A Visit To The Doctor

In February of this year I shared my story about my ongoing problem with breathing.

I was sick again on September 6^th with yet another bout of chronic bronchitis.  I eventually got better.  My follow-up visit with the doctor was a little strange in that my lung specialist spent about 20 minutes reading something on the computer in the examination room.

I sat there quietly watching him scroll through page after page, exit that screen and enter another.  I didn’t dare speak.  I didn’t want to break his concentration.  Honestly, it was nerve-racking.

Finally, he turned to me and asked how long I had been taking Lisinopril.  I answered that I had been prescribed that medication shortly after being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, so somewhere around 2006 or early 2007.  He said that 1 in 20 patients who take Lisinopril for long periods of time develop the kind of cough I had. 

He said he wanted to change my blood pressure medicine to Diovan®.  His hope was to eliminate the all-too-frequent coughing that I was experiencing. His instruction to me was to discontinue taking the Lisinopril because using both would lower my blood pressure too much.

I had my follow-up visit with him today.  He asked how I was feeling.  I cheerily answered that I didn’t know if it was psychosomatic or physiological, but I had almost stopped the coughing entirely.

That answer brought me to a place I never expected to go.

Acknowledging that the cough was better, he said that the fact remained that I still had restrictive lung disease which was causing my air hunger.

He said he wanted to have me take thyroid tests—T3 and TSH—to determine whether I have inadequate thyroid function.  A poorly functioning thyroid affects the way the body uses energy.  I have a high-stress job and thyroid problems ain’t good.

So we talked a little bit about how a poorly functioning thyroid can affect other organs in the body.  Then he said he wanted to learn more about why I was still suffering from a shortness of breath.

He said he wanted me to also undergo a complete pulmonary function test with and without a bronchodilator.  He thought maybe my heart could be the source of the problem.

It was then that I decided to tell him that my grandmother had heart disease, my mother had a heart murmur and died as a result of multiple sclerosis and that my dad died from an ischemic heart attack.

His eyes got as big as saucers and also scheduled me for an EKG and a dypsnea stress test.

So, on November 12^th and November 14^th, just days from now, your humble scribe will be testing her little guts out.

This doctor really cares about me.  I’m glad I found him and I’m hopeful that he can unlock the key to the mystery of why I’m breathless.

That’s my story for today and I’m sticking to it.

I hope you guys are all doing well.  I’m 22 days away from a long-deserved vacation.

Thanks for stopping by.  Take care out there.

Like Waking Up From A Long, Dark Dream To A Sun-Filled Day

Image credit: BabyPictures.org

I recently shared a moment with my readers in which I recounted the trouble I’d been having breathing.

After visiting a lung specialist at the behest of two urgent care doctors I had seen in December, I underwent a battery of breathing tests and x-rays.  The lung specialist informed me that the breathing tests revealed that my lung capacity was a meager 54%.  The x-rays he ordered were inconclusive so he ordered a high resolution CT scan of my lungs.

 

The CT scan was done on February 4th and I have waited and waited and waited for this day to find out the results.

Meanwhile, Adrienne of Adrienne’s Corner, read the post about my health scare and called for prayers.  As the word spread, good friend and blogger Bob Belvedere of The Camp of the Saints did the same.

This site was visited by so many wonderful folks who wished me well and promised prayers for a good outcome that I was overwhelmed.

So here’s what happened yesterday.  My appointment was at 11:15AM.  All the doctors were running late.  I was finally called into the examination room at 11:55AM.  At 12:29 PM my doctor entered the room.

I sat there frozen—too scared to ask THE question.

I know my eyes were as big as saucers when he said, “Well, it’s not bad, but it’s not 100% either.”  The CT scan is showing me that you do not have interstitial lung disease.  What it does show is that you have chronic bronchitis and possibly occupational asthma.”

He said that my shortness of breath on exertion, cough, fatigue, and chest congestion were most likely from chronic bronchitis.

Here, I will admit that I thought bronchitis was no big deal, but now I know differently.  Chronic bronchitis is a long-term, often irreversible respiratory illness.  To be categorized as having chronic bronchitis you must have a daily mucus-producing cough (check) that persists for at least three months a year (check), at least two years in a row (check).  This is not to be confused with acute bronchitis which is a mild inflammation of the air passages of the lungs that clears up in a few days.

So, what the doctor thought initially, that I had restrictive lung disease turned out to be wrong based on the CT scan.  But, I’m not out of the woods either.  Turns out I do have COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) that can lead to gradual deterioration of the lungs.  It’s the fourth-leading cause of death in this country.

My doctor prescribed an inhaler called Dulera®.  It’s specifically for asthma.  He wants to see me again in 30 days to see if this medication helps.

I want to thank all the folks who stopped by here to leave their thoughts and prayers.  If ever there is a time that you feel prayers don’t work.  Kick yourself in the pants.  It does.  Perfect strangers were stopping by telling me they were joining the prayer brigade.

I guess the best way to say how much you guys mean to me is to quote Anne Frank, “Crying can bring relief, as long as you don’t cry alone.”

God bless you all.  Thank you.