If you read my last Blog, you know I have a nasty case of Bronchitis. On Friday I saw my Primary Care and he prescribed an inhaler, antibiotics, over the counter Mucinex and told me if I didn't feel improvement by today I was to call him.
Well, woke up this morning and did a check of how I was feeling and made the call. Not doing any better really. It is a real challenge for any IC patient, already struggling with their IC and often multiple chronic conditions to treat these other illnesses that pop up. Many of the treatments for things like bronchitis, viruses, the common cold and so forth are that many cause our IC to flare. I know many IC patients are always asking the question "what does anyone take when they have a cold?".
Well, I really give doctors fits because on top of my IC issues, I suffer from cardiac issues and epilepsy, both of which require I take medications to treat them. For example, due to my cardiac issues, I cannot take any medications that can cause a rapid heart beat. Well, the inhaler the doctor gave me did that, so I had to stop it. I can't take the cough suppressants he initially wanted to prescribe because they contain ingredients I am allergic to. He found one he thinks will help that won't make me sick, so we'll give that a try. Now he also said we need to move on to a steroid and a different inhaler that he thinks will be OK for my heart. So my sainted mother has to run around again today and get all my meds.
Even worse, I felt I needed to call my IC doctor's office and cancel my appointment for tomorrow. I was to have a 1 hour programming session for my InterStim and get my weekly instillation. There is no way, feeling as weak and exhausted as I do, that I can work on programming for an hour. I also don't want to expose others to my germs, so it's best I stay home. But now I don't get to have my instillation and I really could use it. All this coughing hurts as it is, but my bladder really doesn't like it. So an instillation, at least for me, is something I could really use right now. I'll have to deal with that now as well.
I know so many of us work hard to avoid getting sick because when you add that to having IC and all the other issues many of us deal with, it just makes things that much worse. My body already hurt all over and now after coughing and wheezing for a week, I am beyond exhausted. Not being easy to treat just makes these things so much more challenging.
But, my doctor is working with me, trying his best to help and we have to take it one step at a time. If I am not seeing improvement in about 3 days, I'm under orders to call him back and let him know. At that point, he said he'd want a chest X-ray. Let's hope this new plan helps. My bladder can't take it and I'm just wiped out.
Having IC and getting sick(er) is hard and I would really appreciate it if these nasty germs would set up housekeeping somewhere else!!!
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