I put up with the coughing for months. From that January all the way to the beginning of summer. I was hacking like there was no tomorrow. And I was guzzling cough drops like candy. I figured that I was getting older, and this nagging cough of mine was just a part of life. I never smoked; it was obvious I didn't have pneumonia; I figured maybe it was just a part of getting older. I had no clue as to what was happening in my body. And neither did my primary care physician. I was totally in the dark, until exactly 2 years ago, today.
That day, I woke up in intense pain behind my left knee. I figured , "What the hell is it now?" I went back to my PCP and told him of my new malady. The pain was faint for about a week, but on this particular day, the pain was so intense I could barely stand. I went over my new symptoms with my PCP, and he suggested that I probably had a blood clot and that I should go to one of or ER's nearby. My wife drove me and I had a scan of my left leg...and it turns out my PCP was correct. I had a huge blood clot behind my left knee.....no wonder it was the size of an apple back there....it hurt like shit. But at least I knew what was going on. The blood clots explained everything...the shortness of breath, the coughing...they ARE symptoms of blood clots. I couldn't figure out why I had lost 53 pounds in 6 months, but everything else added up. Blood clots, right? Wrong.
Showing posts with label cough. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cough. Show all posts
Saturday, June 3, 2017
Signs.....
It hit me like a ton of bricks. It was two years ago, and it's still fresh in my mind.
I should have known something was up. I lost 50 pounds in six months. I could not stop coughing. And I was always out of breath. I could not figure out just what in the hell was going on. I was in the gym six days a week; I did cardio and lifted weights. I was looking good..That January, I was 5-11, 220 pounds...my arms were huge. I was in the best shape of my life. I felt food, and looked it, too. But during that winter, I noticed something....a nagging, dry cough. It didn't produce anything. It was just a nagging, dry cough. I couldn't figure it out, so I went to my doctor.
"Pneumonia."
"Pneumonia?"
"Yep. I'll get you some antibiotics."
Biggest pills I had ever seen. Went through me like a damn choo-choo train. I had the worst diarrhea ever. I puked until there was no tomorrow. But I still had that goddamn cough. It wouldn't go away. I had a followup with my PCP, told him what was going on, and he prescribed another round of antibiotics. Same thing: puking, diarrhea, yadda, yadda,yadda- and that damned cough! Just what in the hell was going on?
I couldn't get rid of the cough, so I just kept a big bag of Ricolas nearby, and gave up on my doctor. I wasn't exactly dying from pneumonia, even though that cough was nagging the hell out of me. I figured that I would slack off the gym routine and relax a bit. Besides, I didn't have the wind or the strength I had before. I figured maybe I should relax for a while, so I did. Over the spring, the coughing got so bad that I didn't bother to notice that my clothes where getting too big or that I was having a hard time just walking up a flight of stairs; I didn't notice that I was having a tough time simply walking out to my car in the parking lot. If I didn't have pneumonia, just what in the hell was going on?
I should have known something was up. I lost 50 pounds in six months. I could not stop coughing. And I was always out of breath. I could not figure out just what in the hell was going on. I was in the gym six days a week; I did cardio and lifted weights. I was looking good..That January, I was 5-11, 220 pounds...my arms were huge. I was in the best shape of my life. I felt food, and looked it, too. But during that winter, I noticed something....a nagging, dry cough. It didn't produce anything. It was just a nagging, dry cough. I couldn't figure it out, so I went to my doctor.
"Pneumonia."
"Pneumonia?"
"Yep. I'll get you some antibiotics."
Biggest pills I had ever seen. Went through me like a damn choo-choo train. I had the worst diarrhea ever. I puked until there was no tomorrow. But I still had that goddamn cough. It wouldn't go away. I had a followup with my PCP, told him what was going on, and he prescribed another round of antibiotics. Same thing: puking, diarrhea, yadda, yadda,yadda- and that damned cough! Just what in the hell was going on?
I couldn't get rid of the cough, so I just kept a big bag of Ricolas nearby, and gave up on my doctor. I wasn't exactly dying from pneumonia, even though that cough was nagging the hell out of me. I figured that I would slack off the gym routine and relax a bit. Besides, I didn't have the wind or the strength I had before. I figured maybe I should relax for a while, so I did. Over the spring, the coughing got so bad that I didn't bother to notice that my clothes where getting too big or that I was having a hard time just walking up a flight of stairs; I didn't notice that I was having a tough time simply walking out to my car in the parking lot. If I didn't have pneumonia, just what in the hell was going on?
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