Tuesday, December 4, 2007

So much for breathing

As I posted earlier, I've been having trouble with shortness of breath, and my chest being a tad tight. I was managing, though. Then this weekend I baked some cookies and noticed that I was really struggling to breathe. Felt like I had a weight on my chest and nothing I did could give me enough air. I don't know if it was the warm, moist air or what, yet something set it off. I probably should've gone to the urgent care or ER then, yet I kept hoping it would go away on it's own. That night I had some difficulty sleeping and by Sun. it hadn't let up. I was still dizzy and having the pins and needles in my head issues as well. Luckily the urgent care is right down the road and open on Sundays. I told Ryan I was going to go down there to be looked at just to be safe and headed off. When I arrived and told them what I was there to be seen for, they sent a nurse out right away to take my pulse ox. Despite my breathing being so shallow, my pulse ox was at 100%--yay! After a short wait they took me back, did the exam, and the doctor said I "looked infected" after he checked my nose and throat. He didn't go into it anymore than that, nor did he prescribe me anything, so not sure what all is going on there. They gave me a breathing treatment (Albuterol in a nebulizer), which is something I've never had before. I did, however, remember how Albuterol gives you the jitters. I used an inhaler for the exercise induced asthma when I was a kid up until HS. I stopped because I hated the way it made me feel. Very much like a hypoglycemic attack...and those suck. The side effects from this breathing treatment hit me pretty hard. It lasted well over an hour or two--which could be due to my liver not processing things as quick as it should. The doc gave me a prescription for the inhaler which I have yet to fill. I'm researching to try and find one with less side effects. I don't think my body handles steroids so well. My heart was racing and I had symptoms of high blood pressure again. Thankfully it worked! Although my chest is still tight and the shortness of breath is still there, I don't feel as if I'm fighting for air. In the end it was worth all of the crappy side effects. Now if I can just get the pulmonologist to bump me up already...

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