Update on pberggren

[Alysia]

Hi Phil,
I am so sorry for your suffering
I hope the pains will go away and that your ribs will heal soon.
I am joining to Whatthewhat's admiration, even if we make you blush
here is link I found
How to Treat Broken Ribs: 5 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow
I bet Dr. Phil already knows all he should know but just in case he misses anything....
and for the others around, fractured ribs is one of our risks, concernning our poor bones and the amount and intensity of coughing
I am sending you my love and my praying take care and update us.

[Debbie C]

Well Phil, wecan always say there is never a dull moment with you !!! What brought on the bad coughing spell ? I know how bad cracked ribs are, Michelle is right..carry a pillow around with you,especially if you start bouncing of the walls from the morphine !!! Hope you get better soon

[pberggren1]

I always have bad coughing spells every day because of the cavitating nodules from the Wegs and M. Abscessus. The mucus has to come out.

[whatthewhat]

Thanks. I do try.

How is your daughter doing?

Thanks for asking - rheumy appt next week (& ophthalmologist & pt...) and I am planning on posting an update after that. For now, I'll just say she's doing great, all things considered!

[pberggren1]

Glad to hear she is doing great...... I know the parents and caregivers have it hard as well.......

[pberggren1]

Doc visit went well today. Bone scan is normal so she said no point on going on a biphosphonate if your bones are in that good of shape after years of pred like that. So that made me very happy. She said those drugs can have some weird side effects as well that I would not need or like. She said to keep up on the vitamin D3, Cal/Mag, Strontium and fresh greens.

[annekat]

Phil, are you talking about Fosamax or that type of drug? I take it and am not sure I like the idea, but did have osteopenia before being treated for Wegs. So I guess I should. But I'm confused about some of the negatives I've heard about and don't know how accurate people's assessment of it is. Were you once on it and then stopped? It might have been someone else, but I thought you may have posted something to that effect in the past. I'm sure I can look up past threads on this subject but would be interested in anything off the top of your head about why a person should or shouldn't take it. Did your doc say what the weird side effects were?

[pberggren1]

My doc said some stuff about bones and teeth and jaws.

If it were me I would eat healthy and take those supplements and get a bone scan done every couple years at least.

[annekat]

Thanks, Phil. I do take the calcium, magnesium, and D3. Not strontium, will look into that. I could eat more leafy greens. I guess I'm due for another bone scan. I remember Booknut saying that she didn't take Fosamax because she thought it made bad quality bone. She gets the right kinds of weight-bearing exercises, she said, and I think her bone scans were OK, plus she probably takes the supplements. I do remember reading the stuff on the info sheet about jaws and maybe hip bones or femurs being susceptible to problems with Fosamax. It is confusing to me why something that is supposed to help your bones would cause bone necrosis or susceptibility to breakage. I guess I'll have to talk to my PA about this at my next general health exam. My Wegs treating doc is all for me taking Fosamax, but it had already been prescribed by my PA, even though she tried to make sure I was aware of the issues in case I wanted not to do it. I do have some osteoporosis in my family but I'm sure I get more weight bearing exercise and take more supplements than my mother did. Thanks for reading this, and I'll do some more research on the forum and elsewhere. It does concern me.

[pberggren1]

My doc also wants me to try going to 10mg every other day with the pred and see if I handle that well. If I do, then she said sometime in the new year we will try 5 every other day then just quit. I hope that is early in the new year.....