After several trips to local clinic in the past four weeks, two antibiotics, doing nasal rinses several times a day, taking lots Guaifenesin, lots of Fluticasone nasal spray, inhaling steam to try clear sinuses, and sleeping most of the days i finally concluded my increased GPA residual symptoms and related problems are not going to get better without getting some more help for my GPA. In the past these episodes of increased residual symptoms usually subside by themselves in a few days or couple weeks. So yesterday I contacted my treating doctor who has assured me several times in the past he would see me ASAP if I had a serious flare.
This isn't a serious life threatening flare YET or I would be seeking admission to a hospital for treatment but the increased residual GPA symptoms like blood clots and fresh blood in many nasal rinses, frequent coughing from excess mucous running down my throat, more fatigue, more body aches and pains, lots of gunk in sinuses coming out in nasal rinses, mouth sores etc are exhausting me. It is also really getting in the way of the life I have been able to enjoy when I am feeling better in what my doctors call a stable drug induced remission. I haven't been able to enjoy any of my usual fun recreation activities for over a month.
So far my lungs are still clear according to the five medical staff who have seen me in past four weeks. My lab and dipstick tests indicate no blood in urine and I haven't coughed up a cup of fresh blood so my lungs and kidneys don't seem affected yet so far but i know how quickly things can change and I am tired of feeling sick and tired and coughing all the time.
Last night I had an allergic reaction of my tongue swelling up which probably related to my just finishing my Zpack of Azithromycin and developing an allergy to it. This is unfortunate for me since it was one of two that I used most often for infections. I am already allergic to the most commonly used ones.
I got a shot of 25 ml of Benadryl and 125 ml of Solumedrol which seemed to relieve the swelling in my tongue very quickly. The steroid shot also gave me an energy bump today so I was able to spend the hours on the phone needed to finally get my appointment confirmed for next week. I will probably get a lot more steroids as they are talking about a Medrol pack for me. This is disheartening cause I know the months it took to get rid of buffalo hump and most of the moon face but right now it seems worth the risk and maybe necessary to keep the Weg dog at bay before it decides to take a bigger bite of me again.
The one bright ?? spot in being ill the past month is I finally got under the weight i had when discharged from the nursing home four years ago by losing 15 pounds. I haven't been this low in weight since I got really sick with Wegs back in 2010 but i am sure the additional steroids will put it all back along with some extra just like it did last time.
Anyway I will feel good about getting a good check up by the doctor who has treated me since my diagnosis and knows my history of GPA very well. And hopefully benefitting from whatever new treatment my experts think i now need.
I have also spent a lot of time researching nasal rinses and chronic sinus infections and bronchitis and will start another thread on that topic to share my ideas and gain more info from you all too.
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