Lung Update

It's been a while since I posted anything about my lungs and the surgery, bronchial thermoplasty, I had. The last procedure was in early October, seven, almost eight, months ago. It's hard to believe it's been that long. For months prior to the surgeries I was in and out of the doctor's office and the hospital for testing, paperwork, more testing and yet more testing. After each of the surgeries, I had a 2 week check-up appointment. Since the appointment after the last surgery, I haven't been in and it feels weird. The hospital was practically my second home and I haven't been there in months. That's a good thing, it just feels odd.

It's also a good thing that I have only been to my regular asthma doctor's office a few times in all those months. I had a big asthma flare beginning at Christmas time that lasted about six weeks, which necessitated several visits to my regular asthma doctor's office and involved an allergic reaction to a drug. That was an uncomfortable one but I've had worse ones, worse by far. Winter, and especially the holidays, are not unusual times for me to have asthma trouble so I figured I was due for one bad episode. Other than that though, I've been doing well. I still need my rescue inhaler from time to time, but those have been for fleeting episodes and I haven't needed my nebulizer or steroids except for that episode. I haven't been able to go off any of my prescriptions but I was told in advance that would be the case. I've been quite healthy and it's a little scary. It's been so many years, what with the asthma and other health issues, since I wasn't sick on a regular basis that it feels abnormal at times. But it also feels wonderful and I'm slowly exploring what I am now able to do again. Now, the asthma is not cured, there is no cure, the best I can hope for is a reduction in my symptoms and I am definitely seeing that. :)

So, my lungs are calmer, life is good, and I am looking forward to continued improvement as the improvement can continue for up to two years after the surgery. I  have high hopes for this procedure and I hope it will soon be available to all people with severe chronic asthma and not just to participants in the trial studies.

A reminder what lungs with asthma look like, oh and these are when the lungs are quiet, not in the midst of a flare. They're narrower obviously when there's active inflammation:

Moving from FeedBurner to FeedBlitz

As you've noticed, FeedBurner has dropped the ball and is no longer providing subscription services for the blog. I lack the skills to fix the problem and there's no customer support. I am moving to FeedBlitz and moving all current subscribers to their services. FeedBlitz has support and they have been helpful so far. Ideally, about mid-week, you should once again start seeing the Nook in your reader or receiving an email or whatever RSS service you signed up to use.

There are a few things you need to know:

• Please add feedblitz@mail.feedblitz.com to your address books
• Keep an eye out for the message from FeedBlitz advising you that the change has taken place.
• You do not need to do anything to stay on the subscription list or email list.
• You will receive an email notifying you of the change and giving you the chance to opt-out. If you choose to unsubscribe, please do so by using the links provided in the email, and not your ISP's spam or abuse buttons.

I have my fingers crossed that this all goes smoothly. If you have a question or encounter a problem, please email Bea at beasbooknook @ gmail . com

Hey, what happened to the reviews?

Good question. I tend to run light on reviews anyway most weeks, with only 2, occasionally 3, sometimes 1. I aim for 2 a week and hope I can do more but now that's getting blown to heck. The cause is a good thing, but the slowdown in reviews is disappointing.

So, why are reviews going to slow down even more? Editing. I'm picking up more assignments, both from my publisher and from freelancing, which is wonderful. But, it means the time I was devoting to reading and writing reviews is now going to reading and editing manuscripts. I have two right now, a short story for content edits and a very, very long novel for copy edits and some content edits, and a proofread coming my way in December sometime. Add in the day job and the holidays and something had to give.

I'm aiming for one review a week during edits but even that may not happen. I do have blog tour posts and some guest posts coming up and those will still happen. I need to stay away from NetGalley and Edelweiss and get firmer about turning down requests from authors and publishers that I already work with. I have a pile of books, both virtual and digital, that I promised to review so my focus will be on those. I did stockpile a few reviews and I have those scheduled for the week between Christmas and New Year's.

So, I'm excited about the editing and that it's picking up, though I had a panic attack when I got the short story for content edits. I hadn't done content edits before! Eeek. So far, it's going well, though my office program and the author's office program didn't want to talk to each other. That meant more work for both of us for the first round of edits; now we can work around it for the next round of edits.

I do apologize for the lack of reviews; you'll know when the editing slows down by the upswing in reviews posted. I hope I'll still see you around.

Crispy Fried Lungs, Round Two

Heh, that's kind of an icky image but a friend of mine referred to my surgery that way and it appealed to my, admittedly odd, sense of humor. Hey, there's a reason we're friends. LOL So, if all has gone according to plan, I'll be at the hospital as you read this for the second operation in my lung re-model. As some of you know, I have severe chronic asthma that is not under control. I enrolled in a research study for a new procedure where they burn away, yes burn, some of the excessive smooth muscle in the lungs. All asthmatics have extra smooth lung muscle; the more you have, the worse the asthma. So, in theory, getting rid of it will help reduce the severity of the asthma. I certainly hope so; life would be so much simpler. Below is a pic of a 3D model from my doctor's office of normal and asthmatic lungs. Once upon a time I was normal, don't laugh I really was!, and over the years I've deteriorated into severe.

If everything proceeds smoothly, I'll be at the hospital about eight hours, then back home. Supposedly, most people go back to work the next day. After I had the first procedure, I was out for nine days, developed pneumonia and ended up in the ER. So this time, I took off the rest of the week from work. With luck, that will be all I need and will return to work next Monday.

After this procedure, I have one more. Rather than doing both lungs at one time, they do a portion each time. I don't know when that one will be but at the earliest it would be three weeks from today. I've kept the blog light this week but I've got a few posts planned and I'll likely post health updates on twitter and facebook.

So, that's it. I'll see you all when I get home. 

ETA 9/26: I'm home, coughing and wheezing but not too badly, everything considered. I'm on my couch, watching tv and surfing the net.

I found a pic of what the doctor does while inside my lung, it's from the website for the procedure.

That device you see is the specially designed catheter that "cooks" the muscle so it's thinner and thus, theoretically, less reactive which should reduce the number and severity of flares and attacks. I hope.

Frustrated: Lung Update

Flickr Image by Rafael Edwards

 
So yesterday I was ranting and raving on twitter and facebook. I got a call from the research nurse whose been my contact for the lung surgery study; she informed the company who is sponsoring the study about my reactions to the first procedure: the asthma exacerbation and the pneumonia. They called her back and said that because of the pneumonia, they want a minimum of six weeks between procedures to be sure that my body is healed and able to handle the next procedure. So I had to call work and give them the update and call the person who has been my ride (If I drive myself, I have to be admitted overnight.) I have a very tentative date of September 25th for the next procedure. I'm not holding my breath. :P

I understand the company's concern, and I too want to be as healthy as possible for the next procedure. Which is part of why I'm frustrated. Not only is the wait aggravating, and the constant re-scheduling a nuisance for my employer, but it's the beginning of ragweed season where I live. Ragweed is a major allergen for me and every September, about halfway through the month, I get a sinus infection and an asthma flare. I have no reason to believe that this September will be any different. Of course, when that does happen, you know it will postpone things yet again. At this rate, we'll be into 2013 before I have all three procedures.

I also have to keep changing my blog calendar to accommodate all of the changes. I had deliberately kept the summer light as I knew I'd be having the procedures and wasn't sure how I'd react to them. Now I have to look at my fall schedule, see what I can get done ahead of time, and keep blog tours, etc. to a minimum. I don't want to have to cancel reviews and events at the last minute due to health reasons like I did last November when I ended up in the hospital. I am glad I already decided to scale back my Banned Book Week celebration this year; it runs September 28th through October 6th this year.

So yesterday, I was in a pissy mood for much of the day, and had to go offline for a bit and de-stress. My cat and a good non-review book helped. I'm better today and determined to see this through.

The lung section on the right, the severe asthma one? That's me. I'm hoping that when all of the procedures are done, my lungs will be the moderate one. That's still not great, but the best I can hope for with current medical knowledge and procedures.

Home!

I'm home! Tired, a little short of breath and a little wheezy, but overall doing well. There were a  few small glitches but overall the surgical team was pleased. I was wheezier than they expected after the procedure; some wheezing was expected since they were irritating the lungs in the profess of fixing them but apparently the wheezing was more than normal. Ah, the joys of asthma. But if the surgeries work, I'll see improvement in my breathing. I had 3 neb treatments in 4 hours after I woke up from the procedure, and an IV with steroids. All my vitals were good though and post-op lung function results were within acceptable parameters. I have a check up in 2 weeks and then procedure #2 a week after that. Because I had more secretions than expected and was wheezier than they expected, they're now planning on tweaking the meds for the next procedure so it should go more smoothly.

I'm glad I took tomorrow off from work. Supposedly, most people go back to work the next day. I am doubtful, especially working with young children. I hope to sleep late, and then, maybe, catch up on review writing and reading just for fun. I read several short stories today, in between bouts of dozing, in the recovery room.

Thanks for all of the well wishes and prayers everyone, they helped! ♥

I think my cat has the right idea. I'm going to curl up on the other couch for a bit and nap. The blog will be a little light while I recover, unless I do get those reviews written tomorrow. 

Click here for why I had surgery.

T Minus 14.5 Hours And Counting

So far, so good. The surgery is still on track for tomorrow morning. I leave for the hospital in less than 12 hours, have pre-op baseline testing in 13 hours and the surgery is scheduled in 14.5 hours at 10AM EST. I'm tired, excited, nervous and desperately trying to finish my to-do list tonight. I'm going to try for an early tonight, and get to bed at a reasonable hour. However, I'm a night owl; so that combined with a mild case of nerves and a major case of excitement, means the odds are against me.

If all goes well, I'll be home tomorrow evening. I have Wednesday off from work to rest and recuperate. Supposedly, most people go back to work the next day but I wasn't about to chance it. It's better for myself and my employer to take the day off. If all goes well, I'll be back at work on Thursday. I'm actually hoping I'll feel well enough on Wednesday to catch up on writing reviews. I'm about three books behind; I've read them, I just need to get my reviews written.

Next week, I'm getting the carpet in my condo pulled up and a nice laminate flooring put in. That will help with both my allergies and my asthma, plus it will help with my cat's asthma, so I'm looking forward to that. Of course, the prep for that is a big part of my ongoing to-do list. Obviously the cat and I can't be 
around when the flooring is being done so we'll stay at a friend's house until it's complete.

So there you go, more than you ever wanted to know about my non-blogging life. :P

ETA: more info about the surgery, what's happening, etc.

Surgery Postponed

Yep, you read that right. The hospital screwed up; they were supposed to start me on a pre-op drug last week, and although I called them and gave them my pharmacy info, they didn't call it in. So I talked to the research nurse this morning; she was very apologetic, admitted they screwed up, but they will NOT perform the surgery tomorrow. I have to be on the drug for three days before the procedure.

Oh I was furious. Then I had a meltdown. It's been a major challenge staying healthy enough to be able to have the procedure; I teach at a year-round early childhood center so I can't just call out, I need a sub to cover me; I made other plans for the summer based on the original dates. Sigh. An hour later, a nurse from the pulmonary department called and we talked. Not only did they not call in the prescription, but they were supposed to send me some paperwork beforehand, which they didn't. Sigh. The one good thing was that both nurses I talked owned up to their mistakes, and admitted they, and the medical team, were at fault.

By the time I got to work, I was calmer but still upset. I spoke to the assistant director and she was very calm and reassuring. She empathized with my situation and said not to worry, they'd figure out coverage. I gave her the new dates, had some coffee and by the time I was due in my classroom I was in reasonable shape.

So, new surgery date for the first procedure is now next Tuesday, the 31st. Since there has to be a minimum time of three weeks in between procedures, the dates for procedures two and three have been pushed back a week.

New countdown to surgery - 8 days!

Lung Update

So today I went back to the asthma specialist who might do the lung surgery. I was supposed to see her last week but she had to cancel. I did go in and get the testing done that she had ordered, a chest X-ray and a pulmonary function test, the full length version (it had been about 3 or 4 years so she wanted a baseline).

We reviewed those results and the results of the tweaks to my regimen. There was minor improvement, enough to be encouraging, for her anyway. I was less sure but she seemed pleased. I got excited thinking that maybe now we could talk surgery dates but no, not yet.

Apparently, and this was NOT made clear to me at our first visit, if I am approved for this surgery, I will be part of a research project. So, my next step is to meet with the research protocol nurse for, oh yay, more testing and screening. Those, according to the doctor, will be at their expense, not mine. The really awesome news? If I am approved, I don't pay for the surgery, they do. :) Although the procedure was approved by the FDA in 2010, most insurance companies are not covering it yet, so if I want the surgery, I need to meet the protocol requirements. Oh please, oh please, oh please!!!!

So, still no firm decision, much less a date of any kind, but slow progress forward. The research nurse had today off so I'm waiting to hear from her to set up an appointment. There's a part of me that wishes I had picked a doctor at a hospital closer to home. It's a 52 mile round trip, with traffic it can take up to 90 minutes to get there, and parking at the hospital is not cheap. Add in the time I miss at work for each appointment and it's rapidly getting expensive. But if I get the surgery, and the surgery works, it will be worth it.

in my last blog post about my lungs, I mentioned a 3D model that the doctor had showing asthmatic lungs versus normal lungs. I remembered to take a picture today.

I am, of course, the one on the far right, labeled "severe". See all those extra dark pink layers? That's the smooth muscle and the more asthmatic you are, the more of it you have. The surgery will burn away some of those excess layers, which should make my lungs less reactive and thus cause fewer flares and attacks.

So, more waiting, not something I've ever been good at. I'll update the blog as I know more.

Hurricane Irene and Me

As I type, Hurricane Irene is barreling up the East Coast of the US, moving from the Southern states up through New England, where I live. Right now, I just have rain, and it's not a hard rain. Sometime tonight the wind will pick up; depending on my news source, we could get gusts from 65 MPH up to 100MPH. I may lose internet (my neighbor has been letting me use his wifi connection) and will probably lose power. I have made preparations for my cat and I, and I feel reasonably confident that we will be ok.

However, depending on what happens, my planned reviews and posts for this upcoming week may be delayed. I apologize in advance and will get them up as soon as I reasonably can. It's also possible that the damage will be minor and everything goes up without a hitch. In the meantime, I am keeping both my cell phone, which is a smart phone, and my Kindle, fully charged. If I lose power or have to evacuate, I'll try to keep in touch on twitter and facebook via my cell.

Winners! And an update

1. WOW! The response to the Spooktacular giveaway was amazing. There were over 130 people entered and many people had more than one entry. I hope you all had fun discovering new blogs (including this one!) and that you will keep coming back and reading.

The winners for the giveaway are yllektra and Courtney. I've sent them an email and am waiting on their replies.

It was very interesting to see what scared people. Some fears were very tangible ie spiders, aliens, etc while others were less tangible but no less terrifying ie losing a loved one. One did make me laugh but then, I'm easily amused. :P The one that made me laugh said they were afraid of axes. Now that's not really all that funny, except....I mod on two author discussion boards and my mod weapon is an axe. So, if that person were on my board, all I'd have to do is threaten them with my axe to them to behave. :D Yes, I'm a little weird.

Anyway, thanks for entering and I hope to see you again. :)

On that note, here's an update on my computer situation. I'm on a computer at the town library right now. In a little while, I'm taking my laptop to a store to be looked at. Depending on the estimate, I'll get it fixed. The store I'm taking it to usually keeps computers for about a week. What is really frustrating for me, is that not only do I lack internet access without my laptop, but all of my ebooks  are unavailable too. Currently, all of my books to be reviewed are ebooks so I'm way behind now. I have been reading some paper-and-ink books that I bought for my own use and I may be able to write and post reviews for a couple of those in the meantime.

So, thanks for your patience. I should see you soon. - Bea