Just a quick update to let you all know I survived the great turkey stuffing of 2010.
Thanksgiving was nice and low key. Not too much food, and I didn't have to make a great bunch of it. I did OD a little on some spicy sausage cornbread stuffing. Which I'm sure the scale will make a pointed reminder of, should I step on it any time soon. (I'm avoiding ol' George for a while, he's not going to ruin my holidays.) We're still attempting to eat the leftover ham that was bought for my husband. For the record, you just don't need a 7lb ham for 2.5 people. You just don't. Too. Much. Ham.
But enough about Thanksgiving, let's get to the real reason I haven't posted anything lately.
I was really sick at the beginning of November with bronchitis and some sinus issues. I now have insurance thanks to my new-ish full time job, so I hauled off and went to the doctor. Once I got better, they wanted to see me back there for some tests. I didn't really think much of it until it was time to string the lights on our tree. I got winded putting lights on the tree. That's not even strenuous! Husband pointed it out and asked why. I couldn't answer him. So, I went ahead and made that check up appointment after all.
It turns out I have a bitch of a lung problem. 60% capacity was the verdict after the first test, not good. I didn't do any better on the breathing tests than when I went in with bronchitis almost a month prior. Doc told me to sit down and let's see if I respond to an inhaler. If I do, we'll have a better idea of what this is. I had to sit through a breathing treatment. For those of you not familiar, its this awesome tube that you have to hold in your mouth while you breathe in steam. Sounds innocuous, but it seems to last *forever.* I did the tests again and I did a little better. Which means, I respond to inhalers. Which also means, this isn't just because I'm sick. It means I have a real problem. I really do have asthma. It's not the kind that's going to be like an attack, but it is the kind that is going to give me shit when I do too much. Like yanno, exercise or string lights on a tree apparently. Doing too much isn't going to make it worse, just annoy me temporarily. Doc took about 8 vials of my blood and is running every allergy, asthma and auto-immune test known to man to see if I'm triggered by something I'm not aware of. In the meantime, it's inhalers and nasal sprays to see if we can get more than 78% lung capacity when I'm blowing computerized bricks down.
I've been more bummed about this than I'd thought. I already had an idea that the asthma verdict was coming, but the confirmation kind of sucked. I haven't been on my bike much since I've been sick. Every time I want to get on it, I lose the drive because I know I'll be tired afterwards. I have this new routine with the drugs every night, and that is bumming me out, too. I hate to take medicine. Not because I don't want to get better, but I really, really hate putting chemicals in my body. I don't even like to take Advil. My body doesn't react well to drugs and I'm inclined to listen to it most times. I just have to hope that this batch doesn't upset my stomach that way most drugs do.
I get the results of the blood tests on the 14th. I'm not sure what to expect from it. My guess is I'm going to have some obscure allergy to something that will cost me a fortune in grocery costs. In the mean time, I've got to get back on the bike. If I can't walk, I can at least bike. Maybe slower but for longer so I don't feel like such a slack-ass.
Sorry for all the whining. I need to get this out there so I can wipe the slate clean and start again. I promise the next post will be happier!
