Hack Cough Wheeze
Well, we went back to the doctor yesterday, since we did not want to go through the weekend with no improvement in sight. The strep is better, with no sore throat any more, but the horrible congestion in the bronchial tubes that causes spasms of severe unproductive coughing has not budged at all. So, my doctor changed my meds AGAIN. Now I’m on Leviquin, a very high powered antibiotic and Tussionex, a cough syrup with some antihistamine in it. He said I would be very sleepy, but I haven’t been. I did sleep through until about 3AM before a coughing fit woke me up, so that’s some improvement.
I can tell that my legs are wobbly today, which shouldn’t be a surprise, considering how much meds I’ve had and how little moving around I’ve been doing. I’ve spent much of the last few days researching pre-diabetes and diabetes. I’ve gotten fairly adept at the finger sticks, so I’m not wasting as many test strips as I did at first, and I have a pretty clear idea of how my normal diet effects my glucose level. There’s no need to waste the strips, and I can’t see that any purpose is served by continuing to test before and after every meal, so for now I’ve put the test kit aside.
I thought I had lost a pound, but now it appears to be showing up again. That means I need to cut back on my portion sizes a bit more. I’m still counting carbs, and until I’m told otherwise, holding it to somewhere in the 150 – 175 grams a day range, with meals around 40g each. I’m trying to hold snacks to 15g of carbs from fruit. And I have not touched anything sweet since the tentative diagnosis of diabetes was first given to us. I say tentative, because the numbers were at borderline level, and I won’t see the doctor about the diagnosis for a couple of more weeks yet.
I know that diabetics can have sweets in moderation, but I know me, too. It’s much easier for me to stay away from them completely than to use moderation! I can’t imagine me being able to quit after just a piece of chocolate!!! Ain’t gonna happen!!!! Besides, we have strawberries and cantaloupe in the fridge, and they are plenty sweet enough.
I’m encouraged to see that the myoclonus has not acted up while I’ve been battling this infection.
The one negative note is that my doctor told me I probably should not take penicillin again, since I had a localized reaction to the shot for the first time in my life. It’s still hot, red, and swollen after almost a week. I’m sorry to have to add Penicillin to my allergy list, as I know how useful an antibiotic it is for a wide variety of ailments. But, there are plenty of other antibiotics available these days, and they will do just fine.
As usual, I have some good things to say, and some not so good. But I work to stay in a positive frame of mind, knowing that worrying about any of this is not going to help one bit, and can even be hurtful. Instead I choose to learn all I can and stay in a positive frame of mind.
Thanks for the advice, Joe. I’ve really not been “told” to check my blood sugar at all. The nurse “asked” me if I was when I called the other day to tell her I wasn’t seeing any improvement, so we went and bought the testing supplies. Basically I’ve been playing around with it. I figured my levels would be different when I get over this infection, and would start in earnest then.
Good luck with your blood sugar levels. I don’t know how long you have been testing your sugar levels before meals, but my advice is to stick with it for at least a month – as an RN I have taken care of many people with Diabetes. The main purpose is to get a good data base going for yourself. Many people will have some unpredictable anomalies with their sugar levels that will go undetected if you only test “hit and miss.” These anomalies may not necessarily have any effect on your medications or routines, but it will help you and your caregivers to be more aware, and to have a back-up plan ready just in case…
I have noticed another phenomenon in all my years of nursing – for whatever reason, people who have their “plan-b” in place almost never need to use it, and those without one usually regret not having one.
Again, good luck
Another thing to be aware of – infections, antibiotics, and steroids such as prednisone, will also change your blood sugar levels (usually raising them, but sometimes making them drop drastically)
You’ve probably already found that out with your research, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t bring it up just in-case.