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Health Update
Doctor's appointment yesterday. Cholesterol is better than it was in December, but still not where it should be (according to the AMA), and nowhere near where it was three years ago when it was great. In fact, my profile now is remarkably similar to what it was before I switched to non-fat, no-cholesterol dairy and egg products, and stopped eating fast food every day for lunch. If anything, it's actually a few points worse, although the HDL is a bit better. It's as though my liver is going out it's way to produce more cholesterol to replace what I've removed from my diet. Bother. On the plus side, my triglycerides were 169 four years ago, and have remained under 125 since, which I suppose means I'm doing a decent job of not going overboard with the fats. I've also lost more weight, so the doctor is sort of encouraged. I'm really more annoyed than worried by all this, because there is no history of heart disease on either side my family. Good genes do help.
The asthma situation is less encouraging. I'm still coughing every day. For the most part, it's productive coughing, i.e. once the obstruction is cleared I stop, as opposed to the ticklish cough that keeps me up all night, but I can't do things that require me to expel large amounts of breath, like laughing or singing, without starting to hack. The Advair doesn't seem to be helping much, despite being at the highest allowable dosage, so he's having me take a pulmonary function test to see if I actually have asthma. I'll try to schedule it for the week I'm taking off prior to leaving for the F2F in May.
He did suggest that I check the A/C system of the truck for mold, because I mentioned that I always seem to cough when I'm driving. I'll check it, although he also said that the levels of allergens in my blood are normal, which sort of argues against there being a point source for my problems. This does have me worried. I really would like to be able to laugh out loud again with no consequences.
Fun asthma fact: It turns out caffeine is used an anti-asthmatic in places where there is no access to things like Flovent and such. Which means I can get totally wired every day and claim it's for my health. Woo!
The asthma situation is less encouraging. I'm still coughing every day. For the most part, it's productive coughing, i.e. once the obstruction is cleared I stop, as opposed to the ticklish cough that keeps me up all night, but I can't do things that require me to expel large amounts of breath, like laughing or singing, without starting to hack. The Advair doesn't seem to be helping much, despite being at the highest allowable dosage, so he's having me take a pulmonary function test to see if I actually have asthma. I'll try to schedule it for the week I'm taking off prior to leaving for the F2F in May.
He did suggest that I check the A/C system of the truck for mold, because I mentioned that I always seem to cough when I'm driving. I'll check it, although he also said that the levels of allergens in my blood are normal, which sort of argues against there being a point source for my problems. This does have me worried. I really would like to be able to laugh out loud again with no consequences.
Fun asthma fact: It turns out caffeine is used an anti-asthmatic in places where there is no access to things like Flovent and such. Which means I can get totally wired every day and claim it's for my health. Woo!
no subject
no subject
My doctor (and he's my regular doctor) has been assuming it's asthma (and I've agreed with him), and been treating it as such, but now we're going do the test to find out if a) it meets the medical definition of asthma, and b) if the bronchiodilator has any effect on it, i.e. I'm going to do the test without, then take a bronchiodilator and take the test again to see if there is any difference.
Advair is a combination of Flovent (a steroid) and a bronchiodilator. I had been on Flovent alone prior to January. If we find out the bronchiodilator has no effect (which appears to be the case so far), it'll probably be back to straight Flovent.
The thing is, prior to my getting sick last November, it was under control. That's why there's been no allergist prior to this. We'll see.
no subject
The thing is, prior to my getting sick last November, it was under control.
It's weird, but sometimes it just takes one thing to tip it over into clinically bad. That happened with my Mom. She didn't get asthma until she was in her 50s, and then BAM! She got really sick and got chronic asthma out of the deal. The human body is an odd, odd thing.
no subject
It can go the other way. My allergies growing up were nasal. April and May I would be miserable, runny nose, post-nasal drip, the whole ball of wax. Then as I neared forty, they started to ease up. Now, the only effect my allergies have on my nose is slight stuffiness and an occasional sneeze. The main way I know it's allergy season is that my eyes still water about the same. Human bodies are really strange contraptions.