How are you doing?

catch us up when you get a chance!

peach

To Peachie and gang:

I decided band surgery was not exciting enough, and that I needed more attention. My solution? Bronchitis!

Monday, I was at my dr's office, full of icky bronchitis symptoms. Her first question to me: Do you have a surgery date scheduled yet?

I picked up my tee-shirt and showed her my belly, LOL!

I left with prescriptions for Doxycycline and Albuterol inhaler. Ugh.

Gotta say this, bronchitis is a real appetite killer! It's also MURDER on a surgical belly, even a laparoscopy one!

That evening, because I've got stress incontinence as one of my "co-morbidities," I developed full-blown urinary tract infection symptoms, too. Aren't I the fun one? A quick check of the internet let me know doxycycline is for UTIs too, so I just scrounged up some pyridium in my personal poison parade and whined until the pain went away. (for those of you who have had frequent UTIs, you know what I mean!)

I've killed a gallon of cranberry juice this week.

While in the poison parade, I found three bottles of phenergan with codeine cough syrup, so I started tossing that down the hatch.

By Wednesday night, the codeine isn't TOUCHING the cough, and I'm spiking a fever. The cough feels like it starts around my kneecaps and then roars like a freight train up through my chest and out my mouth. My ribcage feels like it's been used for soccer practice.

But the surgery lines look GREAT! No redness, no heat, no swelling! No stitches, they were glued shut and covered with Steri-strips. Most of the Steri-strips have fallen off, and the little bit of bruising I had is now yellowish.

Still hurts like **** when I cough.

Back to the doctor...

She walks into the exam room, looks at me, and says, "Didn't I JUST see you?"

"Uh...yeah..."

So, I've got a different antibiotic, and an off-work slip for another week.

Here's the good news: The new antibiotic seems to be working (thank YOU GOD!) and according to my bathroom scale, I've lost 5-1/2 pounds!

Conclusion: coughing is an aerobic exercise.



~VOW
Banded 1-31-04 by Dr Kuri
284/258 at banding/whatever God wants me to weigh

note to VOW: I DON'T LIKE THE WAY THIS SOUNDS... call your surgeon. you are NOT supposed to get serious bronchitis right after surgery. please PLEASE have a chest x ray. call the surgeon.

ok. if i'm way off base i will write a HUGE public apology.. but something is up...

Jiffy, dear:

My family doctor KNOWS I had surgery, complete with general anesthetic. I do trust her judgment and treatment of my bronchial tubes.

My SURGERY sites are fine.

Over the past two months, the entire family has been down with various and sundry respiratory infections (remember the three bottles of cough syrup I found?) and I'm sure that it was just my turn.

Thanks for your concern, Hon. I do appreciate the way we all look after each other here.



~VOW

vow... i'm glad - and grateful - that you have such great care. it's just that it sounds sort of like what debk had the week after her surgery and it landed her in the hospital - ICU on a ventilator for 10 weeks -for more than 3 months.

don't want a repeat of this episode!!!!! so please PLEASE be extra careful...

Jiffy-Love:

Can you give me a link to Debk's thread of her post-surgery unfortunate-ness, so I can compare my symptoms to hers?

The icky-green crap I'm coughing up is lessening greatly, so I believe I'm on the right track here, but I do promise to be extra-careful, just for you, okay?

As a side note, my incisions are healing beautifully!!




~VOW

sorry if i'm making you crazy.. i don't think deb actually posted her symptoms,but she'll be along soon enough. if i remember, she had pain and trouble breathing, so i'm actually glad <?> that you're coughing up green gunk and it's getting easier.

we DO worry around here!!!!

drink your liquids!!!!

Good news, everyone...

I finally feel like I might live, after all, LOL. That wonderful moment when you sense the antibiotic finally turning the tide and beginning to win the war against the bad guys has arrived. I'm not supposed to take anti-inflammatories, but I fudged a bit and had hubster buy me a bottle of Kiddie Motrin liquid and downed a slug of that. The fever feels like it's gone away, and my ribs don't hurt as bad.

By golly, I might even go OUTSIDE tomorrow!!!




~VOW
Banded 1-31-04 by Dr Kuri
284/258 at banding/whatever God wants me to weigh

oh vow.. i'm so glad to hear this... and here's a secret: the liquid motrin isn't a bad choice for something like this [i've used the chewables, too]. a couple of doses won't hurt you. the docs are more afraid of you taking NSAIDs daily for things like arthritis.. the chronic conditions we all have.

rest up!!!!! and have fun!

Oh VOW!

I am making you some chicken broth. Take care of yourself!

peach