(no subject)
Today, we took a little road trip to Sioux Falls so I could see a pulmonologist. It actually went pretty well. They did a pulmonary function test which made my chest hurt a lot and make my cough a little worse for a bit, but the doctor was pretty awesome. He was good at asking a lot of questions and explaining everything. The diagnosis so far is what they call a post infection cough, which is really common in people with allergies/breathing problems after they've had any kind if respiratory infection and can last up to 3 months, especially in people with asthma.
So we're trying a steroid inhaler (Pulmicort) to try and get of the insane coughing and breathing problems and I'm going back in two weeks for a follow up. I'm also home on rest until after my appointment on the 21st, so that's two more weeks off work. Yay?
The other awesome thing about today is that my pulmonologist is also a sleep specialist, so I was able to talk to him about my sleep disorders. My primary care doctor doesn't like prescribing anything that can be abused (ie sleeping pills, stimulants, etc), so every time I try to talk to her about my problems sleeping/staying alert at appropriate times, she recommends melatonin or Benadryl at night. Which haven't really worked for me. But today I was able to talk to a specialist about my insomnia and daytime sleepiness. I explained that I stopped taking Nuvagil when the original prescription ran out and that I hadn't been able to find a doctor who would prescribe Ambien since my sleep study back in 2008/09. He gave me a refill for Ambien AND a low dose script for Provogil to try out. So hopefully those will work out well for me. But it was nice to meet with a doctor who is so helpful and informative and who is giving me some hope of feeling better.
And he had me give some blood for a thyroid test to make sure my thyroid isn't screwing up my sleep patterns, because apparently that is a common contributor to sleep disorders.
I know from experience that steroid inhalers take 1-2 weeks to really help, but I'm hopeful that I'll finally be on the road to getting over this cough (which is so bad, you don't even know).
And I have a job interview Thursday. Lol. How awkward will it be if I have a new job by the time I'm cleared to go back to work?
This entry was originally posted at http://lenabee.dreamwidth.org/1661321.html. You may comment here or there.
So we're trying a steroid inhaler (Pulmicort) to try and get of the insane coughing and breathing problems and I'm going back in two weeks for a follow up. I'm also home on rest until after my appointment on the 21st, so that's two more weeks off work. Yay?
The other awesome thing about today is that my pulmonologist is also a sleep specialist, so I was able to talk to him about my sleep disorders. My primary care doctor doesn't like prescribing anything that can be abused (ie sleeping pills, stimulants, etc), so every time I try to talk to her about my problems sleeping/staying alert at appropriate times, she recommends melatonin or Benadryl at night. Which haven't really worked for me. But today I was able to talk to a specialist about my insomnia and daytime sleepiness. I explained that I stopped taking Nuvagil when the original prescription ran out and that I hadn't been able to find a doctor who would prescribe Ambien since my sleep study back in 2008/09. He gave me a refill for Ambien AND a low dose script for Provogil to try out. So hopefully those will work out well for me. But it was nice to meet with a doctor who is so helpful and informative and who is giving me some hope of feeling better.
And he had me give some blood for a thyroid test to make sure my thyroid isn't screwing up my sleep patterns, because apparently that is a common contributor to sleep disorders.
I know from experience that steroid inhalers take 1-2 weeks to really help, but I'm hopeful that I'll finally be on the road to getting over this cough (which is so bad, you don't even know).
And I have a job interview Thursday. Lol. How awkward will it be if I have a new job by the time I'm cleared to go back to work?
This entry was originally posted at http://lenabee.dreamwidth.org/1661321.html. You may comment here or there.