Ups and Downs

[ladysprite]

Well, the good news is that I don't have pneumonia. The bad news is that you can't tell that based on circumstantial evidence such as listening to me cough or watching me try to breathe.

I get bronchitis every year, usually right about now. And I go to the doctor, and I tell them this, and they shrug their shoulders and give me antibiotics that don't work, and I suck it up and deal for about a month, give or take. I'm used to it. This year, however, it hit me worse than I can ever remember, and after watching me gasp, wheeze, choke, and fall for the past week, my coworkers put their foot down and insisted I call out sick to go to the emergency room.

Luckily, spiritdance is not merely a wonderful boss and amazing friend, she is also far more organized and dedicated than any one human being has a right to be. She picked me up and hustled me off to the doctor, where (as always) my chest x-rays were disturbingly normal. Unlike my other experiences, though, the staff of this place actually paid attention to the fact that I was coughing until I turned blue and started seeing black spots, and persisted in pumping me full of various drugs until the Respiratory tech could prove that I was actually breathing again.

Apparently the mid-Ohio valley is toxic to humans. And apparently this took my annual fight with bronchitis, magnified it to Godzilla-like levels, and added in a hearty dose of asthma, leaving me in a rather unpleasant state. Luckily, it's something the doctors here are familiar enough with to treat it effectively.

So now I'm on a fairly impressive list of medications, including enough steroids to choke a horse, some fun and colorful antibiotics, and a cough suppressant that is, in fact, merely a Giant Sledgehammer of Unconsciousness disguised as a pretty pink syrup. I spent most of last night in a happy, coughing-free drug-induced coma, which is more or less the plan for the next 24 hours - if nothing else, when I wake up and try to exert myself I apparently get quite shaky quite quickly. But I can take a deep breath for the first time in two weeks, which is worth the shakes and semiconsciousness. And hopefully by tomorrow my body will have acclimated itself enough to the situation that I'll be able to work again.

Meanwhile, I hear a sofa and a videotape full of Veronica Mars episodes calling my name....

Comments

[oakleaf-mirror.livejournal.com]

That just sounds yucky! *hugs* Hope you feel better, soon.