Recovering from a Fever

Last week, I had a 36 hour fever...and the prescription was not more cow bell.  The fever started on Monday afternoon while I was at work.   At first I thought I was just tired.  But after about an hour, I realized something was not right.  I took my temperature and it was about 100.  I took three advil and within an hour of that, my fever spiked to 102. 

I was nervous about the fever being the only symptom.  Was this a sign of a bacterial infection, as opposed to a virus?  I call the advice nurse, who transferred me to an on-call doctor.  I really don't like talking to a non-CF doctor, but this doctor did the best she could.  She sent me for blood work and a chest x-ray.  She also prescribed a anti-biotic, just in case. 

The next day, in the later evening, my fever broke.  It is amazing how 3 degrees difference in body temperature can make me feel so horrible.  In addition to being sick, Ethan was away on a business trip.  I had to try and take care of myself, the dogs, and the house with no help.  Uggg. 

Even though the fever was only 36 hours, it took nearly five days to really recover.  I had little energy, felt dizzy if I got up too fast, and had very little appetite.  I certainly was not exercising.  I am thankful I am feeling better now.  I am also thankful the fever seemed to be viral and not a serious bacterial infection. 

Fall, October and Zombies

Fall is here and October is just a few short days away. This weekend I am planning on decorating for Halloween, one of my favorite holidays.

Last November, I posted a craft blog about a zombie cross stitch project that I was starting.  I wanted to complete 9 cross stitch pattern and put them together in a wall-hanging by THIS Halloween.  I have been working really hard and officially finished the 9th project this week.  After the decorations are set out, I am going to work on the wall hanging next.  It really should not take long, so I am hoping to have it done by next weekend.

I actually found cross stitching to be a great craft.  I have never done it before.  It was easy to learn (I taught myself) and never frustrating.  I found it to be very relaxing and comforting.  It does not require a lot of energy and I could just sit on the couch at night and work on my project.  But it requires just enough concentration, it helped take my mind off of stress or anxiety in my life.  I am already thinking of ideas for my next project.

Here is a look at my Zombies!

These are not my original designs. I used an instruction book to create these crafts. These are scans of my finished project.  If you own the rights to these designs and don't like that they are posted, please tell me and I will remove this post.  If you are interested in creating these Zombie craft, please purchase the book...don't copy them from my blog.  It is simply titled Zombie Cross-Stitch.  Thank you.

CF Chef

I came across a website that I have not seen before called CF Chef.  It is an online resource for nutritional guidelines for people with CF.  They also have a few recipes online.  Although right now there are only four recipes, there is a promise for more recipes coming soon.  They are also having a CF recipe contest, which looks like fun! They are seeking for recipes used by the CF community to stay healthy.  Recipes will be judged on nutritional value, taste, creativity, appearance, ease of preparation and the story behind the recipe. Entries are due September 28.  Winners will be featured on the website and the recipe will be included in a 2011 CF Chef Cookbook.  I know a lot of CFers out there who love to cook and eat healthy, so why not share you favorite recipe? Good luck.

My Hawaiian Vacation

From September 9 through the 16, I was on Maui, in Hawaii.  We had a lovely trip.  The weather was perfect, the food was great, and we had good company too.  I spent many peaceful mornings on the beach, drinking coffee, swimming, and snorkeling.  Most afternoons, we would sip Mai Tais during happy hour and catch the sun set. I avoided getting sunburned.  The only bad parts of the trip was my back hurting most mornings due to a really hard bed and seeing a still-born baby dolphin.  The mother was circling the baby trying to revive it. Horrible.

Here is a list of the good memories I will keep for this trip.

Beaches

Happy Hour

Luau

Maui Tropical Plantation

Ali'i Kula Lavender Gardens

Grand Wailea Spa Grande Massage

Snorkeling at Molokini and Turtle Town

Yummy Desserts

Sun Sets

Platypus Plus Bottle

I found a new water bottle, which I am actually really excited about.  It is called the platypus plus bottle. It is a flexible plastic bottle (BPA free) which, when empty, will be completely flat.  It is great for traveling because it takes up very little space and does not weight much at all.  I am leaving for Hawaii on Friday and this will be a great resource for the trip.  I can easily fill it up before boarding the plane, take it to the beach, the fitness center, and just have it with me to stay hydrated.  I also like this water bottle because the water tastes really good and does not have a plastic-y taste to it. 

CF Clinic Update

I guess I found something to blog about....

Last week was my quarterly CF Clinic.  It was a great visit with really good PFTs.  They were up slightly from last time, but still at my baseline.  Small airways were down slightly, but still much improved since I started my new treatments.  I did a sputum culture prior to the visit, which was nice because we were able to discuss the results.  I continue to grow Pseudomonas aeruginosa, but did not culture staphylococcus aureus.  We discussed why that might be and the doctor guessed it was probably due to the sample, but I most likely still will culture this bug in the future.  We also discovered a new mycobacterium, chelonae.  There is no treatment plan in place because of my high pfts, but it will be something we will monitor.  This bacteria is common is soil and water and is common among those with joint infections, including scoliosis...which I have.  I don't really understand the connection between growing this bacteria and joint disease, so I am going to ask about this at the next  clinic appointment.

I also met the new social worker.  She is great and I was happy to meet her.  She provided me with some information on CF resources and we talked for almost 45 minutes about various themes occurring in my life right now.  I think she will be a great addition to my CF team.

I am also happy to report my sinuses have been A + since Christmas.  I had a few minor problems, but nothing like I was experiencing over the past couple of years.  I am so thankful for my new ENT!

Traveling with a Chronic Illness

I recently spent a week in the Chicago area for a family vacation.  Traveling can be complicated with having a chronic illness.  Not just from the perspective of all the extra medication and equipment I have to travel with, but also from the perspective of how traveling affects my illness.  On the way home from this trip, I couldn't help but reflect on all the different aspects vacation can have on my health and well being.  Here are some thoughts, some specifically related to this last trip.

1. The weather- the hot and humid conditions of the mid-west right now where unfamiliar and uncomfortable. The humidity felt like it added a weight to my chest.  I wouldn't say it was hard to breathe, but it just felt different...like I had a weight on my chest or something.  Also, due to the heat I had to pay extra attention to drinking water to keep from dehydrating.

2. Sinuses-on the flip side, my sinuses did really good in the Chicago weather.  I'm guessing the extra moisture in the air kept my nasal passageways moist and hydrated.  Within 12 hours of being home, my sinuses returned to being dry and stuffy.

3. Diet- I have the worst diet while in Chicago: beef sandwiches, ribs, pizza, burgers, and hot dogs.  I feel like all we do is eat while we are there.  The food is so good it seems worth it.  But at the same time, I never get the nutrition my body needs while I am there and I notice a difference in the way I feel.

4. Exercise- I usually do good with at least trying to walk a couple times while on vacation.  But I actually thought the weather conditions made it dangerous to exercise outside, so I didn't do much the whole week...unless you count playing Corn Holes.

5. Traveling with Medications- I have not encountered problems traveling with medications, except the hassle of having extra stuff to tow along.  I learned that TSA like to for the nebulizer to be out of the bag for x-ray inspection.  Otherwise, its pretty easy to take everything along.  I always carry on my medication too.  I have a fear of my checked bags being lost.  Which has happened to me three times. 

6. Treatments- I have been compliant with treatments while on vacation.  I find doing everything in the morning helps, that way its out of the way and I can just enjoy the day without thinking about it.  I do not, however, travel with the VEST.  At this point in my life, it is not worth lugging around.  I do the VEST to be compliant with doctor recommendations...but I don't really think it makes a huge difference with my health.  So I just give myself the break while traveling. 

7. Sleep- I love all the extra sleep I get while on vacation.  During this trip, there where some days when I had to set the alarm and get up early, but for the most part I was getting around 9 to 10 hours of sleep a night.  And I felt great!  I didn't feel tired at all this trip.  Didn't even take a nap.  But after being home for 24 hours, I went right back into feeling like a zombie by 7 pm after working and going to the gym. 

8. Germs- Airports and airplanes are dirty and germy.  I am always paranoid that I will end up sick while on vacation due to the exposure to germs while traveling.  This trip went great, no illness.  Not even post vacation.