Well, I didn't expect to spend four hours at the doctor's surgery this morning. What a pain! The doctor began by checking my lungs and saying that they seem to be clear of infection; the lingering, annoying cough is an aftermath of the pleurisy, due to my underlying lung condition (bronchiectasis.) I've to take an anti-phlegm product for five or six months, or until the cough starts to settle down.
The chest pain on the other hand seems to have a different origin. The doctor says she thinks it's not from my lungs any more, but rather is muscle pain from the deterioration of the arthritis in my spine. Yes, it hurts when I cough, but it's also sensitive to touch and is sore after exercise. I asked her if it could perhaps be a lingering effect of the antibiotic that caused me weeks of cramps and soaring blood pressure, but she feels it's more likely that it's a symptom of arthritis. She did check my blood pressure, though, as it had hovered around 170 during the weeks immediately after taking levaquin, before finally stabilising around its usual, rather low 118 or 120.
To our shock, my blood pressure was 165/103. That's really high for me, as I've had unusually low blood pressure my whole life. She packed me off down to the emergency department where they gave me a pill and injected me with some muscle-relaxing potion. Then I had to sit around for an hour until they tested my pressure again and found it had returned to its normal 120/60. So the verdict is that the high blood pressure has probably been provoked by living with several months of pain and disrupted sleep. I've to monitor it for a couple of weeks and see if it generally stays normal again.
I think the doctors were a little baffled, as I'm the poster child for low blood pressure: I don't smoke tobacco, drink alcohol, eat a lot of salt, fat or red meat. I only drink one cup of coffee per day, I have a healthy pace of life, normal body weight, sufficient daily exercise and seemingly adequate amounts of sleep. I never feel tired or depressed. The only anomaly is my arthritis/fibromyalgia pain and the fact that it sometimes disrupts my sleep. The doctor said that living with pain can put stress on the body and perhaps I need to take more pain killers instead of putting up with discomfort…. and even take something to help me sleep if I'm lying awake for no obvious reason. (As you can imagine, I didn't feel very positive about that idea!) Then they'll monitor whether sleeping better and having less pain keeps my blood pressure at its normal, stable level. What a nuisance! Needless to say, I feel suitably geriatric.
My other reason for going to the doctor was to get a prescription for my malaria tablets, as it's only two weeks now before I leave for my extended trip to West Africa. At least it's good to know that my lungs are relatively fine again before I leave… and I'm praying that the air conditioning in planes and airports won't provoke any further problems this time.
This evening it was Teddi's turn, as we had to go back to the vet to take blood so that they can check his kidneys and his thyroid level again. The poor boy hates going in the car, and I feel horrible doing that to him. I realise that I've been subconsciously grieving him and anticipating the possibility of losing him…. yet it seems unreasonable to consider putting him to sleep when he seems just as happy and healthy as he has always been. This past weekend, after a month on his thyroid medication, I begin to wonder if I was at last noticing a change in his coat - whether it was slowly beginning to become silky and shiny again, instead of matted and greasy. It's hard to tell, though, and I won't get the results of his blood test until later this week. So we need to wait and see.
(See 29th June for the outcome of Teddi's blood test.)
