Tim's cough has never gone away, but last night, it started in earnest once again. This has been going on for over two months now. He has had two rounds of antibiotic, neither of which helped in the least. Benzonatate does not work. He has junk in his lungs and he needs to rid his body of that. Last night, I lay in bed, listening to him wheeze with every breath and it freaked me the hell out. Truly.
So this morning, I got up and called my own doctor's office to see if there was any way that they could see him so that we could get a second opinion on this.The disheartening response was that they couldn't. There are so many sick people that they simply cannot accept new patients.
I told him firmly, "You need to call your doctor's office again. This is insanity, and it is really starting to scare me."
He made disparaging sounds. I said, "That's it! I'm going with you. I bet you're going in there with the same attitude you're giving me now, that this is nothing, no big deal. This is bullshit."
He looked a little surprised.
"I'm serious Tim. I'm tired of worrying about this. You've been sick for weeks now. What would happen if you DID get covid or RSV on top of whatever the hell this is? I'm making you another appointment and I'm going in with you. "
My outrage caused him to tell me that I wasn't going with him and he'd make his own appointment. He scarcely slept at all last night and fell asleep waiting for his doctor's office to open. At the stroke of 8:30, I woke him up and gave him the phone.
He did make his own appointment. He went by himself. The doctor felt that a chest x-ray would show nothing and ordered steroids for him.
I hope this works because, quite honestly, I don't even know what we do next. But I did make him barbecued baby back spare ribs for supper tonight, a reward for making that doctor's appointment.
The good news is that Cara and Colin received their package today.
The bad news is that the stupid cat is hiding in the basement again. I don't even know why. We played with him for probably about an hour. He was purring and taking treats from our hands and stretching himself out to be petted. As far as I knew, I had a happy cat when I went to bed last night. The basement door must have been left slightly ajar, and voila~! Once again, Houdini has pulled his disappearing act.
I can see why you're worried. I hope Tim starts to recuperate very soon. You're right . this weakens a body.
ReplyDeleteIt does weaken a body, and I see him getting more and more run down.
DeleteReally wish that the doctor would order a chest x-ray. It seems like he's just guessing without being able to actually see what's going on in Tim's lungs. Glad that the package arrived!
ReplyDeleteWell, the good news is that he was able to sleep last night. I did not hear him cough once. He snored, which was very comforting. For weeks now, he hasn't been sleeping soundly enough to snore.
DeleteI too think a chest x ray would be prudent. From you heating being on, the air would be dry, so that's good. Can he sleep with his body on an angle so that his chest drains better? A couple of bricks supporting the base of the bed would make the right angle. As with many medical issues, he must stay well hydrated.
ReplyDeletePeople don't think of it, but yes, staying hydrated is really important.
DeleteYou would think that in these days of medical wonders there should be something out there to help clear gunk from lungs. I hope that Tim gets some relief soon.
ReplyDeleteOne would think....
DeleteI'm sure Houdini will soon come out again. Cats can't resist a closed door and once it opens . . .
ReplyDeleteSorry that Tim is so bad. When I've had chest infections like this in the past, steroids have worked. Have they taken a sputum test by the way, as if they are giving the wrong antibiotics for that sort of infection, they won't work at all. I went THREE years without the GP bothering with a sputum test - the minute I got one (via a Locum I'd specifically gone in to see) they did a test and found a specific antibiotic to cure me and it worked. Hope he is on the mend soon.
He had a sputum test done before Christmas. No one called, so I called them. The day after Christmas, they did call back to say that the doctor needed to talk to Tim. He never called. I called them. I was impatiently told that the woman had made the call herself and had spoken to my husband personally. I said, "Yes...but what you said was that the doctor needed to talk to him." Which came as a shock to her. She got his records and then faulted the lab for confusing results. She would straighten it out. She would call the lab. The doctor did call and told us it was nothing.
DeleteI discovered yesterday that my daughter in law has had a chest infection and was briefly in hospital and given intravenous antibiotics. They didn't want to worry me by telling me at the time! She is feeling much better now and back at work. I hope that Tim gets some help that works.
ReplyDeleteI was also thinking that it might be the coughing that sent the cat back to the basement!
It honestly seems like everybody has something here. The good news is that Tim slept all night. I asked him how he felt this morning, and he said, "I am just so sleepy." I told him he ought to just keep himself in bed and sleep as long as he could.
DeleteCar heaters can cause dry coughs. Houdini is quite a character isn't he?
ReplyDeleteHe is indeed a character. I am beginning to think that I will never quite understand him. The cat, either.
DeleteI'm starting to think Houdini is a lost cause, but I applaud your giving him a home. Poor Tim... I wonder if an abdominal ultrasound would find something? I had a gallbladder attack on November 1st and went to the ER, they gave me both a chest x-ray and an ultrasound. It really shows your lungs in real detail, mine had some scarring from my years of smoking.
ReplyDeleteTim has never smoked. I did. My father died of lung cancer in 2001. I quit then. How long ago did you quit?
DeleteGood for Tim--Debby, my dad died of the same, also in 2001. I quit in 2008.
DeleteI doubt this has anything to do with your husband's cough, but one time I started having a dry cough that spoiled my sleep, as well as anybody's sleep around me. I had no other symptoms, just a tickling, dry cough that wouldn't stop. After about three weeks of this, I remembered that the doctor had put me on blood pressure medicine. I looked up the name of the med and googled it, with the word "cough" added. What I found out is that Ace inhibitors cause about 1/3 of the people who take it to cough. I went to the doctor and told them my problem; he said, "We call that an "Ace cough," and changed my blood pressure medicine.
ReplyDeleteI think the cat will come back upstairs sooner, rather than later. He's just trying to show you you're not the boss of him.
He has been on BP medication for years., with no change to the medication or dosage. That is a good reminder though.
DeleteIt’s disturbing when the medics can’t get to the bottom of things.
ReplyDeleteYour cat is a nut job, but I am reminded to ask how Sha and the kids are doing with their rescue. Speaking of which, it is another snow day for the kid — their third this month. In this case it was caused by ice, but we call them all snow days.
Know a good cat therapist?
DeleteI wonder if the coughing scares Houdini? My cats have always run in terror to hide if I sneeze or cough. They seemed to think my face was exploding or something, then who would feed them?
ReplyDeleteMy cough is subsiding after four weeks, best remedy to date being unsweetened lemon juice in hot water. I'm wondering if he actually has RSV? I believe that is a situation of treat the symptoms and they'll eventually subside.
I have been drinking ginger infused water. I am wondering about RSV myself. The steroids have helped.
DeleteI use a cool mist humidifier in my bedroom during the winter months with the furnace heat makes the house dry. That seems to help my tickle cough. Hope Tim (and you!) gets relief soon.
ReplyDeleteI bought one of those before Christmas. It helps me, not him.
DeleteHe might need to go to the ER when he starts coughing at night, but I know how men can be about things like that. My husband would cough for hours and finally after a chest Eray they found a tiny spot on his lung, after surgery the cough left him. Not trying to scare him but this is nothing to mess with after it lasting so long.
ReplyDeleteShoot. I can scarcely get him to a doctor in the light of day!
DeleteHopefully the steroids help. Sometimes the airways can just get so inflamed and irritated with chronic coughing that it requires steroids to calm everything down. I imagine your husband feels like shit. Not getting enough sleep is so hard on a person. As for the fucking f-bomb, too funny:)
ReplyDeleteAnd the cat, he'll come back upstairs. Cats are very good at doing what's best for themselves and he likes William.
He was fetched upstairs. Not happy. Tim explained it to him, picked him up and carried him back up.
DeleteOf course you are worried as well you should be. Fucking A!
ReplyDeleteOh, Houdini. One step forward, two steps back.
I got stern. Raised voice. Liberal sprinkling of words not common to this house.
DeleteI certainly appreciate the humor in the comic strip. Ain't that the truth? I certainly hope Tim gets a diagnosis and correct treatment. I know several people who have been struggling with something similar as well though perhaps not as bad from the sounds of it. But still a persistent cough that gets better and then returns. I wonder if perhaps it is something due to Long Covid or perhaps damage caused by Covid. I think I've written about a guy I know, an antivaxxer, that got Covid and ended up with scarred lungs and oxygen for the rest of his life. Hopefully it isn't either of those things.
ReplyDeleteMy wife tells me that back pain and chronic coughing is some of the harder things to diagnose and treat.
I can imagine. A cough has a million potential causes.
DeleteWell, you did the right thing pushing Tim to make another appointment, and I hope the steroids do some good. That cartoon made me laugh, F-bomb and all! Cats tend to like dark, quiet spaces, so it's not unthinkable Houdini would be drawn to the basement.
ReplyDeleteThe steroids do seem to help so far and the cat is out of the basement....
DeleteIf the steroids don't help, I'd insist on the chest X-ray. Otherwise, research and find a doctor to visit out of town. Plus, get on a call list with your doctor in case they have a cancellation.
ReplyDeleteThey aren't accepting new patients, even if there is a cancellation.
DeleteI would insist on the chest x-ray, you need to know what is going on in his chest. Sure, steroids may help but they are not a cure. Apology not required for the F-bomb, that cartoon pretty well sums up a cat's approach to life. "Feed me, keep my litter box clean, bring me toys, and maybe, just maybe, I'll return the affection" :)
ReplyDeleteI can tell you have known a cat or two in your time!
DeleteYep, 4 to be exact. :)
DeleteThey have trained you well. :)
DeleteI don't like Tim's doctor's cavalier attitude about this. A chest X-ray could show him something he has not considered. Coughing like this is not "nothing" and should be taken seriously. I hope this gets better, having had pneumonia I truly sympathize with the cough.
ReplyDeleteI am not pleased either but he has had this doctor for 40+ years.
DeleteHmmmm, not a good response by the docs. The steroids will treat the symptoms, but not solve the reason for the coughing problem. Consider changing docs or going to an urgent care. Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteWe will discuss it later. I am about tired of arguing with him on the subject.
DeleteTim is lucky to have you pushing him to get seen by a doctor. Scary to have things come and go with no clear reason... and coughing is exhausting. but steroids for a cough? sounds like asthma. He isnt allergic to Houdini is he? He should maybe get hold of a peak-flow meter and one of those finger blood oxygen monitors to just check that his lung function is actually OK if he starts wheezing again - self-assessment of breathing function is very poor, reliable data is key. (they did a really great study once of asthmatics where they gave them ventolin or a no-medicine inhaler - and both groups reported better breathing after using their inhalers, but the people with the no-medicine inhaler weren't actually better at all when they measured their lung function...). Cat in Paris.
ReplyDeleteHe isn't allergic to cats. We had our Paddy Paws for many years. He has never been asthmatic. He Did say when he was a little boy, he had bouts like this every winter. It has never happened in 25 years I have known him.
DeleteThe coughing seems to be better. We will see.
What an interesting household you have! You are a great storyteller and a compassionate person. I can offer no advice about cats, but have a couple of thoughts regarding your husband’s coughing. Keep in mind that I’m not a medical expert.
ReplyDeletePerhaps Tim is allergic to cats? Allergies can present in various ways. Another thought…I used to teach elementary school. A parent once asked if her daughter’s coughing was disruptive during class. I told the parent that her daughter never coughed at all. Mom said that her daughter coughed all night long. The child was eventually diagnosed with asthma. Steroids will help both allergies and asthma, but symptoms will recur one steroid effectiveness has decreased.
**once steroid effectiveness has decreased
DeleteHe has never been allergic to cats before. I am a bit worried about what happens when the steroids are done.
DeleteSome great advice for Tim from your comments. I would certainly push for the chest x-ray. If nothing else it will give a baseline for down the track.
ReplyDeleteHoudini will be back. He is just making sure the basement is still as he left it.
After two days, Tim went down and fetched him up.
DeleteSending best wishes for Tim! I saw you replied to someone that he’s been with the same doctor for 40 years.. maybe it’s time for a new one?? Fingers crossed for some nights of solid sleep for you both!xo, Ricki
ReplyDeleteThanks.
DeleteThat cough would worry me too. I hope that if the roids don't do the trick, an xray will be ordered.
ReplyDeleteIt's craziness. He's now come downstairs. He was trying to sleep, but he's coughing again.
Delete