Chronicle of an illness with Addison's: Adjusting meds for illness

Quick rundown:

• Monday - pain, itching from pain meds, exhaustion, pain, no short term memory what so ever
• Tuesday - pain, itching, exhaustion, pain
• Wednesday - no pain, cautiously optomistic, did desk work
• Thursday - no pain, back to caretaking, meetings and driving all around
• Friday - no pain, tired and healed enough to take a weekend vacation

In case you're curious, I haven't run since Wednesday 4/8/09.  Today I did a little 1.5 mile jog.  I'm still tired.

Med adjustments in chart below.  Remember, I'm no doctor and I don't recommend that you do anything I do.  I am just sharing what I did.  I go by symptoms and judge whether or not I think my exhaustion is reasonable considering my situation or unreasonable and because of Addison's.  If I feel really bad tonight or in the next few days, I will not hesitate to take extra hydrocortisone.

7 day course of Levaquin and...

	HC	Florinef	Probiotics	Fluids
USUAL DOSES	25-35 mg*	.025 mcg	2 PB8*	3 -4 quarts
Monday	55 mg*	.05 mcg	8 PB8*	4-5 quarts
Tuesday	40 mg*	.05 mcg	4 PB8*	4 quarts
Wednesday	35 mg*	.025 mcg	4 PB8*	4 quarts
Thursday	30 mg*	.025 mcg	4 PB8*	3 quarts
Friday	30-35 mg*	.025 mcg	4 PB8*	4 quarts

* IN DIVIDED DOSES THROUGH OUT THE DAY

Chronicle of an illness with Addison's: Trip to the ER

I forgot to post below that I thought that the headache was from some new supplements that I had recently started, the apathy from these long Idaho winters (Winter Storm Watch today, April 15) and the bladder thing was nagging, not painful.  I ignored every single warning sign that my body gave me!

Here's the ER experience from Sunday.  Awoke at 5 am feeling fine momentarily and took meds (15 mg HC).  Felt crusty from sweating and fever of previous day.  Took shower at about 5 am and almost vomited in drain.  Sat on floor of shower and tried to will clothes to come to me.  They didn't and I got up, dressed and went to couch.  Felt nauseous.  Drank ginger ale so I’d have something tasty to vomit and managed to get 8 oz of H20 down.  Took Zofran and 10 mg HC. Pain got worse and worse, crying, unable to get comfortable.  Puked and decided it was time to go to the hospital before my mom called an ambulance.  Needed a wheelchair to get out of car and into room.

Here's the important part.  The moment I saw the hospital personnel I said, "I've got Addison's disease and I just threw up.  I'm nauseous and in a lot of pain."  Then my husband pulled my National Adrenal Foundation card out of my wallet and I said, "Photocopy that paper and put it back in my wallet!"  Apparently when I'm in a lot of pain and nauseous, I'm nasty and very straight forward, more so than usual (scary).

I was given an IV:  2 bags of saline, 4 mg morphine, 100 mg HC, phenergan, Zofran, antibiotics.  Despite drinking a gallon of water on Saturday, I peed once at 5 am on Sunday and not again until 1 pm.  I get dehydrated VERY quickly.  All the drugs had me feeling much more comfortable very quickly.  Comfortable is a relative term!

My treatment at our local hospital, Teton Valley Health Care  was absolutely excellent.  They were very nice to me even though I was bitchy and demanding (Get me antibiotics without lactose!  No you can't use the veins in my elbows!  I want the other girl to take my blood, not you!  I don't want crackers, I don't eat gluten!  I want more painkillers!  I don't want one of those giant gowns!  I want a kid's gown!  I don't think you even know what Addison's disease is!).  I didn't have to wait even a minute to be seen, I was rolled right into the ER in a wheelchair by the EMTs and the nurse was in momentarily, the doctor moments after that.  Very impressive.  I was sent home with the drugs I was going to need immediately because the pharmacy is not open on Sunday.  We're very lucky to still have a hospital in Teton Valley despite the struggles it is currently facing.  Thank you Teton Valley Health Care!

I came home, ate a little bit, slept and then eventually went to bed.  The itching from the pain killers kept me awake but it was good to be in my bed and not in as much pain!  I did find it amazing that I could have around 115 mg of HC over the course of the day and still be able to sleep during the day and through most of the night.  Definitely a sign that my body was in need of it.

That's enough for now.

Chronicle of an illness with Addison's: Warning signs

I'm going to chronicle this kidney infection.  I'm not doing it to get people to say they hope I get well or anything.  We, with Addison's, share many of the same fears and concerns.  Today I'll start with warning signs.  Sorry if this is boring.  Some of you out there can relate to what I have to say though.

Please keep in mind I have not been seriously sick since I got bronchitis in early 2002.  I don't consider my migraines a sickness so much as a chronic condition that I have to live with.  

• Early last week, Monday, I started getting extremely intense and short lived headaches.  They were nothing like the Classic Migraine with Aura that I usually get.  Just intensely painful headaches with exertion.  I also got twinges of a bladder infection (girls, you know what I mean) but not bad enough that I tried to avoid peeing.  Additionally I was completely apathetic about everything which is very unlike me.  
• Started a new workout routine Tuesday, intense headache from the pull ups.  
• Wednesday I had a sore back, which I assumed was the new workout routine, coupled with the headaches, bladder twinges and apathy.  
• Thursday I went to work and had to leave because my back was hurting in a pulsating fashion.  Still had the exertion headache, apathy and bladder twinges (really, the bladder twinges felt like nothing, just perceptible).  Made an appointment at the clinic for Friday.
• Friday I went to the clinic where they confirmed the bladder infection.  When I asked about the back pain, she said people get that with a bladder infection.  I accepted that.  She suggested antibiotics and because nothing hurt too badly and she didn't seem to concerned, I asked about trying alternative methods.  She concurred, made suggestions and gave me followup instructions.  I felt fine Friday night.
• Saturday I felt like shit.  Kept taking the herbal stuff.  Pain increased, headache sustained, started to get a fever, slept on and off during the day.  Stayed hydrated and took 10 mg extra HC.  Slept fine Saturday night.

Tomorrow - Chronicle of an illness with Addison's: Trip to the ER

Wednesday - Chronicle of an illness with Addison's:  Adjusting meds for illness (what I've done because there's no one to help figure this out that knows better than I do, except Wanda!)

Down and out

2 words.  Kidney infection.

For 3 of the last 4 days I've been in quite a bit of back pain.  Today I couldn't handle it any more and went to the ER.  Actually, I went to the doctor's office on Friday and felt reassured that the pain was being caused by a bladder infection.  I thought I could handle a bladder infection with herbal stuff.  Saturday was painful and uncomfortable with a fever, only a little crying.  This morning I woke up feeling ok and immediately took a shower.  By the end of the shower, I was curled up on the floor of the stall, nearly puking in the drain and crying.  My clothes were about 4 feet away and I stared at them, willing them to come to me before I got too cold.  It didn't work.  I couldn't walk 4 freaking feet.  Long story short, pain got unbearable and my husband drove me to the hospital.  I was given 100 mg HC, IV fluids, phenergan, zofran, morphine and IV antibiotics. 

I'm always amazed at how if you need a large dose of HC, it doesn't make you feel jittery or bad, it just makes you feel "regular sick" as opposed to the dying "Addison's sick".

More later.

My extreme aversion to antibiotics and high pain threshold came around to bite me in the butt.