Doc on spa day

This was a good weekend: Friday we went to an awesome Hurricanes game (they beat the #1 west-coast team 3-0!), had two good walks with the dogs in the brisk fall weather, and got to sleep in two days in a row! Tonight Todd's dad and aunt are driving here for a Monday appointment and I am cooking dinner for them and having my mom over, too. Looking forward to that.

In dog news, the boys got their second bath/hair trim of the year this week! They looked so adorable and were kissably clean. :)

In cat news, one of my cats (Diosa) has decided that she doesn't like jumping all the way up on top of the entertainment center to eat. (The food is there so that the dogs can't reach it.) So she sits at the foot of it and meows pathetically for some kibbles. It seems like she spends her days asking for either food, catnip, or to be let out! In her defense, she is 11 or 12, is somewhat visually impaired, and has never been the most coordinated of cats. All this is to say... we knew this day was coming. :) Hopefully we can find a solution to this problem soon.

In human news, I had a good CF clinic appointment this week. The highlights were:

• FEV1 was UP
• Decided to start taking a month off of my inhaled antibiotics in between cycling
• Started on medicine for high blood pressure, which I have (mysteriously?) developed over the past few months or so

My lung functions being up is no doubt a result of my almost daily exercising lately. I have been careful not to irritate my back (which by the way is doing poorly again - more on that in a minute) with pretty good success. It is so nice to be able to do something to feel in control of my disease. And nice to see results both in the numbers and in feeling clearer every day. Exercising really does seem to make my lungs work better. My doctor says that exercise is the most important therapy that we have.

The change in inhaled antibiotics is a BIG deal. I have been constantly rotating two antibiotics for three or four years. When I started doing this, it was because I was in the middle of a rough period of infections that I was having trouble coming back from. Because of this we wanted to do everything to prevent further decline.

Now, in light of just having finished an inhaled drug study in which I was off inhaled antibiotics for either two or three months, and the fact that I did really well, has led us to reexamine our strategy. Since the effectiveness of inhaled antibiotics decreases over time, hopefully using them less will make them effective for a longer period of time.

One interesting thing, and something I have myself thought for a while. My doctor says that while there are no studies to prove it, he suspects in the future CF patients will be rotating more antibiotics. Like, Cayston one month, then Tobi, then Colistin, then (the upcoming) levofloxicin, possibly with a month off in-between...so that your bugs are seeing different classes of antibiotics all the time. He said that he is not opposed to me trying this now, if I am interested. So I just may!

My high blood pressure is possibly the result of being on daily Prednisone (but I have been on that for years, so I don't see why now would suddenly be a problem), possibly because I am taking Aleve daily because of my back, or possibly another reason. I think that both of my parents are on or have been on meds for this, so I may be predisposed to it.

Anyway, I would by lying if I said it doesn't bum me out. Another freakin' thing to deal with. But it seems to be relatively minor. And if Aleve is the culprit, well, I won't be on that forever.

The deal with my back is that the first two steroid shots really helped. Then, the evening after my follow-up appointment for that, my back got irritated with a bike ride and was increasing bad the next week. I am back to having more regular pain and taking 2-3 Aleve per day and on top of that I am taking the tramadol pain medicine they prescribed regularly me for the first time.

Day by Day

Me and my Sam

What could have been a very difficult and stressful week ended up not too badly in the end. Todd's dad has been with us since last weekend. He had to start on chemotherapy for his prostate cancer that has metastasized to his bones. Fortunately, he tolerated his first dose very well and his pain is under much better control than it was last weekend.

Todd's brother Brad was also here for a good part of the week but has since returned to the mountains and will soon be on his way out to Montana for the summer. I enjoy having Roger and Brad here. We all get along well and they are easy house guests.

Guess who thought the new guest bed was especially for her? Miss Squeek!

This has also given us the opportunity to furnish our much talked-about guest room (aka Todd's office). I wish we had more space! But we are making do well with what we have for now. We got a really great twin bed and all the accouterments for a comfy stay.

As for me, my problems seem really minor right now but since this is my blog I will say that my leg is finally doing a tiny bit better. I think the numbness has improved in the last day. My doctor told me to be patient; my chiropractor told me to be patient; and my inner yogi told me to be patient. But it wasn't until today that things seemed at all better. I have modified my exercise and tried to be very mindful of anything that was uncomfortable. I hope this is a sign of good things to come.

Doc is handsome as ever. :)

Probably the most exciting thing that happened this week was getting the dogs groomed for the first time. Oh my gosh they look so incredibly cute, adorable and handsome!! We wanted our Sam to be cooler for the summer, and I thought that if I didn't take Doc too, he would look like a raggamuffin. They both look so so so good.

There is probably more to tell, but I can't remember right now. Life is intense; life is awesome; life is ever-changing. Happy to be here for it. Glad you joined me for the ride.