Blah, blah, blah

I haven't felt like posting lately, mostly because it seems like it would all be about the same thing -- how tired I am of being tired. While at least the hormonal roller coaster has smoothed out (though with monthly grumpiness), I still keep getting sinus infections. Little Bit has brought home two run-of-the-mill colds over the last month or so. I catch them, and they immediately turn into infections for me.

My regular sinus doc, Sinus Doc 1, wanted to refer me to a "specialist" specialist -- a sinus doc who sees all the unusual cases. The original "specialist", Sinus Doc 2, was out of the country until August. OK, I went and saw Sinus Doc 3, the head of the department and the doc who taught Sinus Doc 2. What a big fat waste of time that was. I had to drive down to the medical center (about an hour drive in traffic), then first talk to his nurse in detail about my history, then in detail to two of his residents, then finally he came in. His residents, and then he, kept asking me, "what's the worst symptom?" How about getting sinus infections all the effing time?!?j

"No, that's a diagnosis. What's the worst symptom?"

OK. Fine. PTHththththt!!

He looked into my sinuses with the scope (not even using the numbing spray, which I should have spoken up about). Owwww. He said that since I didn't have an infection at that moment, he couldn't tell anything, what was causing the infections to keep coming back. So, I'm supposed to go back when I have a sinus infection. We scheduled me for ~5 weeks after that appointment. I had a sinus infection last week, but could I move my appointment up? No, of course not. The next opening was only one week sooner than my original appointment. So, rather than suffer from the symptoms and mind-numbing exhaustion for another 2.5 weeks, I self-treated (as my regular sinus doc said I could) with my nebulized antibiotics.

Now, I actually get to hope I somehow manage to get another sinus infection at just the right time, not too many days before my appointment. Oh, joy.

I just feel like it never ends. The infections keep popping up. I can't get my head above water.

Ach-chooo!!

I finally got an allergy test done to see exactly what causes my almost year-round stuffy nose and sinus issues. Yep, I'm allergic to everything...OK, not really. However, out of 38 allergens tested, I'm allergic to 23 of them to varying degrees.

There's nothing quite as fun as getting stuck with 40 + small needles filled with various diluted allergens. You want to inject me with "Cockroach Mix"? Awesome. Oh, and two different kinds of dust mite allergens? Sign me up. My upper arm still has a cross-hatch pattern of red dots from the testing. It looks like I had a run-in with Pinhead.

Also? I now know more than I ever wanted to know about dust mites. And where they live. And how much of their "waste" adds to the weight of your pillows and mattress over the years. Just don't google it. Trust me. I wish I didn't know.

So, my list of allergies includes the ever popular dust mite and molds and several grass and tree pollens, as well as cat and dog. Not mice though. Or horse. So, you know, if I wanted a pet mouse, that would be ok. I'm allergic to Virginia Oak tree pollen, but not Eastern Sycamore. It seems very random to me. Why am I allergic to this tree or grass, but not that one?

Now, Allergen-Free Bedroom! is on. (Or as allergen-free as we can get it.) I need to get full mattress and pillow encasings to block the dust mite allergens. An air filtering unit for the bedroom would be wise. Just those things will probably cost about $200 to $300. We need to minimize dust collectors sitting around the bedroom, and dust, vacuum, and launder weekly*. Next, I will start allergy treatments, which are going to cost about $100 a month! If it improves my sinus situation though, it would be worth it. I hope.

*I almost forgot to add -- I now have a doctor's excuse for not cleaning. Heh heh heh. The literature says that an "allergy sufferer should avoid being home when cleaning is done, or wear a face mask". Sorry, DH, I have to go have a manicure while you clean. Heh heh heh.

PfM's Anatomy

And now for the medical update from Chez PfM...Little Bit has finally gotten some relief from his awful diaper rash. My HR got our insurance to pay for an early refill on the prescription diaper rash cream. Our homemade remedy was keeping the rash from getting much worse, but it wasn't going away. With the cream and with the diarrhea finally going away, he can sit on his bottom again! Poor little guy -- he had been standing all the time. He told us that his bottom is happy now!

As for me, I got something for Christmas that I really did not want. A sinus infection. Another sinus infection. Arrrrggggghhhhh!!! My parents wanted to know why the sinus surgery hadn't worked and had I complained to the doc? I told them that all the forms you sign for surgery say clearly that the surgery does not guarantee the sinus infection won't come back again. The doc never promised that.

I saw the sinus doc last week. He just shook his head and said that it was the worst of the worst day -- his worst ear case was there, too, for an appointment, and I was his worst sinus case. Great. I'd rather be singled out for something a little more positive, thanks. He suggested that I need to go back on the nebulized antibiotics, maybe indefinitely, but at least for a few months. I had guessed as much, since the slightest thing seems to cause my sinuses to get infected (I had some sniffles a few weeks ago).

I was so tired of using the nebulizer, but at least I got a little break. If it keeps me from having sinus migraines everyday and from having no energy due to the infections, then it's worth it, I suppose.

*****

Oh, yeah, I discovered that our Cable on Demand has several of Little Bit's favorite Noggin and Nickelodeon shows for viewing anytime. Plus, you can watch some episodes online. Woo-hoo! I don't have to gouge out my eyes from seeing the same few episodes over and over again on our broken/non-recording DVR. If, in a few days, I haven't yet watched the few things recorded on our broken DVR that I really, really want to see, I need to just exchange the darn thing anyway.

So tired

i'm doing well -- hardly any pain recovering from the sinus surgery. I felt a little guilty about taking sick days (just a little - there's something to be said for freedom to watch whatever I want on tv and being fully excused from many things...no lifting toddlers, no bending over, etc), but then yesterday I actually got dressed. I needed a nap after I finished dressing. Yeah. Me tired.

What kind of service would *you* expect for that kind of money?

I had the pre-surgery appointment with my sinus doctor yesterday. In just 3 days I will be woozy from the lingering effects of anesthesia and will have various bloody fluids coming outta my nose. As I remember from my last sinus surgery, the sling that goes over your ears and around your nose to hold the gauze in place is pretty comical. Oh, yeah, and I'll have a partially numb face. Good times.

The doc used an endoscope to look into my infected sinus yesterday. He said it's looking better, but, well, I won't give you the details about the pus he mentioned. Because that's just gross. I am *so* not the type of person who runs into friends I haven't seen for awhile, then starts blathering on about her upcoming sinus surgery and making references to roto-rooters being applied (there's a lovely image!), when those friends have just been enjoying bagels and coffee. Ahem.

The nebulized antibiotics have been fighting back the infection somewhat, just not enough. I am so sick of that nebulizer machine. I've been using it for months now, or possibly since the Clinton presidential years. I'm not sure. Things get a little blurry in my continued exhaustion. During the day last Saturday, thanks to DH entertaining the little guy, I slept for about 6 hours. Then, I went to bed about 9pm that night. I still had to come home early from work one day this week to sleep because I was feeling vertiginous. (Like how I worked that $25 word in there?)

The doc showed me the CAT/CT scan of my sinuses. It's much cooler now that they have the images on computer in digital form. Way back in the dark ages, 6 years ago, my last pre-sinus surgery scan used actual huge X-ray films. I know, barbaric. You only got X-ray prints of a limited number of slices through imaging of the head. With digital images, the doc could scroll the mouse wheel and take us through my skull and sinuses and back out from any direction. Kinda cool. Yep, the images confirmed how very effed up my left sinuses are.

As I was leaving the doc's office, I noticed the billing charges on my checkout slip. Of course those are never what the insurance actually ends up paying the doctors, but I guess if we had no insurance, it's what we'd have to pay. There was a $120 office visit charge *plus* a $350 charge for the endoscopic procedure. $350?!@! He looked in my nose like 15-20 seconds! Seriously. For that kind of money, well, let's just say, I'd prefer the cuter doc in the practice, and it should involve other kinds of procedures.

Update

Next week I'll be going on a business trip. This will be the first time I'll be away from Little Bit for longer than 8-12 hours. Back in March, I declined a business trip. It just felt too soon to leave Little Bit that long. This time, while I am still a little apprehensive about leaving him, I'm also looking forward to having free evenings for a few days. I'll be staying at a hotel on the beach near KSC. I know I'm going to miss Little Bit and DH, but it's going to be nice to recharge my batteries by the ocean.

I talked in detail with my doctor about the results of my CT scan. The upper sinuses on the one side are just eff'ed up, and in a much worse state than before my previous surgery six years ago. We set my revision sinus surgery for just under three weeks from now.

A nose by any other name

I went for the follow-up with my sinus doc last week. After 2 months (!!) on the nebulized antibiotics, only half of my sinus infection is cleared up. The doc suggested sinus surgery to open up the passageways on that side of my nose. I go for the CT scan on Friday, then he'll call me with the results and schedule the surgery.

*big sigh* I just want to not have sinus headaches every day, to be able to breathe out of both sides of my nose, and to not be exhausted all the time. Is that too much to ask?

And just because you might be wondering who is lying or being misleading in his presidential campaign or who is being fairly truthful, go check cnn or factcheck.org

Coming out from Quarantine

Little Bit has been sick this week. It started with a cough and runny nose on Sunday. By Tuesday, daycare called us to come get him -- he had a fever of 101. Late Wednesday night, he was really burning up with fever, 103.3 under the arm, so more like 104.3. I got into a lukewarm bath with him, holding him in my lap and snuggling him. I poured the water over his feverish body. I waited and worried, like so many other parents in the middle of the night with a very sick little one. The bath and the Motrin helped. His fever lessened so he was able to sleep. During the last few days, he was either snuggled in my lap or next to me on the couch, feeling bad, or he was running around playing when the Motrin had brought down his fever. No fever since yesterday afternoon, thankfully. He was his usual energetic and bright eyed self this morning.

I've been sick, too, with the zombie sinus infection. I've been on antibiotics about half of the last four months. I finish a course of antibiotics, then two weeks later, I have another acute sinus infection. I saw the partner of my regular sinus doctor/ENT the other day for the first time. He used an endoscope to look into my sinuses. His reaction? "Hell's bells!! That's quite an infection you've got in there!!" I hope the new class of antibiotics and the steroids to reduce inflammation work. Next stop may be nebulized medicine, which is one step away from IV antibiotics in the hospital. The doc actually (ahem) suctioned out some of the gunk in my sinuses. Ouch. Not pleasant. I so hope that Little Bit cheats genetics and doesn't end up with awful sinuses like his dad and I have.