Stockholm Syndrome

Everyone is sick with a capital S.

The toddler is taking her inhaler because she's barking like a seal at night. The boogie drainage is out of control.

Hubby is getting better at least, but still congested and napping a lot.

We've managed to infect a relative RN who is staying with us to help care for our elderly relative with lung cancer (she had a large portion of her lung removed this week along with a tumor). Can you say bad timing?

Everyone is sniffing, sneezing, talking like they smoke too much and popping Dayquil and Nyquil.

And I am over here thinking, how am I not sick? HOW?????

Usually if the hubby is sick, I am done for because he only gets sick with new super germs (i.e. he is NEVER sick so if he is sick, it's some serious viral death.) The last time he got sick, I kissed him and ended up puking my guts out which bought me a diagnosis of adrenal suppression.

Sometimes, I am the last to get sick. Sometimes I fight it for weeks before it finally overwhelms my immune system.

I hope that is not the case, but man, am I nervous. Even though I had to take more prednisone than planned, I did just finished completely weaning off the Pulmicort. I will be SO irritated if I have to go back on that shit, you have no idea how pissed I will be about that. Kicking puppies and screaming MotherF*cker pissed (I'll wait until the toddler is asleep/out of the house, don't worry. Actually, I would never kick a puppy, but I might slam some cupboard doors and swear extensively).

Why is it always two steps forward and three hundred miles backwards? Why?

Quickie

I should be in bed, but here I am. Too lazy to get up and actually find the bed.

The pulmicort refill should be sorted out now??? The doctor's office sent a new prescription to another dimension so it never arrived at the pharmacy. I think it's all sorted out now.

Finally.

Which is good, since I've been having a mild attack for the last several hours.

Is attack even the right work?

I can't stop coughing. The albuterol helps for a while and then it starts back up. Is that an attack? Poorly controlled asthma? A mild asthma exacerbation?

What?

I've had a mild cold so there's some gunk in there to irritate things. (Note: One thing you never want to hear from a houseguest upon arrival is "I think I have strep throat." Not a pleasant statement, although it turned out to not be strep and I've kept it at bay with all the vitamins I swear by--hey it works for me.)

Oh yeah, I had to take prednisone because of the cold. That was interesting. I hit the wall energy-wise and had to do it because I was rapidly becoming comatose. My body truly does not have the physical ability to handle stress.

It reminds me of breastfeeding. Yes, boobs. I remember when my milk came in, feeling this immense strain in my body as it figured everything out. My body was working overtime, it was something else. I, apparently, feel the same sensation of overall strain now when sick.

On the exercise front, I did a hard core hike in 95F heat with air so humid, I chewed it as I hiked. 1.5 miles, 150 stairs, ran up and down steep hill 4x, and finished with 40 push-ups. This means I am almost at pre-pregnancy fitness levels (and wearing pre-pregnancy jeans, although I am still fat.).

I now have a swim suit that is two sizes smaller than when I started. It looks good, but my arms and thighs are a hot mess. I have bad genetics in those areas on top of everything else. So, despite the squats and push-ups and stairs, I have some real problem areas.

I've got a month until our beach vacation and have sworn to do what I can between now and then. We'll see how it goes.

As for the knee, it's fine until it's not. I have no idea if I'm exercising my way out of the problem or into a more serious injury.

And that's what's what with me.

Under Attack

So the asthma has been a bad bad thing of late. I don't know why. I had an attack last night while walking the dogs and was up at 5am with another acute episode. I would like to Zumba tonight, but fear that will end in attack as well.

The good news is I don't have an underlying infection making the situation an emergency.

The bad news is I can't get the pulmonologist's office to give me a new Pulmicort prescription.

Oh, sure, they'll call in a refill because they know how to do that, but my insurance will reject it as it appears to them that I am trying to get medication a full month earlier than I should be.

People seem to be having difficulty with the concept of the dose/usage has changed and I need a NEW prescription reflecting this, NOT an effing refill.

I have left messages to this effect and nothing has happened.

Other than I have paid cash out-of-pocket for 20 more days of Pulmicort. (Cash that I SO do not have, it has been financial apocalypse over here all week long, we are so poor right now--temporarily so).

This one Pulmicort inhaler is not enough to get me to where I can refill my 90 day script (which the next 90 day refill would get me to the next pulmo appointment where, I hope, I can resolve this).

I would happily taper down, but see above re: two acute asthma episodes in less than 24 hours.

This is not the time to take less medication. Somehow I'm going to have to come up with 10 extra days of Pulmicort.

Any ideas? As far as I can tell, I have my shit together, but the doctor's office and insurance company are a hot mess and I don't know how to compensate for that. Shoot, I started this process when I still had 10 days of Pulmicort left, surely that would be enough time to get everything sorted out?

Ha ha ha ha ha. Joke's on me, my friends.

There's always the emergency room right? They live for this kind of shit. Not!