Back to the doctor...

...because I'm still not breathing well. She gave me another breathing treatment, and also prescribed home nebulizer treatments. We're waiting for the equipment to be delivered right now. She continues to think that this is not asthma in the ordinary sense of the word, but is an asthma-like reactive airway process related to a viral infection. She wrote a prescription for steriods, but told me not to fill the prescription unless the nebulizer doesn't help and I get worse over the weekend. She also gave me more antibiotics, which she says are to keep me from developing pneumonia. She also forbid me to go to work on Monday no matter how much better I think I feel.

I was impressed with how she handled a lot of small details: for example, giving me the steroid prescription in case things escalate over the weekend when her office is closed. Giving me a couple of drug samples for the nebulizer in case my pharmacy didn't have any of the medicine on hand, so that I wouldn't be stuck waiting for an order to come in. Not letting me leave the office until my insurance company approved the durable medical equipment order for the nebulizer and the medical equipment company agreed to deliver it today. ("I'd hate to send you home with ours, but...") Noticing halfway through her explanation about the steroids that I wasn't tracking her very well, and asking about it. ("He's here to do the listening," I said, pointing at curiousangel, and she re-started her explanation from the beginning for him.) Warning me of that if I look up "wheezing" on the Internet I might see references to cardiac problems, and explaining why she knows that's not what I have. It really made me feel like she's on top of things, and that she's being very thorough about my health.

I feel better after the breathing treatment, except for the shakiness that I now recognize as a regular side effect of the albuterol. It doesn't happen when I use the inhaler, but it's happened with each of the three nebulizer treatments. I guess I can look forward to a lot more of that - like, every four hours while I'm awake. And I still feel very tired.

I should say something here about how wonderful curiousangel is. He's taking very good care of me.