We finally gave in and went to the doctor today after trying for more than a week to get our breathing to settle down. For the past five days, our symptoms have been escalating.
There are few things as miserable as not being able to breathe properly. The constant coughing is exhausting and results in ongoing discomfort. The medicines taken via inhaler or nebulizer cause jitters and shaking hands. The cough syrup makes our brains foggy, and incomplete oxygenation leaves us feeling worn out.
Our doctor's office is great. I called around 9 a.m., and got a call back from the nurse within half an hour, resulting in a 2 p.m. appointment. We left with prednisone tapers and the new-to-us information that steroids can cause yeast infections, so we got meds for that, too. My partner has a sinus infection, to boot, so she got 10 days of high dose antibiotics. I see lots of yogurt in our near future.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Our groomer rocks!
As I've said before, we have two dogs. Our elder dog, Sofee, is some kind of large terrier mix. We refer to her as a Delmar dog since that's where we got her. Sofee is 11, and according to x-rays, has bilateral hip dysplasia so severe that many of the surrounding muscles have atrophied. Apparently, she doesn't notice, since she can still cross the yard way faster than I can.
We have to keep her hair cut. My partner was able to do it at first, but we decided early on that it was much easier to have someone else do it.
We've been using the same groomer for many years. Last week, Sofee was supposed to get clipped. She was scheduled for Wednesday, but we had to postpone her appointment to Thursday because of our health issues. On Thursday, the groomer called to reschedule to Friday because they had no heat. On Friday, she called again, and rescheduled us to Tuesday because the shop smelled strongly of fuel oil and she didn't want us to become ill.
We were - and are - amazed and extremely grateful that she thought of us. Most folks don't give a hoot, and we just have to leave.
True story: A few years ago, I was having serious pain and movement issues with my right hand. After trying NSAIDs and physical therapy, my primary physician sent me to see the only board certified hand surgeon in the area. We walked in the door of the surgeon's office, and I immediately began to hack from the overwhelming scent, and staggered outside, where I leaned against a wall and tried to get my breathing under control.
My partner checked on me, then went inside to tell the staff - who had seen and heard me - that we were leaving. They asked what was wrong, and my partner told them that the odors in the reception area were too strong, and that I could not be in that environment. The scheduling/check-in clerk, after hearing me and then hearing my partner's explanation, asked whether we wanted to reschedule.
Bang head here. Repeat as necessary.
We have to keep her hair cut. My partner was able to do it at first, but we decided early on that it was much easier to have someone else do it.
We've been using the same groomer for many years. Last week, Sofee was supposed to get clipped. She was scheduled for Wednesday, but we had to postpone her appointment to Thursday because of our health issues. On Thursday, the groomer called to reschedule to Friday because they had no heat. On Friday, she called again, and rescheduled us to Tuesday because the shop smelled strongly of fuel oil and she didn't want us to become ill.
We were - and are - amazed and extremely grateful that she thought of us. Most folks don't give a hoot, and we just have to leave.
True story: A few years ago, I was having serious pain and movement issues with my right hand. After trying NSAIDs and physical therapy, my primary physician sent me to see the only board certified hand surgeon in the area. We walked in the door of the surgeon's office, and I immediately began to hack from the overwhelming scent, and staggered outside, where I leaned against a wall and tried to get my breathing under control.
My partner checked on me, then went inside to tell the staff - who had seen and heard me - that we were leaving. They asked what was wrong, and my partner told them that the odors in the reception area were too strong, and that I could not be in that environment. The scheduling/check-in clerk, after hearing me and then hearing my partner's explanation, asked whether we wanted to reschedule.
Bang head here. Repeat as necessary.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Trips to the vet
We have two dogs and three cats. When I first became seriously ill, I was allergy tested, and got positive results for things that are unavoidable in public buildings: dust and cockroaches. Positives also came up for mugwort (the artemesia family of plants) and - surprise! - mold. So what was the first thing the bleepin' idiot allergist said to do? Get rid of the animals, of course, and could give no reason other than, "That's what we tell everyone."
Needless to say, we have the same number of pets, and the same breathing problems, and there are days when cuddling up with one of the pets is the highlight. They never make me hack or wheeze, although they've been known convulse us with laughter.
On Friday, 30 January, our senior dog barfed. Not a big deal, all of them do it occasionally. Throughout the day, she acted like she didn't feel too well, but then neither do I after puking. She didn't eat, but that's not unusual, either. But at 10 p.m. Saturday, she refused to get up to go out for last call and turned down a hotdog.
That was it. We called the local emergency veterinarian hospital, thanking all the stars that it was here and we didn't have to drive nearly two hours to get Sofee seen. The vet examined her quickly, gave us an upfront estimate of treatment costs, and sat down with us and clearly explained how she arrived at her diagnosis and recommendation. They kept Sofee until Monday morning, when we picked her up - complete with a disk of her x-rays and a printout of the treatment she received - and took her to her regular vet. She came home with us Monday night, and has been getting progressively more spoiled since.
I noticed at the emergency vet, and at our regular vet, and the groomer, where we're taking Sofee today for an overdue haircut, that they don't smell like perfume. We know they clean regularly. We've seen them do it. We've seen them clean up accidents. When our dogs come out from the back, they do smell, but it's the same odor whether it's the vet or the groomer, so they must all use the same industrial cleaners in the back. That makes us cough, and we just let the dogs air out for a while before getting snuggly.
It makes me wonder why places that cater to people can't do the same. Keep the stinky stuff in the back for those who want it, and leave the rest of the place clean but unscented for the rest of us.
Needless to say, we have the same number of pets, and the same breathing problems, and there are days when cuddling up with one of the pets is the highlight. They never make me hack or wheeze, although they've been known convulse us with laughter.
On Friday, 30 January, our senior dog barfed. Not a big deal, all of them do it occasionally. Throughout the day, she acted like she didn't feel too well, but then neither do I after puking. She didn't eat, but that's not unusual, either. But at 10 p.m. Saturday, she refused to get up to go out for last call and turned down a hotdog.
That was it. We called the local emergency veterinarian hospital, thanking all the stars that it was here and we didn't have to drive nearly two hours to get Sofee seen. The vet examined her quickly, gave us an upfront estimate of treatment costs, and sat down with us and clearly explained how she arrived at her diagnosis and recommendation. They kept Sofee until Monday morning, when we picked her up - complete with a disk of her x-rays and a printout of the treatment she received - and took her to her regular vet. She came home with us Monday night, and has been getting progressively more spoiled since.
I noticed at the emergency vet, and at our regular vet, and the groomer, where we're taking Sofee today for an overdue haircut, that they don't smell like perfume. We know they clean regularly. We've seen them do it. We've seen them clean up accidents. When our dogs come out from the back, they do smell, but it's the same odor whether it's the vet or the groomer, so they must all use the same industrial cleaners in the back. That makes us cough, and we just let the dogs air out for a while before getting snuggly.
It makes me wonder why places that cater to people can't do the same. Keep the stinky stuff in the back for those who want it, and leave the rest of the place clean but unscented for the rest of us.
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