Cough Cough Wheeze

So, I have this cough. I had a cough when I was having the sinus issues, but it was that dry-throat cough. About a week ago the cough began to change. This time the cough was different. It was deeper. I noticed some wheezing and rattling. I was still able to go to the gym--until Tuesday. Tuesday night I went to the gym and after I got home it felt like someone was sitting on my chest. But I don't feel bad. My back and sides hurt (from coughing). Other than not being able to stay awake most of the weekend, I didn't feel like you do when you have an infection of any sort.

But this week at work I began to notice it was hard to talk. Not like loosing my voice hard, but I had to catch my breath while talking. And people were beginning to back away from me while I was coughing. "Allergies," I told them. I'd had this happen before. I have general allergies and then I get a cold and it's five times worse than normal because of my allergies. And the pollen count has been through the roof lately.

But there was that damn wheeze. So, this afternoon I called my doctor's office and was able to get an appointment thirty minutes later.

I gave her the whole song and dance: slightly swollen face, dentist, urgent care, etc. (My face is still slightly puffy, but I am probably the only person who notices it, and my sinuses still hurt but not like they did.) I told her I wanted to make sure it wasn't anything more severe.

"Like pneumonia," she said.

What?

She took my oxygen levels. They were fine: 98%. This was good because my body was getting the oxygen it needed. But there was that rattle.

Diagnosis: Walking pneumonia. And told if I didn't feel better in ten days to come back.

So now I have a different round of more powerful antibiotics and a steroid inhaler to go with my albuterol inhaler. And all the other things I'm taking right now. I used the inhaler and took the first round of antibiotics when I got home.

Initially, I was concerned about the oral steroids. I didn't have what I would call an increased appetite when I took the oral steroids (several people told me they were crazy hungry after getting a steroid shot). I do think that the steroids are what kept me going in DC when I was working on two to three hours of sleep each night (stupid time change). But the steroid inhaler? An hour after using it I wanted to eat every damn thing in my kitchen. I was told it wouldn't have much affect at first, so it may have been coincidence. But, seriously, I wanted to eat everything.

So, yeah. I'm officially ill. I'm staying home tomorrow to rest, watch bad TV.... and probably do some work. I do have some deadlines coming up. But this will allow me to sleep in, relax, and work at my own speed, when I feel like it.

Oh, and by the way, never look up an illness online. I'm sure y'all already know that. Hell, I know that. But I do it anyway. WebMD told me walking pneumonia often cures itself but antibiotics will cure it faster. It backed up how I felt. You can often do normal, every day things while you have it. But, that you should treat it like the flu or a bad cold: rest and don't push yourself. It sucks, but you will get better.

But a Google search produced other sites. Some of them said the same as Web MD, but then they would list all the things it could be in addition to walking pneumonia and how those could kill me.

Although, at one point in the last week, while lying in bed, coughing, I remember thinking, "Maybe I have cancer." I knew it was a crazy thought. Like when I had bronchitis several years ago. After about three days of no sleep (due to coughing), I called my dad and said, "I think I'm dying." His exasperated response: "You're not dying." At least my doctor laughed at my cancer comment when I told her and said, "You do not have cancer."

I know.