Hope you’re all having a very festive start to December!
Honestly, I can’t believe how quick this month is going! Every year, December flies by that quickly, I never feel like I have enough time to fully enjoy the festive period.
A week ago, we got back from a fabulous trip to Estonia. It’s a beautiful country. The Christmas Markets in Tallinn were small and quiet, but in such a beautiful Old Town rich in history. I got to visit Europe’s oldest running pharmacy, in the hope they could find me some Victorian medicine to help with the wolf. We hired a car and took a day trip out to Lahemaa National Park, which was pretty. And saw one very impressive waterfall!
Sadly, towards the end of our trip in Estonia, I got ill. I caught a cold, which went straight to my chest. Thankfully, it didn’t spoil our time in Estonia. However, we had planned a few days in London after Estonia, and I struggled.
It was hard! I wanted to make the most of our time in London, but I felt so poorly. I managed to do about half of what I had planned on Friday, but the Saturday, we did very little, and on Sunday we just drove straight home. I was in bed by lunch!
Tired Pharmacy First
I knew I needed medical help while in London. I was almost certain I had a chest infection. I tried to go to Pharmacy First. However, because I’m immunocompromised and asthmatic, they couldn’t see me. My only option was Urgent Care, which, honestly, I didn’t want to go to! I didn’t want to be sitting in a waiting room for hours, with more viruses going around. The last thing I needed was to catch anything else on top of what I was already fighting.
So I decided to wait till Monday, when I could see my own doctor.
Things Got Worse
On Monday, I went to my GP. It was confirmed that I had a chest infection along with an exacerbation of my asthma. So antibiotics were prescribed, along with an increased dose of steroids. We put my steroids up to 20mg from 5mg for 5 days. She didn’t want to increase my steroids too much, as she was worried about the come-down after. Especially since I’ve been struggling with side effects since tapering my steroids back in the summer.
Tuesday night, I went to bed feeling like things were improving. Things felt as though they were heading in the right direction. However, this all changed early hours of Wednesday morning!
I woke up with a horrible fever, with lasted for two days. I was confused! I was day three of antibiotics, I shouldn’t be going downhill.
I tried to ride out the fever all morning, but by lunch there was till no improvement. So I decided to contact my doctor for a bit of advice. Very quickly, they called me in for an assessment.
My Bodies Immuno Response
Thankfully, my chest infection was improving, and the antibiotics were working. Apparently, it was my own body’s immune response to the antibiotics which were killing the bacteria in my lungs and releasing toxins. The doctor was saying they sometimes see this in patients with autoimmune conditions.
He also checked all my vitals. I was tachycardic, which I often am when fighting an infection. He couldn’t read my oxygen levels, due to my poor circulation in my fingers.
On not-so-good news, when the doctor listened to my chest, they noticed my asthma had exacerbated further. I was feeling pretty suffocated. When I coughed, I was struggling to catch my breath. I was consistently taking my blue inhaler just to stop myself from coughing or to help breathe. It was awful!
Highest Dose of Steroids I’ve Ever Been On!
To get the inflammation down in my lungs, my doctor said my steroids need increasing to 40mg. I’ve never ever been on 40mg! This was pretty scary for me! But I’ve also haven’t had such a bad exacerbation of my asthma before!
Four days into taking 40mg of Prednisolone, things have improved massively! I still struggle to take deep breaths in without it being painful. But I’m no longer struggling to catch my breath, and certianly breathing at a lot more ease.
Next week, I have the joy of tapering my steroids slowly back down to 5mg.
Other News
After riding out two days of a horrible fever, by Friday morning, I felt as though the infection was finally clearing. I’ve now onlygot another two doses left to take of my antibiotics, and that’s my course finished.
I have, however, developed a painful back. I’m guessing from all the coughing? And I’ve completely lost my hearing in my right ear, which is a bit annoying. Oh, and I’m slowly getting my appetite back after eating hardly anything all week, which is nice! I was kind of hoping the high dose of steroids would have helped this, but for whatever reason, it didn’t.
It’s probably going to take another week or so for my lungs to fully recover and get my full strength back again. But I’m heading on the right path after such a horrible week. And I get to restart both of my Belimumab and Methotrexate injections again. Hopefully, in time before the wolf starts to have a fit!
For anyone who doesn’t know, when I have an infection, I have to stop any of my immunosuppressants/biologicals to give my body a better chance to fight the infection.
Not Sure Why
I’m not sure why this infection hit me harder than ever before. Was it because I left it as long as I did to get antibiotics? If I was at home, I would have gone to the doctors on Friday, and not waitied till the Monday. Or is it because my body is now more immunosuppressed then ever before, with me being on both my Belimumab and Methotrexate?
To all my immunocompromised friends, please stay safe. Stay protected wherever you can. Don’t be afraid to mask up if needed. Don’t feel scared to ask people to keep a distance if they are not well. These winter viruses are nasty!
That’s it from me this week.
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!
Until next time,
Goodbye for now,
Emma
xox
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