Medication

Spiriva Over Atrovent for Fatboy

February 1, 2012 · 3 comments posted in Medication

Spiriva HandiHalerI mentioned after clinic that I had a few days’ supply of a duo-neb of Atrovent/Albuterol and then a full month of Spiriva to see which works better for me. The results are in as far as I’m concerned – after only 2 doses of Spiriva. Friday will be an entire post on it, including (drumroll) a video!

The bottom line is: I feel as “normal” as I can remember feeling in well over a decade now. No exaggeration whatsoever. Sure, I had 2 days of duo-neb first, but the effect of Spiriva were both immediate within the hour and long-lasting clear through to bedtime.

We have changed one other thing this week, which included a duo-neb day: walking 1/2 mile to the mailbox and back after treatments and before I get bogged down at my desk getting pulled 56 ways to Sunday. Monday was so-so, and I recorded the walk with my Nike + as such. I had labored breathing when we got back and I had a really hard cough once we were inside and I sat down to take off my shoes.

Tuesday, immediately after Spiriva, I rated it about the same, but I didn’t cough afterwards. Today, I got up earlier and finished my treatments earlier, so I was ready to go before Beautiful was. That gave my dose a good 30 minutes to reach almost its maximum benefit according to the drug sheet in the box. It continues to rise to the max at 2-4 hours after, but 30 minutes is about 75% up there. I tried to pick up the pace, felt a little winded when I came inside, but again, no cough. Within a minute, I felt great again.

That’s enough for me. I don’t need to know anything more or fiddle-fart around asking to try other options.  I repeat: I have not felt this good in forever – since high school! Look for more info and goodies about Spriva Friday.

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Preliminary Update on Post-Clinic Changes

January 30, 2012 · 4 comments posted in Medication

ChangeIt may be a bit early to tell how things are or are not better after some med changes after clinic, but we couldn’t be more optimistic thus far. To recap the clinic visit, we have changed (for 6 doses) Albuterol to a Duo-Neb Atrovent/Albuterol mixture, added a liver med (Urso), and an appetite stimulant (Remeron).

I started the Urso (ursodiol) on Friday night, taking it twice a day with meals. Not surprisingly, I have absolutely nothing to report about it, as it was intended to straighten out my liver enzymes. I should remember to mention to Sue, since I only think it odd at the moment and quickly forget to ask about it, my standing output (I’m a guy, think about it) has been what I’d call cloudy. I just figured it was all of the raw veggies that come across my placemat at different meals, but I really should ask. Hold on a sec, lemme write an e-mail.

Still with me? Good. E-mail sent. I’ll let you know what she says.

The Remeron (mertazapine) appears to have positive results in the side-effects department. Unfortunately I don’t seem to have a sunny disposition yet, but my appetite sure was up today AND I gained a whopping 1.5 pounds. Well, make that 2.5 pounds when you factor in that a donated a pint of blood this morning. After I donated, I ate a Rice Crispy Treat, munched on Combos, drank a Capri Sun and a Boost Plus, and then dove into a Double-Stuf Oreo Cakester after all of that. I was hungry for lunch and dinner and could still wander over to the pantry when I’m done with my treatments. We’ll see if it keeps up, but it does look might promising, especially given the state of my appetite for the last couple of months.

Now for the cool breathing news! The Atrovent/Albuterol mixture seems to be working out might fine. My baseline measure for how good a treatment is remains a solid test for our daily routine. After dinner, Beautiful really likes to sit and talk for what I consider “quite a while.” I may not think it is such a long time if I could breathe worth a dime after dinner. Most days our conversation ends with me literally gasping, taking my plate to the kitchen, and gathering up my meds to head to the couch. It hurts me to leave her hanging like that, but we both agree that air is more important than dialogue.

Last night, she noticed it immediately after dinner, but I was still skeptical because we ate a bit earlier than normal. I woke up to the typical “caked on” feeling in the front of my lungs Click to continue reading this article…

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Raging Animal – Testosterone Update

September 28, 2011 · 1 comment posted in Medication

You wouldn't like me when I'm angryNot getting into too much detail, I’ve been a raging animal for several months. Months. I’ve flipped out on a dime, popped blood vessels out of my forehead, and pissed off some clients a time or two (you know you’re raging when it comes across via e-mail). This is why I had my blood drawn for levels Friday at clinic.

The results are in.

A little background first

I began shots when I was barely over 100lbs and pre-diabetic, on the verge of going on diabetic pills. After doing that for a while, I gained weight and we changed our diet and I had been vitamin compliant for a few months. I started getting angrier and angrier. They reduced my dosage and switched me to doing it every 2 weeks to reduce the ups and downs. Eventually that concentration of testosterone cypionate wasn’t available, so when that got cut in half, we doubled the frequency to get the same amount.

Here’s my history:

Date Free Total
April 2010 74 402
August 2010 104 376
November 2010 167 516
September 2011 255 966

Legend

April 2010: post-compliant, pre-diet change, no change in dose: 300mg bi-weekly
August 2010: post-compliant, pre-diet change, gained weight, changed frequency, not amount: 150mg weekly
November 2010: post-compliant, post-diet change, maintained weight, same frequency: down to 100mg weekly
September 2011: post-compliant, post-diet change, maintained weight, changed frequency and dose: down to 50mg bi-weekly

I’m being cut back by 75% because my levels are anywhere between 2 and 4 times what they should be, depending on which number and who you believe about what levels are normal. I guess now would be a good time to apologize to anyone who’s had a “bad Jesse experience” in the last few months. Maybe you deserved it, but I probably still overreacted beyond my normal, even demeanor.

So… it would appear that the boys are working doing their job making juice. This is starting to explain a little bit why I was so small as a teen considering how underweight I was. I know CF probably had some to do with it, along with my parent’s height, but I was also darn thin and small-boned. I’ve just started to fill out like a man in the last year. We’ve been eating a lot of fresh veggies and fresh meats since Beautiful was diagnosed with several allergies, so I have relatively few processed foods compared to our first 3 years of marriage.

The more we watch shows on food-related health issues, the more we’re able to weed out the crap and get good stuff. I’m eating a ton of eggs, more salmon, taking fish oil caps, and actually taking my ADEK + zinc, all of which are supposed to increase natural levels anyway.

It’s starting to look like I won’t need any next time we do levels, which I’d be fine with, because it’s a pain in the butt.

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Why Is My Poop Green?

September 9, 2011 · 6 comments posted in Medication

Don’t let the title turn you off – this is going to be one hilarious post that has nothing to do with my poop. Yesterday afternoon, one of my local friends (my programmer, actually) tweeted a link to a story that compelled me to click it to read. I not only read it, I coughed up a lung. Now, I know I think I’m all this and that with my writing style and abilities (within reason), but this was beyond being abnormally good stuff.

When it came time for my evening treatments, I hunkered down with my iPhone’s tiny screen and started from today’s post and worked my way back. By the time I’d reached the end of May, I’d finished my treatments, filled several tissues with goop, and even made a mess of my shorts when I didn’t have a tissue ready.

Yes, it was that funny to me.

So, when Beautiful came downstairs after writing her post for the day, I tried to pick one of the stories that was both short enough to hold her interest and not so crude that she made me stop. I let her know that she has her “mommy blogs” that she reads and I finally found a “dad blog” that I was as addicted to as we were with PeopleofWalmart.com when we discovered it. I couldn’t really come up with any examples after just reading nearly 20 posts, but assured her that it was doing me good.

We discussed the topics and amount of material others come up with and concluded it’s because they have KIDS. It’s like having an endless source of comedy, drama, and tragedy at your fingertips.

Here’s where the title comes into play

When we rolled into bed, exhausted (still) from our road trip, she said she’d like to read some of the things that were so funny. I’d reached the site through Twitter, which I’d cleared out to view my stream again, so I had to Google for that post, so I started with the website name with “Why is.”

Why is my poop greenIt was at this point that I started coughing and laughing uncontrollably again. I had to sit up and finish my outburst, even. I flopped back down and showed the screen to her. Google had many guesses to finish my phrase, beginning with “why is my poop green” and it was just too much for me to handle. I’ve heard of some funny Google guesses before, but this one grabbed both lungs, ripped them out of my chest, and shook them for a minute.

After finishing the query, I found the exact post I was looking for. She read the whole post without even cracking a smile. Huh!? “What is wrong with you?” I wondered. Alright, there’s no way she won’t find the post that I read first, the one from my friend, hysterical.

I’ve been known to be wrong – a couple of times in my life – and this was a time where I was wrong. Again, nothing funny at all in that post.

Regardless of whether anyone else finds it funny or not, it was a better treatment for me than my Vest an aerosols combined, so I’m going to keep it up “for health reasons.” This is the sort of thing that Larry the Cable Guy says, “I don’t care who you are, that’s funny!” to… except most likely my entire immediate family, leaving me all alone in my humor zone.

I can’t leave it there, though. I have to know which of my friends find this funnier than green poop, but my putting this link below comes with a caveat and two pure warnings.

Caveat: this is written by a guy, clearly mainly for guys, so it’s possible many women won’t like it, but many housewives comment.

Warning 1: there is adult language, so if you mute movies when you know a cuss word is coming up and plug your fingers in your ears around construction workers, please, skip it.

Warning 2: you may become addicted.

Ok, now if you read this, you are obligated to let me know what you think of it in the comments so I know if I’m going nuts or if it’s just that I worked in construction too long.

The site: Why Is Daddy Crying?
The post: The Boy Drops The F-Bomb

Okay… I just made your day, now make mine. What did you think?

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