What Does Everyone Have Going On This Week?

[Heiferly]

I'm trying to keep my head on straight amidst a bit of chaos.  I have doc appointments Monday and Tuesday.  I'm hosting a cookie exchange at my apartment complex on Saturday, for which my mom and her hubby are driving into town (and will be meeting my new SO for the first time!), and I still have baking to do to be ready for that!  

In the meantime, I got a letter in the mail informing me that my SSDI is up for review now, so I have paperwork and whatnot to do to handle that, and they have a REALLY tight deadline on it.  Oy!  Plus I'm in the process of planning my big trip to Cleve. Clinic with consults with five specialties over two (poss. three?) days and mom, mom's husband, and bf in tow and thus travel arrangements to be settled as well.  And CC informed me they want my medical records sent *individually* to each of the doctors I'll be seeing up there.  NO PROBLEM, right?  Just find every place I have records stashed away here and ask them to fax them to five different numbers in Cleveland (plus Social Security for my redeterm.) ... AWESOME.  

I'll try to get as much done this week as I can without making myself sick, and forgive myself the rest, right?  I hope this week finds you all hanging in there (or better).  I look forward to hearing from everyone!  

[LivingInHope]

Wow, the medicare review alone would be enough to stress me out, without having to fax medical records to all those places!  

I don't think I have anything really planned for the rest of the week, but do have an arthrogram with steroid injection of my right jaw joint scheduled for Monday.  I am concerned about pre-medicating with steroid pills and possibly having to take generic benadryl (since last time I had a cortisone shot (shoulder injury), I got itchy legs).  

When I've taken benadryl/generic at home in the distant past, I noticed it aggravated my tachy.  I have had spike in pulse and blood pressure before with benadryl after a surgery, but last time I had benadryl, I did okay (when at the hospital for a GI procedure).  

[beema36]

Wow! Heiferly my week is mild compared to yours.  I have drs appt tomorrow.  Battling weird itchy rash on back.  After 3 weeks decided I need dr opinion. Putting up tree or actually watching dh put it up and supervising.:) Starting to do my annual candy and cookies I do and frantically trying to get gifts without hitting the usual crowds.
Beema

[Heiferly]

Have you tried a second generation H1 antihistamine like Zyrtec or Claritin in lieu of Benadryl (which is a first generation H1 antihistamine)?  The second-gens are more selective toward the peripheral nervous system, and with less central nervous system activity (this is what makes them be able to claim less "drowsiness" side effects than the first gens like Benadryl), they're supposed to be safer for people with dysautonomia.  If you have time to plan in advance, the substitution works out okay.  (In emergencies, where docs want to run IV Benadryl, it's not so simple because Zyrtec et. al. only come in pills which obviously take longer to kick in.)

Either way, I hope you figure out something that works for you and that the arthrogram goes well.  

[Heiferly]

I hope your doc appointment went well and you're doing well getting into the swing of things with the holidays.  I baked a ton this week, but it's been rough.  

I ended up having to go into the ED on Monday for chest pains and bad tachy because of a rxn to a medication dose increase (that we already knew to keep an eye on because I'd had issues with respiratory distress with that one before).  The ED was slammed with level one emergencies (i.e. people actively having heart attacks) so as a level two (i.e. someone who just *might* have a heart attack), I ended up waiting SIX HOURS to get from triage into the actual ED (though of course I'd had 4 or 5 EKGs by that point ... they weren't being negligent ... just super-busy).  Well, I made it through that okay ... though my doc said when I saw him the next day (after talking to my doc at Cleveland Clinic over the phone and not getting much in the way of advice) that I absolutely should not make any further attempts at that dose increase, not even in teeny tiny titrations, because in his opinion it's just way too much stress on my already stressed heart.  So so much for that.  But at least it didn't cause any serious consequences; the transient pain until the med wore off was dealt with at the hospital with morphine.  

Well, in my six hours hanging out with the masses in the ED waiting room, I seem to have picked up an upper respiratory bug.  FUN!!  (Not.)  I'm hoping I can kick this and it doesn't turn into one of my big, long, drawn-out deals where my immune system stubbornly refuses to do anything to come to my aide and I'm left wallowing in bed for weeks or months and susceptible to secondary infections.  We'll see.  

I have that cookie exchange I'm hosting on Saturday, so just as it was baking this week, I'll spend half the time just washing my hands so I don't get anyone else sick.  Thankfully, my mom and her husband as well as my S.O. are going to be here to help out, so if I'm feeling crummy I'll have plenty of help.  

If I think of it/get around to it, I'll try to post a few pics of my holiday decorations on my MedHelp profile page today in case anyone wants to see.  I may sneak in one of the new S.O., too.  ;-)

[beema36]

Heiferly you have been a busy lady. Sitting that long in er would have been my undoing. I hope the bug you caught is a minor thing. Theres some nasty stuff going around here. I had to see my dr yesterday about the itchy rash on my back(he doesn't have a clue what it is) and waiting room was packed with sick sick people. I used lots of antibacterial cleaner and hoping I didn't get any of the nasty little sick bugs.

We got tree up abd in place last night but no decorations yet. Was just too tired. Hopefully tonight.

I looked but didnt see any pics from you yet. Let me know when you get them up.

LivingInHope I hope your procedure went ok.
Beema

[LivingInHope]

Heiferly- Well, I'm not sure if Claritin would work, as it sure didn't help nasal congeston in the past when I took that.  Haven't tried Zyrtec.

Beema- Scheduled for this coming Monday.  Thanks for your comment.