Hey! I'm still home

[Guest guest]

Cheryl........I am so glad to hear that things are working out for you with the new doc.......it is so important that we feel comfortable with our doctors....its frustrating enough just trying to deal with this disease......you mentioned that he put you on ceclor......I just want to tell you that I have taken it and never had any problems with it.....however my husband ended up having an allergic reaction to it after taking it for a long time.......(wierd I know) we always took it for colds....infections.....etc.....and then one day he took it and went to work and his whole body just had this reaction to it........he got starting getting a rash and itching and then his throat started swelling slowly.......by the time he got to the drs office about 20 minutes away his whole throat was almost swollen shut.......luckily he made it there in time and everything worked out.........I am not telling you this to scare you I just want to make you aware of what happened to us so that you can always watch for signs.......I still use it to this day and have never had a problem.......so I don't know why he started reacting to it but the dr said it has happened to people before after using it for awhile then all of the sudden they can't..........just wanted to make you aware..........but I am glad that you finally got a dr that you like..........I lucked out the first time on that deal....... sondra

[Guest guest]

Hi Everyone. Phew! Everyone has asked a lot of questions.

First off - the magazine is called The Grapevine, and is local to Frederick

County (which I have no idea where that is!). I will be writing articles

about places of interest in Australia. Naturally, this will be only if they

like the articles, but thus far, they're interested. (Writing is very

selective. One editor may love your work, another hate it. Actually, I

recently had an editor from a large publishers in the US interested in one

of my novels, but the chief editor didn't want it, so I lost out.) We got

some great photos Wednesday night, but I was totalled on Thursday, and still

recovering. I don't think any of my articles will be published until at

least April and they will have exclusive rights for six months. After that,

I can sell reprint rights (as many times as I want!) Some writers end up

with as much as $1,000 with all the reprints (I wish - but won't count my

chickens yet)

The new specialist has changed my medication. I am now having Spiriva

instead of Atrovent. This is a once-a-day puffer. I've had three days of it

so far, and it seems to be working. The doc says it's been haled as the

great new answer to COPD - he's not convinced, but we'll see I guess. He

also put me on Ceclor antibiotic. He felt I did the right thing in going

immediately, and says if I hadn't he also feels I would have been in

hospital within the week. I had a 20 minute appointment booked, and ended up

being there for just over an hour. (The old doc pushed me out the door

within 15 mins, even if we hadn't finished!)

It seems that my biggest problem is the mucus build up and dispersion. (He

said this can also cause drops in oxygen levels because the mucus sits in

the airways and blocks the oxygen flow) He has decided to treat me the same

as if I have cystic fibrosis as that is the problem people with that disease

have. Of course, because I don't have CF, I can't use the same medication.

As I told him, I'm glad I don't have CF - bronchiectasis is bad enough! I'm

going back to him Tuesday for a review. Also he's not hopeful of getting me

off oxygen, but will try to treat the cause and that way may win the battle

(I can only hope). Another problem he's sees, is that because I'm only

(only!) 46, he has to plan for the future. He sees that I have at least

another thirty years of treatment (I love him so much!) so they need to be

careful about what medications they use. Some cause other problems, like

osteoporosis to mention just one. The old doc didn't talk about this at all.

I know I've made the right decision by going with this doctor.

, ask your doctor to check if your pneumococcal immunisation is

working. When your immune system is not working properly, immunisations

don't always take for as long as they should. The doctors think I had

pneumococcal three times last year (apparently they have to test for this

while you're sick to know if you've actually got it), and finally they

tested me, and I had no immunisation in my system at all. Needless to say

I've been immunised for it again. The new specialist told me Wednesday, that

people with immune deficiency should have the injection every 3 or 4 years,

whereas for everyone else it's five years. (You learn something every day!)

On a totally different subject: I've been asked by the local council to run

a writers group for locals, which includes teaching writing. This is an

unpaid position, and I have told them I would, depending on my health. It

could lead to other work in the future, and of course it looks good on my

resume. I've also started advertising that I produce newsletters (I have

ten years experience in this area) and will be sending out flyers for

wedding & birthday invitations at a very low cost. Did you know you can pay

$100 minimum for someone to produce wedding invitations? I could do it for

about half that, and that would include the printing (depending on how many

were required). Talk about opening up an avenue for yourself.

Anyway, I've probably rambled enough, so I'll go.

Cheers,

Cheryl

www.cheryl-wright.com