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aditional complication!!

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went back to gp this pm as it seems the cough is neverending and the cough is main symptom of an attack and so cough -> tite -> wheeze grrr!!! so gp said that during recent admission in costa with bad penumonia it seems also had small area of collapsed lung, which was mentioned but not treated except for physio and antibiotics for the pneunonia.... no wonder been so unwell since, breathless, pain and therefore LACK OF SLEEP!!!!! ....

so expect the coughing to last till lung inflates back to normal AFTER infections finally clear, hmmmmm....

on a good note, he says the more i do, more coughing i do, so encouraging me go back to work = signed me off go back to work next week :)

nasty or jokingly, i dunno but i agree though, he said it be a record if we keep you out of costa for 3 months!

x x x

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Annista profile image
Annista

Snowygirl, you are really going through it, aren't you? If you're coughing as much as I am you're not going to be too popular when you get back to work - you'll keep them all awake! lol.

My nice new doctor looked at my FP/symptoms diary and has suggested that I ask my boss to get an air purifier because I cough so much at work and so little at home that there is likely to be some sort of allergen involved. No time to do this before the end of the tax year because boss too busy being out of the office talking to people about their ISAs, but on 5th April I'm going to pin him down and tell him that he's going to buy me a present! Fingers crossed!

Let us know how you do when you get back to work - it's usually really hard for the first few days because you're still tired and not breathing too well, so I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

Good luck with it.

xx

thanks annista.

how much can one person go through in 6 short weeks, hey?! :( hopefully not much more hey?!

i know i be keeping all the children awake, even the sedated ones!! even sedation wont be enough to keep me asleep, sleep would be enough of a present for me.... dust is a big trigger for me, defo an allergy as a 2nd skin test confirmed yesterday.... like i didnt already know!

flatmate forever hoovering, only wish i could :( aaacchh--oooo!! luckily no chance of dust etc at work, actually nothing at work i can think of that triggers me since i changed jobs and they use diff products...

at night, i try half full bowl of water on top of radiator/ heater in my room to humidify the air. not sure it does much tho, not convinced! hope the new air vent works for you ;) let me know...

roll on the new tax year though - with new tax code, get extra 30/month woohoo! lol.

x x x

Ah...hang in there! I actually have a pleural effusion (fluid in my lung space), and I think it's better this time around, but last month it was collapsing my lung too. It was the strangest sensation. I knew it wasn't just my ""normal"" asthma. Right now they gave me furosemide to get rid of the fluid, and have been trying to walk around some as I can, as I think my blood circulating would help my body heal faster too. Not fun. Here's hoping they're kind to you when you go back to work...it does take a while.

Bee

thanks bee

i work in intensive care so i really gotta be 100% before i go back.

they mentioned the collapse when i was in costa but only TX with physio and oxygen. likewise i knew it wasnt just asthma and the additional pneumonia and h. influenzae infection as i was in so much pain and so short of breath when walking around :( even moving in bed was agony. now the infection is clearing the pain isnt so bad, obviously not so short of breath and gp says once infection totally cleared, the coughing will help to clear out alveoli completely and inflate lungs again properly...

then i end up in costa earlier (9th time in 6 weeks) as got too close of table when cleaning it, leading to coughing fit then another attack :S orite now back at home, hoping to sleep with the codine linctus they give me and of course another increased pred for next 5 days.... before back to usual long term pred dosage :(

hoping back to work from tuesday, for occ health to say i am 'fit' but for how long? . . . .

x x x

Annista profile image
Annista

Snowygirl, you must be so fed up with the whole asthma thing now. It seems that every time you start to see a small improvement it's follwowed by another setback. Hope you're feeling better this morning and maybe well enough to get outside and enjoy some sunshine.

Take care

xx

thanks annista.

one step forward, two steps back... but hopefully, its now 2 steps forward and whole lot more.... supposd to be back in work next week!!

managed a whole 2.5hrs of 'snoozing' this MORNING between 715 and 945 literally awake all night, so am gonna try have a little nap now :( coughing seems to be slightly less frquent, though more fierce.... grrr!!

been outside this morning to send birthday cards to my grandad - he is 70 on monday, but i am not well nough to spend it with him at home, the first one since nan died 4 weeks ago :(

anyways, how are u doing? what u got planned for weekend? mothers day next weekend?! had a card and had a mother poem framed for her which obviously i have sent to wales for mym mom also as i cant go home yet :( soooo annoying, fed up, p***ed off, angry, down, noiw its really getting me now...

x x x

Annista profile image
Annista

Snowygirl, I hope you're feeling better this morning and have tunnelled your way out of Costa.

I'm not one to boast but I had a whole day without sypmtoms yesterday, the first for 6 months, and although I slept quite badly I still feel pretty good about it. As always on a Saturday, I went to see my mum in the home and she was in a real strop. She hasn't got a marble left in her head and can't communicate very well, and I very often find myself in tears as I drive home because the lights might be on but there's definitely nobody home. But yesterday she was so involved in being cross with me that I had to smile just to see her feeling something so strongly - even when she tried to hit me with her slipper! It makes me think that even when the asthma is making my life hell I'm still me and while I'm ranting, whingeing and complaining I know who I am and what I'm doing. I am very, very thankful for that.

Anyway, enough of that, do you think you'll be able to go to work on Tuesday? Without making yourself ill again, that is. You must be going nuts at being off work for so long. Fingers crossed for you.

xx

sorry bout ur mam annista, that must be hard for u on top of everything else. does she recognise u. slipper??

fantastic news though bout u being symptom free for the WHOLE DAY!! woo hoo!! :D

managed a whole 6 hrs sleep at costa last nite, home again now, resting in front of tv, not sure bout the work thing :S certainly not 100% so prob not. which means 7 weeks off ...

grrr!! but then if i aint 100% how can i work in a busy icu doing 13hr shift ??

x x x

Annista profile image
Annista

I'm impressed by your 6 hour sleep. It just makes all the difference to feel rested doesn't it? I always think it's a step forward when I go back to work. It not only gives my brain a workout but also gets me out of the flat and with other people again. Hope it happens for you soon.

Yes, mum knows me - not necessarily who I am, but definitely that I'm her family. And yes, it is hard sometimes, but you kind of get used to it. It's 7 years since she went into the home, and 10 since she started to lose it and it's the early days that are really hard, when something new and horrible happens almost daily.

Anyway, enough of that. Let me wish you a good night's sleep tonight - if all else fails watch a re-run of today's Grand Prix - it works for me if I'm even slightly sleepy!

xx

grand prix will certainly help with more sleep lol thats awful boring!!!! haha.

not sure if the sleep last nite was just exhausted sleep rather tan proper sleep if u see what i mean, as not properly rested... as for tonite, hmmm... let's see.

yeah it be nice to be back at work, seeing everyone, back into a routine and 'feeling normal' again you know . . . :)

i am glad ur mam remembers u still :) xxx

Hya Snowy,

The good news is, the team of people at hosp were so professional & dedicated to improve your health found part of your problem was down to a small part of your lung had collapsed.

The bad news is, they didnt bother to do anything about it :(

I hope you get well soon,

Sad about your mum Annista, ive heard its like a long goodbye when that happens:(

Howie

yes howie, hence why am still suffering :S

hope get well soon too! thanks :)

i am long overdue some peace and a much needed holiday!!

x x x

Annista profile image
Annista

Thanks, Howie. Its a bit like a change of role, where you become the parent and your parent becomes the child, so you pretty much go through the grief process as if your parent has died and then establish a new relationship. It isn't all bad, there's often something to laugh at and the carers at the home are wonderful so I know she'll get a hug if she's feeling unhappy (and so will I!). They don't get the recognition or pay that they deserve!

annista,

that sounds hard but at the same time very rewarding to see new things and having new challenges... and also great to have such lovely staff at the home willing to give u a hug too when ur not well either :)

means a lot doesnt it

the closest to that is the 2 days my nan had awful confusion due to hypoxia cos of her COPD when in hospital few months back, yet that was only 2 days, not only was it cos of the hypoxia, they also worked out it was side effect of pred ??

x x

Annista profile image
Annista

There's lots of scary stuff that can happen as you get older, and all sorts of things can cause confusion, even something simple like a UTI. I suppose that there seems to be more dementia about because people are living longer and so have more chance to develop the condition.

I truly value the carers in the home as without them I'd be having to provide 24 hour care for mum myself, and I know for a fact that I wouldn't have the patience for it. They deserve a pay rise and a lot more recognition than they currently get.

with you been not well yourself, i am sure you wouldnt be well enough to care for ur mum 24hrs youself as well as care for u too? :( so the carers are truly a godsend for u :)

not even in the older person, confusion happens to us cos of hypoxia during an attack...

on one occasion i was in costa, a close friend was with me and i was quick sick, noone had noticed i was getting quite confused and drifting in/out conscious, due to the fact they haddened even put sats monitor on me - in resus!!

my friend is a doctor - first thing she did, she picked up that i was probably confused cos of hypoxia, was check sats herself, watcha know - sats 86% ... hmmmm... doesnt take that much of a drop... obviously she pulled crash button and put oxygen on me straight away

i was saying i felt sick, she handed me a sick bowl, then i asked her y she had given me that bowl as that bowl was used for taking blood samples and i didnt feel sick??

x

hi Snowygirl,

i was just reading your post im sorry to hear that you have been so poorly! doctors really do get on my nerves some times grrr . i have asthma along with bronchiectasis, sinus tachycardia, non- epileptic fits and im wheelchair bound due to cerebral palsy. (so there is always something wrong with me!!!). i hate when doctors tell you that there is nothing wrong with you - you wouldnt be there if there wasnt anything wromg!!!

at the minute im having trouble controlling my breathing as when i get to the end of sentence im gasping for breathe!! when i last had a lung function it was 45% and im struggling to keep it at that!

my doctor is saying there is nothing wrong and refusing to do anything!!!

not sure what to do as my bloody health is going down hill and pulling me down(mentally) with it!

hope you feeling better love x

Annista profile image
Annista

Snowygirl, that sounds really nasty. As you know, my asthma is nowhere near as severe as yours and I have never (knowingly lol) become confused due to hypoxia. On the other hand, maybe I'd better not ask my family because I might not like what they say!

Baileys, I'm fairly new on this site and I don't think I've met you before. Your situation sounds pretty traumatic and I very much hope that you can get someone to listen to you soon. You so often find that a professional (doctor, solicitor etc) reads a few notes prior to a consultation and makes up his/her mind on the strength of them, without taking the time to ask questions or assess the situation personally.

Keep trying.

xx

hi baileys

of course theres nothing wrong with you with lung function of 45% why ARE we there? similarly my last one was 50 predicted :S

its pathetic, awful that they dont listen. like anista says they just read few bits of paper and make their minds up...

it seems its just one thing after another at the mo hun...

hopefully things will improe

x x x x

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