Flyman35 Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 have been a roller coaster ride. It started Friday when Tom woke up and his blood sugar was at 38. Yikes!! I was able to get it raised to 102 before I left to go to work. I tried calling Tom several times to check on him and make sure all was okay. I called him about 25 times in a 1 1/2 hour window. He was not answering his phone. So of course I am freaking out by this time. My boss tells me to go home and see what is happening. I get home, no car, no Tom. I call again and I hear the phone ring in the bedroom. He forgot to take his phone with him when he went out. He was not at Grammy's D's but I did find him at the food store. I swear I wanted to choke him with his oxygen cord but of course he did not have it on!! It was in the car. He said it had been a rough morning because his vision was blurry. Okay, so should you be out driving then?!! I ended up staying home from work the rest of the day to keep an eye on him. We had friends over for dinner that night so it allowed me to not be so hurried in prep for that. dinner went well and we had a very good time. Tom of course went the night without his O2. He put it back on after our friends left. Then the coughing starts the next morning. The cough is back with a vengeance. We have not received the official x-ray results from the doctor yet but the tech said it showed that the pneumonia was still there. The only difference in the cough this time is that he has the oxygen and before he went in the hospital he did not. So he has not felt like passing out and is not getting disoriented like he was before O2. The cough is brutal though and I don't think either of us slept more than an hour since it started. I am so exhausted. The cough syrup tht he was given has codeine but is not helping. He cannot lay down or he starts coughing and it is from deep in his chest. Her does see the cardiologist regarding the blood clot tomorrow but not until the afternoon. We will have to call the doc in the morning and see what we can do about the cough. His blood sugar yesterday and this morning were within perfect range so I was happy about but the cough has got me a bit freaked out. He is taking all his meds so I don't understand. Denise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaminkw Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 Denise, I don't know how you do it. Poor Tom too, crisis after crisis. I hope the doctor's visit is helpful. Someone needs to do something to get Tom (and you) some help with these symptoms he keeps having. Hang in there. That's all you can do, I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandraL Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 Ahh Denise. I am sorry to hear about the rough time you guys are having. As Judy says, hang in there girl. This too shall pass. Prayers that the darn cough starts getting better soon. Sandra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry's Wife Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 (((Sis))). So sorry things have been rough. I'm praying things improve for you and Tom. One thing you said sticks out at me, though. Tom's blurry vision. That was the first sign Mom had when she found out she had diabetes. Actually, it was her eye doctor that told her she had it! She ended up having to get her glasses changed. So, if it doesn't clear up for Tom, he might need to visit the eye doctor, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick C Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 Gosh, I know thaat's rough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fillise Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 Denise, I'm sorry you are having such a rough time with that stubborn man of yours. I hope you can get the blood sugar and blurry vison issue resolved soon as well as the cough. Susan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ry Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 What is he taking for the cough? John had Tessalon Perles, and also took codeine pills and darvon for his cough. He discovered one time when he took darvoset for pain that it helped his cough so the doctor gave him a prescription for darvon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb73 Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 (((Denise))), I can so relate with your experiences regarding the coughing. It weighs upon the soul to hear it. We have been through searching out the causes of the cough, and lately Bill's vision has not been the greatest. In his case, the vision problems have a lot to do with his age, as the eye doctor has assessed. Bill is 78. No diabetes is evident. His visit to the pulmonologist was what got him back on track concerning the cough. We have been doing pretty good with the Spiriva for the breathing, and the cough medicine OTC (over the counter) Deslym had been used, but is no longer necessary. Bill's cough, they thought, had been brought about not by pneumonia, but from the cold air winter has brought with it. (He was coughing up blood.) The cough is now gone completely, but I know how painful it was to try to find out what was causing it. My heartfelt thoughts are with you, and hope you find the answer for this issue. It's so difficult when trying to search out the solutions. Barbara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyman35 Posted January 6, 2009 Author Share Posted January 6, 2009 Thanks everyone but enough is enough. GEEZZZZ!!! The vision problem I know is related to a combo of old age and diabetes. He seems to be more blurry when his sugar is low. It has been way to many years since his glasses were updated as well. Tom is still coughing although not as often and we are still waiting for the official x-ray follow up report from the Pulm. Tom is taking tussionex suspension for the cough and he is on 20mg of predinsone a day this week. We saw the cardiologist today and he is going back on Simvastatin for the somewhat high cholestrol and Plavix and baby asprin for the blood clot. I obtained a copy of the report from the CT he had done at the hospital and there area few confusing things on there yet nobody seems to be concerned about anything but the blood clot. I know the Onc and the Rad got copies of the report but we have heard nothing so maybe I am just paranoid. I don't know. I will post all of that in the Test Time/Updates forum. Denise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phylsgirl Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 Denise, This had to really send you for a major loop; I know that is an understatement. I hope the cough can be gotten under control soon. Please take care of yourself as well and let us know the results of the test and how the cough and blood sugar is doing. *Hugs* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaroleHammett Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 Hi, Denise. My sympathies to you for the stubborness of your husband; i.e., it's got to be hard enough being his caregiver AND trying to hold down a job, but when he ignnores medical advice (not to mention yours), he isn't just hurting himself, but you as well. As to his cough, if he has radiation pneumonitis, then the Prednisone should definitely help. That's what was prescribed for me, and it was the Prednisone that gave me diabetes so it should (theoretically?) help raise his blood sugars, too. Whenever my cough is bad, I take Hydrocodone (cough syrup with codeine) and Tessalon Pearls (those are miraculous!). I also have an Albuterol inhaler (with spacer). In addition to these, I also take an herbal compound called Rhodiola 18 (you can google it to find manufacturer and ordering). When my cough is really bad, I take.5 cc of Roxonol (morphine derivative) which, in addition to helping with pain, is also an excellent cough suppressant (this is particularly efficacious when taken at bedtime as it makes a huge difference in terms of being able to sleep through the night, which can be nigh impossible otherwises when one is on Prednisone). Hope this helps and that Tom improves quickly. Affectionately, Carole Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.--George Carlin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick C Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 Often doctors hone in on the most pressing as they don't see the next issue as a problem if they don't fix the current. So don't be discouraged...I think they are just wanting to care for the clot with everything they have first... Hang in... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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