Spiriva- you know your body better than your DR … voice your concerns
I have decided to blog my past few months experience with breathing problems in hope that someone else out there may benefit … and it will likely help me to get things off my chest (pardon the pun and the spelling).
It all started last December while on a business trip to the USA … I came back feeling awful and the next 8 days following that were spent in meetings and on a 5 days vacation to Disney with my 2 youngest children … followed by all the business of Christmas. I felt horrible but thought is was all due to overdoing it(which I tend to do on occasion) …I am a high level energy person … who lives an extremely busy life.
I never had a cold just a persistant cough that really took allot out of me …I did manage to get feeling somewhat better but the cough never went away … and over the past few months I have felt my energy level decresing … to the point where climbing stair carrying my laptop tires me out.
I finally made an appointment with my Dr and she sent me for the routine blood work, chest x-ray, ultrasound (I also have Kidney stones ..which have never bothered me) and she put me on an inhaler to help with the cough. My chest x-ray came back OK … and my blood work showed that my hormones were all screwed up due to menopause (which I already knew … that’s an easy diagnosis). she said all was well … but it wasn’t because I was getting worse … so I told her that as she was leaving the Dr office and she followed up by sending me for a pulmonary functions test and said my lack of energy was due to Menopause ( I haven’t had a period in over 2 yrs … I did not think the menopause thing was a factor … I have other issues that I would contribute to Menopause … but first things first ha-ha-)… I must have failed the PF test … because yesterday her office called and they have upped my inhaler and have me on Spiriva.
I must say it scared me a bit when I read the info on this product and what I may or may not have … but as one that believes strongly in fate … I will deal with this the best I can.
I also have another ultrasound May 13th … I am assuming for my lungs (as they did not say when they called to schedule the appointment … and my husband took the call).
I must say … I took my first dose of Spiriva this morning and went on a long walk with my 8yr old and our dog … it seems to work better than the inhalers … which I really didn’t use unless I was having real trouble breathing (which only occurred when I got winded or overly stressed about something .. maybe 3x/wk).
I do not like taking medicine … If I can help it … I am not one that goes to a Dr very offten … in fact only for routine appointments every few yrs … I am a healthy person with 4 children (ages 23 – eight) … I use to only see a DR when I was pregnant … but now realize that at 48 … I need to go once in awhile for the sake of my kids.
