Left is healthy, Mid-Left is me, Mid-Right and Right is what I'm trying to avoid
Don’t be alarmed or too worried but I haven’t been in A-1 health since late July. I caught a Summer cold yet I can’t shake off the coughing element. It has ebb and flowed with the severity. There’s often something hacked up, nothing with blood thankfully. The cough is mostly annoying because I have to speak for a living so I find myself hitting the mute button; I don’t want to wheeze into a customer’s ear.
I did see a doctor while I was ill in November. He put me on an inhaler (same sponsor of those plastic throats) and anti-biotics figuring I had bronchitis. I thought I felt some improvement. Either the fluticasone propionate was working or it had a placebo effect; the anti-biotics did squat, sorry for adding to the problem there. There was a chest X-ray too. I heard nothing further.
Then the holiday season matters pre-occupied my health, relatively stupid move on my part. I just didn’t want to relive the horrors of several other years plus I was having flashbacks over 1992, a second half I wish I could erase.
I went back in mid January, luckily I got the same doctor at ARC. He informed me there was supposed to be cough syrup in the last package. D’oh! The doc ordered another round for the inhaler, some other drug called Montelukast and a trip to see a specialist: asthma and allergies.
The good news? It isn’t cancer nor pneumonia, the latter I really feared.
Yesterday I saw the specialist, filled out paperwork, explained the symptoms, had him review the medication, etc. This doctor’s theories: mild asthma but this tends to be genetic and smoking helps bring it on, I’m clear on the latter; allergies which means I get to experience testing in the near future; and acid reflux. His last suggestion made me puzzled. The doctor explained how the fumes can waft up. Makes sense now.
Until I get poked numerous times to see if anything makes my skin freak out, I must stay the course on what the GP prescribed. Testing is scheduled for February 18. Should you see me afterwards, don’t panic and don’t try to play connect the dots on my arms.