BookNut
06-05-2014, 06:06 AM
Last night my raw throat needed help. So I broke out my bag of cough drops, which I have used many times. Well, I broke out in a red rash on my arms, chest and legs. It was hot and it stung....felt like a lot of little bees stinging at once. The stinging only lasted about an hour, and the redness for a couple of hours. I have had this reaction to some antibiotics, and to a lesser extent to yellow dye # 5. I have concluded that I am allergic to the red dye #40 which is in the cough drops. Many folks on the internet have had a similar reaction....though I never had till now. Thought I should warn you guys.
RANT ALLERT!!
As I posted earlier, my regular appt with my pulmy this week was frustrating on many levels. Although my most troublesome symptoms are shortness of breath, my function tests are generally good. No test was done this week, in spite of me being SOB. He told me that all my breathing issues are due to my chronic sinusitis, and that when I have these symptoms I need to contact my ENT. This morning the SOB was worse, so I contacted my ENT office to ask for a round of prednisone and antibiotic. I am in the third week of being ill, so I don't think i am rushing things. I have TRIED to do without it...but am confined to my chair right now. Anyway, I had to spend several breathless moments on the phone with the nurse. She kept saying that it sounds like a pulmonary problem, not a sinus problem and I should be calling the pulmy. I told he what he had said, and she reluctantly agreed to pass on the info to the ENT.
Basically, right now I feel like the ball in a vigorous game of tennis. And none of us is winning at the moment.
I also have to wonder.... Does this happen to men? I can't help but wonder if either of these guys takes me seriously. I have to wonder if they think i am just a woman making a mountain out of a mole hill. My Pulmy did ask me what I meant by being short of breath. Did I mean just a coughing jag? (coughing is my most visible/audible symptom.. Wheezing isonly audible on a deep exhale). Does he think I am an idiot? I described my levels as follows:
Supermarket level.....breathless when walking from one side to the other
Kitchen Level ..... breathless when walking to my kitchen
Chair level ..... breathless when shifting around too much in my chair.
I told him I had been at chair level recently, but had improved to kitchen level the day I went to see him.
Anyway...sorry for yet another rant. But ....GRRRRR!
RANT ALLERT!!
As I posted earlier, my regular appt with my pulmy this week was frustrating on many levels. Although my most troublesome symptoms are shortness of breath, my function tests are generally good. No test was done this week, in spite of me being SOB. He told me that all my breathing issues are due to my chronic sinusitis, and that when I have these symptoms I need to contact my ENT. This morning the SOB was worse, so I contacted my ENT office to ask for a round of prednisone and antibiotic. I am in the third week of being ill, so I don't think i am rushing things. I have TRIED to do without it...but am confined to my chair right now. Anyway, I had to spend several breathless moments on the phone with the nurse. She kept saying that it sounds like a pulmonary problem, not a sinus problem and I should be calling the pulmy. I told he what he had said, and she reluctantly agreed to pass on the info to the ENT.
Basically, right now I feel like the ball in a vigorous game of tennis. And none of us is winning at the moment.
I also have to wonder.... Does this happen to men? I can't help but wonder if either of these guys takes me seriously. I have to wonder if they think i am just a woman making a mountain out of a mole hill. My Pulmy did ask me what I meant by being short of breath. Did I mean just a coughing jag? (coughing is my most visible/audible symptom.. Wheezing isonly audible on a deep exhale). Does he think I am an idiot? I described my levels as follows:
Supermarket level.....breathless when walking from one side to the other
Kitchen Level ..... breathless when walking to my kitchen
Chair level ..... breathless when shifting around too much in my chair.
I told him I had been at chair level recently, but had improved to kitchen level the day I went to see him.
Anyway...sorry for yet another rant. But ....GRRRRR!