JenniferInOhio Posted October 5, 2007 Report Share Posted October 5, 2007 Melissa,I hope your appt. went well and the fever is not from anything serious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunfish Posted October 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2007 unfortunately the fevers are still making their daily appearance with the higher version dropping in on occasion, i.e.. monday afternoon i hit 104.3 which brings with it horrible proceeding shakes, bad headache (lower fevers just bring small headache, etc.). it's really frustrating and as they're still occurring the chances of it being the abx that i stopped last thursday is pretty low. they're really knocking me to the ground and on many days i'm lucky to get my basic medical stuff done and get a quick check in on the computer. so sorry that i've thus been so quiet on the forum...i just haven't been able to keep up with replying much at all.my appt on thursday wasn't with dr. grubb but with his NP; she doesn't generally make any decisions with me without dr. grubb chiming in but he's out of the country at the moment so it was largely just a check in after my recent hospitalization. she was/ is pretty concerned about the fevers despite my bloodwork looking good. at that point she was hopeful that it might be the suspected med reaction. i do have an appointment with dr. grubb himself in another month.i then saw my pulmonologist on monday (from recent hospital stay) and expected to pretty much be told i was good to go in that regard as, before my recent hospitalization, i've never had any pulmonary issues aside from sleep apnea. i had no reason to think my x-ray wouldn't look good, was planning to ask if i really needed to bother with the scheduled CT scan in another 3 wks, etc. of course i was going to ask about the fevers but didn't expect anything exciting from the appointment. not quite the case. i had a small fever while in the office but was also told that my chest x-ray "wasn't at all normal" and ended up getting sent for a stat CT scan right after the appointment. evidently i have a partially collapsed lung (atelectasis) per the x-ray & will hopefully hear back about the CT scan today. the only positive in that regard is the hope that whatever is going on with my lungs could be connected to the fevers. the pulmonologist didn't think that the abx was likely the cause of the fevers. while listening to my chest the doc also asked me "how long have you had this rash??" uh...i could only respond "what rash?!" i had no idea that i had a rash. i always get red cheeks with my fevers (the only time i'm not pale!) but had no idea that my back & chest were all splochy as well....sort of hive-like but the rash isn't raised. so i went into the office thinking i had one acute issue (fevers) & left with three (fevers, rash, partially collapsed lung). just can't win, eh?hopefully some answers will surface sooner than later as the fevers are getting old (more than two weeks now). it's great that i'm at home & not in the hospital but not knowing is still disconcerning. we haven't ruled out the possibility that it's "just" a progression of my autonomic issues but that's not where the docs are leaning, particularly with the lung abnormality &/ or until anything/ everything else is ruled out. we may redo the bloodwork & urinalysis of a week & a half ago just to make sure nothing shows up there but for now i'm hoping to hear back from the pulmonologist.....love to all, melissa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted October 10, 2007 Report Share Posted October 10, 2007 Hi Melissa,I've been wondering how you were doing. I'm sorry to hear that the fevers are still continuing. I sure hope you can get to the bottom of this (and the rash and lungs) soon. I'm thinking of you and praying for you.Hugs,Rachel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxine Posted October 10, 2007 Report Share Posted October 10, 2007 Still praying for you Sunfish, and hoping for your fevers to stop.Keep hanging in there.Hugs,Maxine :0) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajw4790 Posted October 10, 2007 Report Share Posted October 10, 2007 I know I am new, but I just wanted to say hi and that I hope that you get to feeling better!!! I hope that they figure out what is going on and can help you! It sounds awful! I am not familiar with your story, but it sounds like you have gone through a lot!Hope you get to feeling better!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wareagle Posted October 10, 2007 Report Share Posted October 10, 2007 Melissa, Just wanted to check in a let you know that I have been and will continue to send good thoughts your way. I hope that the fever issue is resolved soon and that you'll have some more answers regarding your lungs. (((HUG))) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P SUDIK Posted October 10, 2007 Report Share Posted October 10, 2007 Hello Melissa,just wanted you to know I am still thinking about you and praying for you,Love Pat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEE Posted October 11, 2007 Report Share Posted October 11, 2007 I am always thinking of you Melissa... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacquie802 Posted October 11, 2007 Report Share Posted October 11, 2007 Melissa,I hope you get some answers as to what's going on...I can't even begin to imagine how you are feeling right now. I'm glad that so far your blood work is coming back normal. Keep us updated as often as you can. Take care.Jacquie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dizzygirl Posted October 11, 2007 Report Share Posted October 11, 2007 hope that you get some answers soo and are feeling better.. thinking of you .. love and hugs linda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MightyMouse Posted October 11, 2007 Report Share Posted October 11, 2007 Hang in there fishy. I'm surprised your chest doesn't *really* hurt--I got morphine for my partial lung collapse. Hope they figure out what's steaming the fish!Nina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lalalisa Posted October 11, 2007 Report Share Posted October 11, 2007 Melissa,I'm so sorry to hear about your lung and rash that you just found out about. I will continue to pray for you as you and the Dr's work through this mystery! I'm sure this must be a difficult time. Thanks for keeping us posted and please know that we just want you to rest and not worry about getting to the computer if you don't feel well. =) Praying for you,Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pat57 Posted October 11, 2007 Report Share Posted October 11, 2007 Thinking of you ((((((((Melissa))))))))))) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flop Posted October 12, 2007 Report Share Posted October 12, 2007 Lots of hugs ((((((((((Melissa)))))))))) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunfish Posted October 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2007 UPDATE TIME continued thanks for all of the prayers, good wishes, hugs, & - last but NOT least - humor. (i love the steamed fish analogy nina )i finally heard from my pulmonologist yesterday afternoon who did at least apologize for the delay in calling. apparantly she wasn't in the office with access to the actual CT films themselves until yesterday and though she did have the report earlier didn't want to make decisions on that alone. ah well.evidently it appears that, in correlation with the partially collapsed (or as she likes to say "not fully expanded") lung i have some pneumonia going on. the presentation radiologically is a bit atypical as far as the shape but she started me on a two week course of antibiotics (different than those i'd stopped a week ago). while i don't have obvious pulmonary symptoms, the fact that my lungs/ breathing were SO bad not long ago would make it possible that i wouldn't even realize a slight shortness of breath. and i'm now wondering if some nasty upper left "abdominal" pain i've been having (a bit different locale than my "normal" abdominal pains & bad enough for me to take narcotics at times to at least take the edge off) could in fact be from the lung issues which are in my lower left lobe. hmmmmm......she's not confident the lung issues are the cause of the fevers but we're using a broad-spectrum abx that would be likely to nab other bugs as well that could be hiding elsewhere. regardless though i'll have to have an additional CT of my lungs after the abx course is finished and if all isn't well then (aside from expected scar tissue) may have to proceed with some further testing/ investigation. thus i'm REALLY hoping/ praying that the abx take care of the fever & the lungs....otherwise there will be two rather pressing issues to be pursued.after a rough afternoon/ evening yesterday (not the highest fevers but 102.7 for a long time with a horrific headache) i'm still fever-free today at 5:30....later than when i've ever had a fever start in these past weeks of daily fevers. i still have a bit of a headache from yesterday but am hoping that the abx are already killing off the hidden bugs, lungs or elsewhere.adding to my "never a dull moment" day-to-day happenings was my port getting clogged yesterday so that an on-call nurse had to come out and reaccess it in the other side so that i could keep my IVs going. another reason i REALLY want to get to the point where i can access the port myself. so that's the current scoop from the fishbowl. granted i realize i never did post my post-hospital update but well, the fevers took over. it will happen one of these days...but for the moment i'm cautiously hopeful that the fevers may finally be on their way out. fingers crossed, prayers said, etc, etc... melissa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. Burschman Posted October 13, 2007 Report Share Posted October 13, 2007 Melissa,I certainly hope that the new medication takes care of whatever is "bugging" our favorite fishy! It sure seems like the pneumonia sure could explain the fevers. We'll keep our fingers (and fins) crossed!I'm glad you haven't had a fever today. I've had a sinus headache for three days, so I feel a little bit of your pain!Amy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poohbear Posted October 13, 2007 Report Share Posted October 13, 2007 Thinking of you and hoping you will get some solutions to your issues soon. I can relate to the lung problems and the port problems. I had a lung collapse earlier this year that was almost a total collapse on one side and I never had the "typical" symptoms that one is "supposed" to have. I kept telling them for days that I couldn't breathe and I kept telling them their breathing treatments were not working and it wasn't what I needed. When I FINALLY got a Dr to listen to me and order an xray they all flipped out when they saw how bad it was. Once they saw how bad it was though they were rushing me down to surgery. Long complicated story but they actually had to put me under to get the chest tube in. Anyhow...I hope you don't have to deal with anything like that and that new med clears this up. Why have they not taught you how to access your own port yet? You may not feel up for all of that yet but it's easy to do once you get the hang of it. Mine is finicky and now I won't let anyone else access it but me because if I access it I usually get it right on the first try but when nurses go to access it they don't do so well (even though I explain the quirks with it) and I get stuck multiple times. I'm pretty adamant about it now. My home health nurses let me do it but occasionally at a Dr's office I'll have an issue with a nurse who will say, "Oh, NO! We can't allow a patient to access their own port" I always reply, "Look, I do this several times a week at home, I have home health care. Then I politely tell them that it's finicky and very painful so the option is to let me access the port or they don't get the blood draw". I've had several ER visits the past few weeks and I always go with my port accessed so I don't have to fight them about it!!!!!I hope you've got a great selection of funny movies or whatever your heart desires. Know that you are always in my thoughts and prayers!Sending hugs your way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia3 Posted October 14, 2007 Report Share Posted October 14, 2007 I hope the meds help our favorite Fishy.Seems so many of us have been struggling lately but you have had WAY more than your share this year.I hope the antibiotics kick the aspirin out of the bug in your system and you are about to at least swim around your bowl with some assistance.Like Poohbear, I hope you can find something fun to watch on TV or dvd.Thanks for the update.Still sending thoughts and prayers to you and yours. Hope your cat is keeping you company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxine Posted October 14, 2007 Report Share Posted October 14, 2007 Keeping my fingers crossed for you Sunfish. I hope the antibiotics to the trick----- You continue to be in my throughts and prayers for healing.Sending you HUGS. Maxine :0) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
friday Posted October 14, 2007 Report Share Posted October 14, 2007 Melissa, I'm so sorry for your problems. I know you probably aren't up to answering this but I thought i"d ask some questions anyway.You said you originally had some tests..blood cultures and they didn't show anything But later on they found a partially collapsed lung and pneumonia? sorry If i didn't get this right but I'm having trouble reading right now ans I am not feeling well.I am having fever too. Not as bad as yours but daily. And my normal temp is about 96.5 so when I go to the doctor and it's 98.8 they'll say oh that's not a fever. I tell them about the fact hat I run low but they never really trust that. plus my GP left and I 'm left to start over with a new one..good timing.anyway, Last time it was 99.9 so they paid a little attention to it. Gave me antibiotics zpack which didn't help.SO I guess it would be equal to a 100 to 101 temp that I'm having. IF I was normal. I'm trying to figure out where mine in coming from also. Like I said you're is much worse. But I know how it feels to feel sick from this fever every night, and not get any answers,So, I hope you get your answers and get this resolved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tessa Posted October 14, 2007 Report Share Posted October 14, 2007 Keep crossing my fingers and sending possitive thoughts to you, Melissa.I hope you can get the best and appropriated treatment to resolve this as soon as possible,Take care,Love,Tessa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted October 14, 2007 Report Share Posted October 14, 2007 Melissa,I'm thinking of you, and sending my best wishes, a hug, and a smile. I hope the abx work for you. You're in my prayers. Love,Rachel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corina Posted October 14, 2007 Report Share Posted October 14, 2007 hi melissa!thanks for updating all of us. i?m keeping my fingers crossed for fever-free-days to come (and soon please!). sending you my very best and lots of love,corina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajw4790 Posted October 14, 2007 Report Share Posted October 14, 2007 Hi! Sounds like you may be starting to get some answers. That is good. I hope that the pneumonia and everything starts to resolve soon! It sounds like so much, especially all at once!Hope you get to feeling better soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom4cem Posted October 15, 2007 Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 Melissa,Gosh, what a rough patch you are going through. I hope this next round of antibiotics takes care of pneumonia, fevers and all. Please take care of yourself. Sending you the warmest well wishes!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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