Trade Offs in Health

I am about due for another visit with my primary care doctor.  I saw her last month for my ongoing breathing problems that started with an ambulance ride to the hospital back in January.  My breathing was still terrible in August so she started me on a new drug and I'll be checking in with her again next week to follow-up on the effectiveness of this new drug. 

When I saw her about three weeks ago, I was telling her that the worst of my horrendous gastro-intestinal problems seemed to have been traded for the breathing problems.  I was still occasionally experiencing the debilitating gastro problems about once or twice a week but the severity had lessened and the frequency had significantly lessened.  However, my breathing had become unmanageable and, if you can't breathe, you can't do anything.  I haven't been able to do much this calendar year as a result.  Far too often, I feel like a fish out of water gasping for air.

On the rare day when I feel halfway decent, I attempt to do something only to find very quickly that my breathing is still poor and/or the little bit of activity is triggering the breathing issues yet again.  My energy levels have been far lower than usual too this calendar year and, I assume, this is due to not getting enough oxygen. 

So, it seemed that I traded some of my debilitating gastro problems for even worse breathing problems.  It seemed as though the over-active mast cells in my body moved from my intestines to my lungs.  Although the severely debilitating gastro problems keep me near the bathroom at home, the gastro problem is a far better option than not being able to breathe.  

When I last visited my primary care doctor a few weeks ago, she started me on a corticosteroid inhaler (in addition to all my other drugs including other inhalers).  So far, I've seen a moderate improvement in my breathing so that is good.  The downside is that my gastro-intestinal problems seemed to have reverted back to my pre-breathing problems!

Last night was absolutely brutal.  I spent far too much time in the bathroom sick as a dog.  The nausea was horrendous, the cramping was painful, and I can't believe how many times I filled up the toilet and had to flush.  I ended up taking some emergency medications last night.

I think I'll have to adjust my H2 Blockers again to try to get the gastro issues under control.  And...  hopefully...  my breathing will continue to improve.  I see my doctor again later in the week so we'll see what she says then...