Dr. Visit and brighter outlook

I had an appointment this morning with my Primary Care Doctor.  I took Brittney along so she could be my memory and to have someone else there to hear things I may not have picked up.  (a good idea I highly suggest to anyone who suffers a disease and many doctors trips)

First I lost 5 pounds since my last visit at the beginning of the month.  :)
She took out my stitches and gave me the go-ahead to resume exercise.  Very good news! 

Then she sat and chatted with me.  I love this about her.  She takes time with me to listen to what has been going on health wise.  She listens to my ideas about why I may be acting or feeling a certain way.  She answers all my questions and Brittney's questions.  If she is not sure, she looks things up online to find out perhaps a better treatment plan for me, or a better medication.  She pulls up my cardiologist's report, my current blood work, the notes pertaining to my last ER visit.  She is just awesome and very thorough and that to me is SO important.

I had mentioned in a blog not long ago that I have been going through some family issues.  Well, Bill and I were considering separating and I was just heart broken.  We finally talked things through and have decided we love each other too much to not be together.
Anyway... he mentioned that he thought these hospital ER visits of mine were me being overly dramatic and needing attention.  OH MY GOD.  I was so pissed off I couldn't see straight.  How could a man who has been with me everyday for the last 30 years think so poorly of me? 
So... my appointment today, which I took Brittney to... was partly so I could have a witness come back and discuss with her dad how this is a very real part of Copd.  Not only that but the pain that I have she thinks is (I can't remember the word for it) the small air sacks rupturing.  She said that this happens in a decent sized group of patients with the severity of emphysema that I have.  She said even though they checked at the hospital for ruptures the smaller ones would not show up.  And, they would be VERY painful.

She gave me a medication plan to follow the next time one of these attacks starts.  Right now I am currently taking an anti-inflammatory drug to help me with my fibromyalgia and back pain.
Her plan of attack in emergencies is this....
To have and use only during these attacks toradol.  Use it ONLY for 5 days.  During this time I have to not take the meloxicam I am using now.  Then also take 1-2 Clonazepam which I am taking now and it is a anti-anxiety drug.  I am using it at night for my restless leg syndrome. 

And, she wants me in the mean time to take hydrocodone daily to manage my lung pain and keep me leveled out, especially going back to exercising.

So... that is the plan.  And, Brittney explained to Bill that this is a real medical issue that is caused by my Copd and not just in my head or made up.  ,,l,, that is me flipping the finger to Bill! :)

Oh, my cholesterol is high and if I can't bring it down it is high enough 161 that I could be put on medication for it.  So, she reminded me ... NO ANIMAL PRODUCTS ie: cheese, butter, milk and red meat.  Stick to chicken and white meat turkey and fish and plants.  Lots of fresh fruits and veggies. 

Bill just sighed.  LoL  He said that he will stick to this with me and once in a while make a casserole or buy a steak or make gravy.
I told him that for a while anyway until I can get used to doing without my favorites, I need to not have big blocks of cheese in the frig, and ice cream or sherbet in the freezer, or bacon.

I will be O.K.  It made me feel a little proud of myself when she told me that she is so happy with me.  That most people who are diagnosed with the severity of a disease as I have don't follow doctors instructions and try to better themselves.  Most of her patients she said even do without their oxygen and they do NOT exercise.  So... I am trying.  I want to live.  I don't want to lay down and die.  I have seen this disease in the end of life and it's scary!  Suffocation is scary!!  Being on a ventilator is terrible.  That is the reality of the end of this disease.  I hope before I get there they will just let me take a shot of a few medications and "put me to sleep".  They do have assisted suicide here in Oregon.  That is one thing our government and citizens did that I really like. 

So, I am off to the grocery store to buy plants that I can eat!  LOL
I feel better.  My outlook is brighter.  I have lost that heaviness that I felt for a couple weeks.