Better living through pharmaceuticalsI have had trouble breathing, and I could not stand it anymore. I was getting really worried, and I needed serious help. I texted Ray saying I wanted to go to the emergency room, and he got the rest of the day off to take me. What a super sweet man! So glad I married him so long ago!
We drove to the same hospital that delivered my last child 14 years ago and gave me my hysterectomy 2 years and 2 days ago. They are St. Mark’s Hospital in Salt Lake City. These folks have a high standard of care and they take our insurance. 
We went in the middle of the day, so the waiting room was nearly empty. However, we did have to wait an hour. When I was taken to a room, they made me prepare for an x-ray or CT scan or something. I ended up having a couple of chest X-Rays. I wish I had those images…
I ended up not having full-blown pneumonia, but I do have some “junk” in my lungs. This means I was on the way… BUT, the antibiotics have been doing absolutely nothing to help me. Those same antibiotics I blogged about last Thursday. The emergency room doctor practically told me, “Duh, you have a viral infection, not bacterial.”
Virus Attack!That is exactly why I decided to go to the emergency room: weeks of suffering, several rounds of antibiotics, and only getting sicker and sicker.
Bronchitis is the inflammation of the bronchi, the main air passages to the lungs, it generally follows a viral respiratory infection. Symptoms include; coughing, shortness of breath, wheezing and fatigueYou see, when asthmatics get bronchitis, it is much worse than normal bronchitis. I felt like I was sick enough to have pneumonia and I just could not breathe. Scary. So they gave me a hefty dose of Prednisone and nebulized Albuterol and Atrovent.
This was my first experience with a nebulizer. I have used hand-held inhalers for years, but I never had to have a relatively large dose of asthma medication placed in my lungs at once. The respiratory therapist dropped the liquid medications into the nebulizer container then the compressor was turned on to turn the liquid into a mist that I then inhaled for about 10 minutes. A nice way to get medicine into my lungs because I could breathe normally rather than try to hold my breath. Holding my breath has been difficult these days.
And what did I do during this treatment? I read homework for a summary due tomorrow morning for my Perception for Graphics class.
We hung out for another hour while they waited for the Atrovent to take effect. I started breathing much easier within 30 minutes of my treatment. I am sure the Prednisone had something to do with that.
I left with a prescription for Prednisone and Lortab. The Lortab is for the pain from constricted airways; that is being a big help already. The Prednisone is for 5 days. This medication really helps me breathe, especially when I am fighting a virus. However, it does funky things to me. Five years ago, taking it made me gain over 20 pounds in one month. I just barely lost that weight, so I need to watch my increased appetite that I get from this steroid medication.
I am just glad to be breathing better tonight than I have in over two weeks.
