Mystery Illness

Josh and I went to the doctor last night. He has strep throat, and is on antibiotics. With my kids, if they say they have a sore throat and a headache, you can almost bet it is strep. He can't go to school today, he's contagious, so as a result his appointment with the psychologist has to be rescheduled. Bummer. There is a pretty long waiting list for appointments with that doctor. Oh well. What's meant to be is meant to be. Perhaps the timing was not right and the wait is what needs to happen for Josh to get the best diagnosis and treatment. I'm going to prefer to look at it that way.

I, on the other hand, have a mystery illness. I told the nurse practitioner how I felt, and what my symptoms were. I'm usually right on target with what is going on with me, because 9 times out of 10, I've had whatever I'm there for at least once before.

What red flagged the whole thing is that my blood pressure was high. I have been stressed beyond measure in the past and my blood pressure is never high.

I went to my doctor several years ago and said, "Put me on something to help me stop having all this anxiety. I'm watching my grandmother deteriorate before my eyes. I know she is in decline. I know I am going to have to prepare myself for her death. Please give me something to help me cope." My blood pressure was low even then. I felt like I was going to implode from all the stress, and my blood pressure was low.

In fact, last time I went to the doctor I had hives because of my stressful ride there. Some guy had flipped me off and tailgated me, then tried to run me off the road going around me. Was my blood pressure high? Nope. It was 120 over 65. That's usually as high as it gets. Yesterday it was 145 over 100. That was a red flag.

They started to say that perhaps because I was feeling poorly-that maybe that was the reason my blood pressure was up. I said, "Look at my chart. I've been in here with pneumonia, double ear infections, kidney infections, bladder infections, utis, and sinus infections sometimes in conjunction with one another-and never once was my blood pressure high." I said, "I just don't feel THAT bad. I don't feel stressed out."

So, they sent me for a chest X-ray, gave me a steroid shot, and said they'd call me today. They want to rule out a stroke, an embolism, a mild heart attack, pleurisy, of course, and pneumonia. Great. Good. Nothing like waiting on ruling out those type of issues. :)

The thing is, I think I feel worse today than before. The shortness of breath is worse. The pain when I lie down is worse. I don't think the steroid shot helped. We'll see. Maybe it takes longer to kick in. Who knows?

On a bright note, Maggie is at home resting comfortably. I felt so sorry for her last night. She kept falling asleep standing up. She wouldn't eat or drink. It's so much harder on a female dog/cat to be spayed than for a male dog/cat to be neutered. My male dogs were running and jumping and playing after their surgeries. Maggie didn't want to lie down at all last night.

This morning I knew she was feeling better. I heard Robert get up to go to the bathroom, and I could hear what sounded like someone knocking on the front door. I knew right away it was Maggie's tail thumping on the floor. She can leave red marks on my legs from her tail wagging so hard. She is that exuberant when she sees her family. I was so tickled by what the vet wrote at the bottom of Maggie's release/home care papers. It said, "Wow- Maggie is just about the sweetest dog ever!" It brought tears to my eyes. Maggie is the only female dog I've ever had, and she is one of the mildest mannered dogs I've ever owned. I am glad the vet shares my opinion on that, and that I'm not just biased because she's mine. :)

I meant to post this yesterday, but I'm going to blame it on lack of oxygen to my brain: :)

Happy Birthday, Ellie!!!!!