don’t remember what level they said she had to have but her’s wasn’t low enough.  I can’t imagine losing any more breath than I have and being told I can’t get help.  Luckily her doctor called the insurance company and wanted to know how they could say what her patient needed when they aren’t doctors and haven’t examined her.  She demanded that my mother get oxygen, and she did.   I was impressed with her doctor for that…for some other things, well she took good care of my mother, but she did not handle things well.    But that’s for another rant sometime.

So my dear friends, I haven’t meant to stay away so long, or so often.  I simply haven’t had the energy.  For example, today I woke around 11am, I went back to sleep about 1pm, I woke coughing and sick to my stomach about 3:30pm….it’s now 5pm.  It’s the end of the day for most people, and I’ve only been awake for a total of 3 1/2 hours.  I will probably stay awake for a few more hours, but I’ll be asleep by 11pm at the latest.  You can do the math to see how many waking hours I will have today, it’s too hard for me to think that much.

Update on other things. My darling hubby hasn’t found a job, but he has a phone interview tomorrow, and he had a long talk with a recruiter today (they really think he’d be “perfect” for that job, but we’d have to move to Nashville….if he thinks he’ll be happy, I’ll live anywhere.   The big worry he has is leaving me alone all day.  He’s worked at home for years now, even before I got sick.  I think it will be good for him to get out and go to an office…..I’ll be fine, or I’ll hire someone to come stay with me. Another big worry about Nashville…my doctor’s aren’t there.   I’d have to try to find a Neurologist that’s a headache pain specialist because I have to get the Botox shots every 3 months, and I can’t see Stuart taking a day off every 3 months to bring me to Durham.  I’d keep my ear doc, after having the second CI implant…..(I still don’t know when, I’ve had to cancel many appointments with him..dang-it.)…I won’t have to see him very often unless something goes wrong.  And it just won’t…enough of that!

I mentioned the Botox shots, I got my happy little Botox bee stings on the 7th, and I’m a happy camper!  Oh my goodness those things sure do make a difference.  I’ve gone from having pretty much, NO, pain free days, to mostly pain free or very low pain days.   I’m not afraid I’m going to run out of medication, so I take it earlier and abort the migraine before it takes hold and ruins my life. My doctor also prescribed an NSAID shot that Stuart can give me if I have a really bad headache or have one that last more days.  That makes me feel good to know that it’s available.  She also prescribed a muscle relaxer….after I asked about it….I feel that my migraines last longer because I tighten up so much during it and just can loosen up even after I’ve taken my migraine meds.  She said they do often use that as a cocktail to help.  And it has helped!   I can’t take pain medication any longer…..unless I want to itch for at least a day.  For some reason, I’ve become very sensitive to pain medication.  We’ve pretty much tried them all, but since they are mostly all opioids I’m having a lot of the same problems with all of them.   And I can’t take NSAIDs by mouth, my tummy does not like them!  So that put a big dent in how I could fight my migraines.  Now I feel we are on the right track.  I hope the Botox last a good while….I don’t want to be bombarded with migraines before it’s time to visit the Botox Bees.

There we have it, an update on my little family……oh Max is doing fine, right now he’s trying to push my laptop off my lap.  He loves me so much more when I’m doing something.