A Health Update: Where I’m at, and where I’m headed.

One of the reasons I started this blog was to give health updates. I’ve yet to use it for this purpose, but today I am going to be more personal and talk openly and honestly about (part) of my health.

I was hospitalized over Christmas for a respiratory virus that was complicated by my adrenal insufficiency. This turned into pneumonia, which was thankfully cleared up with antibiotics. I seemed to improve after leaving the hospital, but I spoke too soon. Maybe I was too active? I wound up back in the ER new years eve. I am grateful I did not need to be admitted the second time. Truthfully I don’t think I could have handled two consecutive holidays in the hospital.

I’m dealing with some emotional baggage from all of this. I’m sick of being sick. I want to leave my house. I’d really like to enjoy the warm Florida winter walk the beach, and gather sea shells. Really at this point anywhere would be great, or even just having the ability to do normal household chores would be a welcome change. My husband is a saint and is taking care of me and the kids right now. Frankly though, I don’t want to be taken care of, I want to be healthy. I have to keep reminding myself that this is only temporary, discouraging, but temporary. Perhaps I should revisit my previous blog post and work on some self love.

On the the plus side, I woke up with an appetite today! I had the energy to make my kids a real, non-cereal, breakfast. I made myself a healthy high protein/high calorie meal too. I’ve lost 10lbs since my hospitalization at Christmas just a week ago. If we’ve ever met, you might have noticed I don’t have 10lbs to lose, especially that quickly. My steroid dose has more than tripled, which would normally cause weight gain so I’m stumped on this one. The appetite is an encouraging sign of improvement though.

I was prescribed a nebulizer to help my lungs. There was some difficulty getting the nebulizer delivered because of the holiday, but I was able to borrow one, and it seems to be helping. It works better than just a few little puffs on an inhaler.

I’ve been using my blog and my support groups as a distraction, and what a great distraction they are. Helping and encouraging others effectively gets my mind off my own problems. Maybe this is my purpose now?

I hope that very soon this will all be a distant memory. Another lesson to add to a ever growing list.

I do have something to look forward to this year. Next month, I will be visiting a new endocrinologist. I had a bad experience with the last one, and I do have some residual anxiety from that. However, I remain optimistic that a better endocrine doctor will translate into a better quality of life for me. I’ve got some scary questions hopefully he will be able to answer. I won’t go into that situation here yet, but good vibes are appreciated. I will also be making my case for subcutaneous hydrocortisone pump therapy at this appointment. For those who have never heard of this, it is a insulin pump that infuses the corticosteroid hydrocortisone, which is bio identical to natural cortisol. I have not been able to tolerate this medication orally, and this treatment would instead infuse the medication directly into my body. It could be a turning point for me if the doctor is cooperative. If not, I am not a quitter. This therapy is very new and even experienced doctors seem skittish about it, though studies are very promising. I cannot simply go find a doctor using this treatment as the patients are told not give out names. It will be a fight whether with the doctor, or with insurance, or learning the therapy itself, but this is my life and I am not backing down.

Thanks to everyone for their love and support. You really keep me going and I am very grateful!

💕Michelle