its not looking good

[not Cereal]

i had a great day wednesday. i felt great. no wheezing, no coughing, fair amount of energy. went to work for 1/2 day. got a lot done, but did not wear myself out. i thought i was past all this.

 

thursday everything fell apart. i started wheezing and coughing, and my head got all plugged up again.

 

friday was worse.

 

saturday i dont remember much, but i ended up in the emergency room. i dont remember how, i was just there. they seemed to think this was pretty serious shit for some reason. i could barely breathe and couldnt walk more than 10 feet. they took one look at me and took care of me right away, which is odd because there was a huge line. i skipped to the front.

 

they measured my oxygen level and it was 90%. i later learned this is not that bad, but it is low. its supposed to be 97 to 100%. i learned that 90% is very uncomfortable but is not as bad as some people and wont kill you, its just very unpleasant.

 

my blood pressure was 149/99 which is the highest i have ever seen it. pulse of 129. they took chest xrays and said i do not have pnemonia but that my lungs look like shit and if they dont get better i wont live all that long. apparently i have a "respiratory infection" that has gone athsmatic and isnt going away on its own.

 

so what we now think is going on is this:

 

i got sick, got pnemonia like sickness, took the antibiotics and steriods, my body fought off the infection which is now gone, but my body is still fighting off what is no longer there. kind of makes sense.

 

anyway they made me breathe all these chemicals which got my oxygen level up to 94% and got rid of my wheezing. they put my on steriods again, about twice the dosage of before. today i feel somewhat ok, but i cannot go to work. i am missing so much work its crazy.

 

also, i am now on the patch and no longer smoking at all for the last week. dammit that sucks

[Tedster]

Coaster...

 

This is an order, buddy. You TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF. Pneumonia is nothing to play with. It can kill you if you're not careful.

 

Read this link...

 

www.ards.org

 

If this doesn't scare the living shit out of you, nothing will. There have been cases of severe pneumonia turning into ARDS. You do what you have to do to get well. Don't worry about missing work. If they want to give you a hard time, whatever...but not missing work won't mean anything if you're pushing up daisies.

[jackpine]

Man...

 

You must get better , now!!!!

 

Thats an order.

[AudioMaverick]

Get better, Coaster...

[Dak Lander]

Don't forget one HUGE thing about the steroids either. They will mask fever and infections so be damned careful.

It's getting to be the doctors are using prednisone as a freaking cure-all. While it helps in a lot of different instances it can worsen the problem in a hurry.

 

I had a tooth that broke in June and had to be extracted and I'm heading to the Loma Linda Medical Center on Tuesday to see if there's anything they can help with. The steroid I'm on, similar to prednisone, has curtailed the healing process inside the jaw bone so I'm fighting an infection there.

 

As I said, be careful & skeptical of taking too much too often.

[Philip OKeefe]

Sorry to hear you are still sick Coaster. And I second Tedster's orders: Take care of yourself. And NO SMOKING! Understood? Yeah, it's not easy, but your lungs will thank you - may as well take this opportunity to quit for good, know what I'm saying?

 

Dak, Loma Linda's as good as it gets - I'm sure they'll take good care of you.

 

Both of you: Get well soon.

[Matt.Hepworth]

Man, that's shite! We're (I say we're, but I mean at least I am) pulling for you. Staying off the cigs S's a LOT of A, but it will help you out muy mucho in the not so long from now long run.

Peace to you man.

 

Matt

[Bunny Knutson]

Get well, Coaster!

 

And NO MORE CIGARETTES, or I'll drive to Fargo myself and kick your f**king ASS!

 

Take care of yourself, buddy.

[fantasticsound]

Get well, Coaster.

 

(We don't want to discover the truth about you and Cereal by default. No dying on us! You hear?!?)

 

Seriously, take it easy and get better soon.

[skipclone 1]

forum members are not allowed to die without permission. You don`t EVEN want Craig waiting for you on the other side, yelling `drop and give me 100...`

Besides, cigarettes got disconnected from the guitar even before solos-ya don`t need em.

[Slowly]

I've been there, quite a few times. Do what the doctor say, period. Kcbass

[Jeff Klopmeyer]

Feel better, Coast, Drink fluids (that cures all).

 

- Jeff

[Sylver]

Dude I was as heavy a smoker as they come. Haven't had a cig since Sept. Just stop. It sucks, but you gotta do it.

 

Feel better!

[ani]

Coaster,

 

This is going to sound off the wall, but do you have any problems with mold in your area or in your home??? I ended up tearing out an entire exterior wall that had a gutter draining downsloped into it. I was not able to breathe at all in my bedroom, for no obvious reasons, and experienced respiratory problems much similar to those you are describing. Black Mold, nonetheless.

 

I noticed that when I was away from the home, I would start feeling just a bit better and upon returning home, I would start feeling wiped out. The mold made me feel drowsey, and it would make me so hoarse that I couldn't even breathe. At first the Doc's were treating me for bronchitis, but the drugs were not improving the condition much; just numbing my senses.

 

Get out and away from where you spend the most time while suffering this affliction and if the condition improves; PAY ATTENTION to when and where you are. Also, pay attention to when and where you are when the condition worsens. If you can remove yourself from an area and find that you breathe easier, you need to start seeking to see if theres a problem with mold or other allergens... sometimes it can be a matter of moving into a different room in the same house... but other times, where there are moldy basements or creek beds in the vicinity of your home that harbor standing water, require getting out and away from the home entirely.

 

If you find that you feel worse while in your home; you need to FIND the problem and remedy the situation. If you do find mold, and especially if it's black mold, remember that dried black mold that becomes air borne can act much like Anthrax; DO NOT attempt to remove it without taking the proper precautions... not even a face mask will protect you... it's some pretty mean stuff and is capable of getting your home condemned or making it incredibly hard to sell if reported to your insurance for recovery of expense to remove it.

 

When black mold is wet, it appears slimy... when dry, it can range in color from black to a chalky looking white. If you're in an older home that has had plumbing leaks, unsealed basement walls where condesation builds up, roofs with leaks, and etc; there is a big possibility you might have mold. You cannot see the spores, but if indeed you have moved materials affected with dried mold and the spores become airborne; the outcome could be deadly if not treated accordingly.

 

Black mold will also have an effect on the way your lungs look.

[nursers]

I'm a nurse, and I guarentee daily soap and water enemas if you don't take it easy. And unlike Wewus I know that the thought of enemas will scare you.

[fantasticsound]

Originally posted by Jeff Da Weasel:

Feel better, Coast, Drink fluids (that cures all).

 

- Jeff

Except Hyponatraemia.

 

In fact, drinking too much water can cause a serious condition characterized by a lack of salt in the blood, leading to water imbalance and water build-up in the brain. Hyponatraemia actually means low (hypo) sodium (natr) levels in the body.

Yes, it is possible for a person to drink too much water. It is called water intoxication. What happens is the sodium level in the blood reaches very low levels (because of dilution by excess water which can only be excreted in the urine, sweat or breath). This disturbs water balance in the brain, which can cause epileptic seizures and even death.

[Mark LaCoste]

What? First your butt freezes off, and now THIS? Hang in there, Coaster!

[nursers]

Originally posted by fantasticsound:

Originally posted by Jeff Da Weasel:

Feel better, Coast, Drink fluids (that cures all).

 

- Jeff

Except Hyponatraemia.

 

In fact, drinking too much water can cause a serious condition characterized by a lack of salt in the blood, leading to water imbalance and water build-up in the brain. Hyponatraemia actually means low (hypo) sodium (natr) levels in the body.

Yes, it is possible for a person to drink too much water. It is called water intoxication. What happens is the sodium level in the blood reaches very low levels (because of dilution by excess water which can only be excreted in the urine, sweat or breath). This disturbs water balance in the brain, which can cause epileptic seizures and even death.

Just to be pedantic - there's no way you could inflict hyponatraemia from drinking a lot of water unless you either had major renal problems. You could die from too much water if you had crap cardiac function - but that's not hyponatraemia related.

 

[Tedster]

Yeah, you might want to look into what Ani's saying, just to be sure. I've read some nasty stuff about that black mold. It can do you great harm.

 

Wouldn't hurt to check.

[aeon]

nursers:

 

there has been at least one documented death of an otherwise healthy female in the UK from hyponatraemia following ingestion of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine and a great quantity of water.

 

that said, it cannot be attributed to the ingestion of water alone, or MDMA for that matter, as elevated core temperature and seratonergic anomalies were almost certainly factors in her untimely death.

[Rim]

Hope you feel better, Coaster. Good luck with quitting smoking. There really is no such thing as one more cigarette. I had quit for 3 weeks and wanted one "just for old time's sake". A couple of months later, I'm almost back to the same level of smoking as before.

 

I will have another attempt at quitting again until I'm successful. I may try Zyban or even hypnosis (already tried the patch and cold turkey).

 

A couple of good sites for quitting I'm looking into (includes plans and community support):

American Lung Association

QuitNet

[FULLREFUSAL]

Coaster, if anyone feels for you it's me. I started out With Bronchitis the Beginning of December. 2 rounds of antibiotics and I was still sick. By Mid Januaray I had Walking Pneumonia, and I did the steriods as well as an Albuterol inhaler which has come in handy. I've drank more Nyquil, taken more dayquil and sudafed then I ever have in my life by far!!! Here's the kicker..I'M STILL SICK!!!!!!! Now they have me on one of the strongest anitbiotics called TEQUIN.. for 3 weeks straight!!!! After this, he basically said it's the hospital... Dude, it's bad.. Never been sick for almost 11 weeks straight in my life...Not too long ago this would have probably put me in the grave.. All i know is there are some very serious bugs going around this year that are basically immune to almost everything we can throw at it... Scary scary stuff man!!! Get well.

[fantasticsound]

Nursers.. Aeon.. Guys! I was being silly.

 

But a challenge is a challenge! I'm going to drink this (pointing at bathtub) tub of water and then I'm gonna fill it up and drink another tub of water and keep going until I prove you can die of Hypno-trachea-whatever it was I cut and pasted into the last post. Goodbye cruel forum!

 

(Okay... Sarcastic scene over. )

[cg1155]

Actually I have had a patient who developed hyponatremia from drinking too much water while sick with an upper respiratory infection. Many respiratory infections can disrupt the whole salt balance thing and lead to hyponatremia. In the absence of illness you would have to drink many gallons of water a day to develop hyponatremia, a condition not completely uncommon in schizophrenic persons.

 

Casey

[Bunny Knutson]

Coaster? How ya doin?

[nursers]

Originally posted by fantasticsound:

Nursers.. Aeon.. Guys! I was being silly.

 

But a challenge is a challenge! I'm going to drink this (pointing at bathtub) tub of water and then I'm gonna fill it up and drink another tub of water and keep going until I prove you can die of Hypno-trachea-whatever it was I cut and pasted into the last post. Goodbye cruel forum!

 

(Okay... Sarcastic scene over. )

 

You ought to be up to bathtub number 2 by now....

[fantasticsound]

Glug, glug?

 

(Speaking from afterlife:) Well, so much for disproving Nurser's hypothesis. Seems I drowned myself long before my blood-salt levels took a dive.

 

 

(Hope this ridiculous conversation isn't hurting you, Coaster! )

[Jeff Klopmeyer]

Yeah, all you drugged out freak ravers like to blame too much water intake on that girl who OD'ed on Exstacy.

 

Kidding.

 

Coaster, baby, whatever you do, keep breathing. It's one of the prerequisities.

 

- Jeff

[Ouizel]

Jeez, Coaster, I hope ya feel better soon. Good luck with the quitting smoking. I hope ya can stay off the fuckers. I had quit for 3 years, then screwed up and blammo, right back on 'em. They suck. (Not to mention that they screw your singing voice up.)

 

Anything I can do, bud, just say so.

 

Thoughts, prayers, and good vibes coming your way.

 

Hang in there and keep us posted.

[not Cereal]

thanks all. i been having a real low point right now. its FRICKING NASTY quiting smoking. tough. ugly.

 

still not feeling well yet, but getting better.

 

this is really putting my life on hold - i cannot get anything done at all. ive never missed more than 3 days before, but this is going on about 5 weeks now.

 

i am having a litle fun playing with my computers though. nothing too rough or strenous, just have some time to try different software i never have before. its fun to see new things.