Not Again!

Weekend Luck:

Doctor's offices are open Monday through Friday. Yet I always start feeling sick on Fridays. Luckily, I don't get "sick" too often. Which is pretty lucky considering my pathetic immune system. My immune system can't fight anything and even a simple cold could become more serious and life threatening.

For example:  I had to break down and call Doc's after office hours (this morning) to figure out what to do, thanks to a simple cold sore, AGAIN!

Yep, you heard me right. Again, thanks to a cold sore. Not sure if you remember in 2013. In 2013:  I had a cold sore that turned my  mouth and lips full of cankers, sore, and lesions. My jaw/mouth was so swollen that I couldn;t talk (which is really funny if you know me, since I gab all the time) or barely swallow liquid. My throat and tongue covered in bacteria and fungi (my tongue was covered in pure white - it was thrush). My fever reached 104 and my pulsox dropped into 80s, Andrew took me to ER, I was transported to Chicago & in the hospital for over a week, fighting this silly virus that turned ugly. 

 (picture: That's not lipgloss or the lighting, that's the fungi)

The doctor said it was the cold sore virus (also know as Herpes simplex 1), which I thought was amusing, but it's the simple virus a body has when someone gets a cold sore. It stays dormant in your body, until you get another cold sore. Which is why some people are more prone to them. I had never had them until 2013. Which is why docs think it happened so fast and got so serious. Honestly, being rushed from my hometown to Chicago via ambulance, didn't bother me. But, they had to make sure my throat didn't close and kept checking it. The thought of having to quickly trach my throat terrified me. But whew, I started to slowly get better and once my sinus infection and virus were gone, I could eat solids. One I had no fever, I got to go home!!!

Most people, put medicine on the cold sore and it eventually goes away. For example: Abbreva. Their bodies can fight simple viruses and colds. Apparently, mine cannot. I took me a total of 2 days last time to progress to that point, which is why I'm being super carfeful to keep an eye on it this time! 

This weekend it isn't nearly as bad. I knew what it was and did everything I could. I had a cold sore off and on for the week, then thursday night my lips got swollen and I noticed I had 3 cold sores on one lip. (I look super gross right now). Then Friday, I woke up with a stuffy nose (plus the 3 sores), but felt fine. I did some shopping/errands. An hour after getting home. BAM! 100 fever, and noticed canker sores on my cheek and tongue. I couldn't sleep Friday night. My fitibit says I slept an hour. Satruday, I woke up feeling like I had a head full of crap (yay, sinus infection too!) - I got a sinus infection last time, so I figured it was coming.

However, I have kept my fever below 100 and it goes away with motrin/tylenol. I'm drinking and resting. I got the pleasure of watching 10 hours of Law and Order (on that beautiful 60 degree weather day). But Andrew was a work and I was told to rest and text him updates.. So I did. 

Today, my cold sores are bigger, and my breathing is a little harder, but it isn't really affecting my lungs or pulsox too much. My throat and tongue don't have any bacteria or fungi, they are clear, and I can still eat! So, Doc and I are still hoping I can beat this without hospitalization. I called this morning and they are writing me a prescription for acyclovir, which I went home on last time. I'm to watch the sinus infection, if it get's worse, i  may need antibiotics, but I'm allergic to all the ones you can get orally (and we don't want to need to do IVs). So keep your fingers crossed that the Acyclovir get this virus under control!!!!

Isn't it crazy to think, one silly lil cold sore could do so much harm in my body! Doc said this could happen every single time I get a cold sore. Which is just annoying. But at least it's not as serious this time around. Hoping to feel well enough to keep my appointment Tuesday. I'm supposed to meet with my eye surgeon and talk about my eye surgery. (I will save that for another post)...

I will keep you all updated on my CF Facebook page! Sometimes I feel like an operation board game!