Looking Back on 2012

A phone call with a dear friend has prompted me to (finally!) post an update on my blog.  As I explained to her, I had needed to take a break from the blogging in order to focus completely on my healing, and it was worthwhile.  Looking back at my last post, I realize a lot has changed since April.  As of today, I would say that I have finally broken the endless cycle that I was in for over five years.  Not that I am completely without problems, but when I do struggle with my symptoms, I am able to implement changes to my diet, routine, or add a medication and my body will respond and get back to a normal point.  In the past, once I started to "crash," nothing could stop the derailing train. 

Much of my healing has come through the move to Florida.  I believe that for me, reducing the exposure to extreme weather changes (particularly the cold), has allowed my body to recover.  The clean air we experienced while living on the Gulf Coast was amazing for my nasal passages, as were the frequent trips to the beach and swimming in both the ocean and our saltwater pool.  I rested a lot.  I limited my social commitments to almost nil, and slept a good deal more than is recommended.  I struggled with severe fatigue until late May or early June, when I connected with an amazing woman from our church who counseled me in both nutrition and emotional wellness.  While I knew my illness had a connection to stress, I never knew how much it played a role in my health issues until Michele gave me some much-needed insight.  With her help, I went on a dietary detox and found my energy returning within days.  Days led to weeks of living without the fatigue, even when I gradually returned to a more normal diet.  I fully believe that Michele helped guide me to both physical and spiritual healing, and that although it took almost an entire year, by the time we left Cape Coral I finally had found the complete healing that we had come for.

By that time, we knew we wanted to stay in Florida but decided to settle down closer to a city.  We had to trek back up North to close on the sale of our home there, while still not knowing exactly where we wanted to live in Florida.  Moving out of our rental home into a storage unit three hours away was not an easy task, but we were glad we did that when, a few weeks later, I experienced the worst asthma attack of my life while staying in PA.  It was a day of high heat and humidity, worse than any I had experienced in Southwest Florida, and, combined with what I believe is my body's sensitivity to the conditions of the local environment in that region, I had a severe reaction.  Unfortunately, I was back on the couch, without energy and without a plan of how to get back to Florida.  Thankfully, God once again was with us as we looked into renting an apartment in the area where we thought we wanted to settle, and our plans once again came together rather seamlessly.   Despite planning to spend an indefinite period of time visiting with our friends in our old community, we left in rather a haste as I was still recovering.

We now are back in Florida, in a beautiful, friendly town where we met many lovely families and friends. It took several months of house-hunting while homeschooling the three children (and Jon working) out of an apartment before we finally landed back into a home of our own on October 24, 2012.  Jon took another trip to PA in November to get the rest of our furniture and belongings, so that we are finally truly settled into our new home. 

It took a year and a half of living a gypsie's life of wandering, but by the mercy of God we are home again, at last.  Truly we have so much to be thankful for as we look back on 2012.  At the beginning of this year much of our life was uncertain: where we would live permanently, whether my health would ever improve, and many other questions that lingered.  Now we can look back and praise God for his wonderous work in our life as a family.  There are still a lot of questions and aspects of our life that remain uncertain.  Even my health being strong is not a guarantee. 

Over the course of the year I was given a more concrete diagnosis and explation for my ongoing sinus struggles:  Samter's Triad.  Another name for it is AERD (Aspirin-Exacerbated Respiratory Disorder).  In fact, this blog helped to connect me with a group of individuals suffering from the same cluster of symptoms that can overtake one's life.  I am thankful that for the moment mine are under control, but it is something that I will live with likely for the rest of my life.  I have to be very careful what I eat and how I spend my energy, but no where is it near the point where it was even six months ago.  I am back to running again, which feels amazing (last spring I tried to go from walking to running but it would wipe me out for days; now I have no reaction other than the normal soreness if I push too hard).  I can enjoy foods I love, in moderation and while listening very carefully to my body for signs that I am having a reaction.  Most of all, I am so thankful for the energy that I have again, which allows me to enjoy my kids on a daily basis, and not just from the perspective of the couch!  It is such a priviledge that I have this year to be teaching them at home, with the help of an amazing homeschool community that has become like family to us.

I pray that 2013 continues to bring us good health.  But I also pray that I will continue to be challenged enough by my circumstances to remember to put my faith--and my trust, my strength, my very self--into the hands of our Lord. 

"O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you;...

I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.

Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you."

Psalm 63: 1-3

Cautious Optimism

Today is the first day in weeks that I have felt like writing.  It is a beautiful day here despite the threat of a hurricane by weeks' end.  The sun is shining, and so is my heart: it has been five days now since I last had symptoms of any kind!  

I can't even believe I am writing that!  The statement begs for more hope and optimism than I am willing to dole out just yet, since the weeks leading up to this reprieve have been so horrible.  But still, I am both hopeful and optimistic that things might be starting to turn around for me.

Nine days ago I underwent the first of a series of almost-monthly peptide injections aimed at repairing my broken immune system, which I now believe is the most likely cause of my recurrent sinus infections.  My new doctor is treating me for Chronic Fatigue Immune Deficiency Syndrom (CFIDS, for short), as well as Chronic Sinusitis and Asthma.  The website cfids.org has some great information for more on this condition.  Here is a quick overview:

Almost everyone experiences fatigue from time to time. But for at least one million U.S. adults, teens and children, the fatigue is crushing, unrelieved by rest and accompanied by a constellation of other punishing symptoms. They suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome or CFS, also known as chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome (or CFIDS). Its symptoms are debilitating enough to destroy good health and active lifestyles, end fulfilling careers and devastate families.
More people suffer from CFS than MS, lung cancer or AIDS. Yet 80% have not been diagnosed by a medical provider. 

The local doctor I am working with is one of only a  handful in the US performing this rather cutting-edge treatment for autoimmune and immune dysfunction diseases such as Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Asthma, and others.  It is amazing to us that we even found him: his ad in the yellow pages was located below that of a typical ENT/Allergist, and it stated: "We treat the cause, not the symptoms."  THAT got my attention!

The treatment I have been receiving for four years (yes, we have now passed the four-year anniversary of the onset of my initial symptoms-- wow!) has been doing just that, to little or no avail.  It was time for something new.  Granted, I didn't expect to have to seek care in Florida at all.  I thought, having just had sinus surgery and it being summertime, my most healthy season, I would be all set, at least for a few months.  But that has not been the case.  This past month has been perhaps the most painful of my life.  The achy flu-like fatigue, headaches, and sinus pressure were nearly unbearable at times.  Until just five days ago, I had to take one or two Extra-strength Tylenol every day by about 4 PM or I could not make it through the bustling after-school, dinner, and bedtime hours.

Now, for five days, I have had no pain, no pressure, and feel my energy is back to at least 90% of my normal energy/functioning level.  Typically when I am "feeling good," my energy baseline is at 70% of my "normal" with occasional increases coinciding with a strong dose of oral steroids and/or Sudafed.  This time, I am happy to say, it is all-natural.  I have even been able to go walking on a daily basis, without any consequences!  This feels fantastic.

So, as I labeled the title, I am now cautiously optimistic that I am on the road to recovery, Lord-willingly, once and for all.  I am taking one day at a time, however, and will continue to keep my activity level low and my state of mind calm and relaxed.  Thank goodness for my husband, who has stepped up tremendously in helping me in so many ways, any time I feel I need to stop and rest.  He encourages and supports my newfound ability to relax (aka be lazy!) which for the first time in my life I am actually enjoying!

Summer Fun

Today is the first day in just over a week that I am feeling like myself again, at least mostly.  The relief is immense: no pain in my face or head, energy to keep up with the kiddos, and the ability to laugh and smile at my family again.  Possibly the infection is starting to improve; this is the first day of a slight decrease in those symptoms as well.

My strategy the past week has revolved around two things: water and rest.  For many of the last several days I have done nothing but read a book (a fantastic new novel by Kristin Hannah that I could not put down) and do a small amount of housework.  I have also significantly upped my Vitamin C intake, drinking two tall glasses of Emergen-C (1000 mg) per day.  Letting my body recover from the energy burst of the week before seems to have been the key.  Based on my new awareness of  fatigue as a significant symptom, I am now exploring my next steps for full recovery from the angle of immune dysfunction and possible Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.  New supplements are coming in the mail for me to begin, and I have my first appointment with a local holistic ENT/immunologist.  Hopefully, he will be willing to work with me in the direction I am currently taking, as well as to offer some new suggestions for me to try.

Meanwhile, I am thoroughly enjoying the reprieve from my pain and fatigue today, especially since it is coming just in time before the kids begin school in just a few days.  I played with them in the pool for almost two hours, letting them toss water balloons at me as I did some laps for exercise, and splashing around to the new kids mix I created for them on my iPod.  All three of my children have gotten amazingly better at swimming.  My older two kids are virtual fishes: swimming to the bottom of the pool to fetch a diving stick, swimming a length or two at a time in a race, doing cannonballs, and even showing an interest in learning the actual strokes.  The little one has progressed from wearing a full-body float plus water wings and still being nervous to kicking around with her face in and out of the water wearing the water wings alone.  Before I know it, she will be diving and jumping too.

Best of all, the three of them have developed such persistence and confidence that it warms my heart to see it.  Each time one of them masters a new skill or conquers a goal that has remained just out of reach (back float, for example), their sense of pride and accomplishment just oozes out and grabs hold of my own heart.  It restores my faith as it reminds me of how easy it is to lose hope, but how rewarding to stay positive and focused on goals that matter to us.

Fatigued & Confused

For the second time this month, I have had a recurrence of symptoms that I am beginning to see as correlated with, but not directly related to, my chronic sinusitis. 

A few days ago, at the tail end of a fun-filled visit with my husband's parents, I began to experience once again the achiness and fatigue that I have always associated with a flare-up of acute sinusitis.  This time, however, there were no other symptoms to suggest that my daily experience of low-level illness ("feeling sick") had worsened into another acute sinusitis episode.  In other words, sinus-wise, everything was the same, but my body hit a wall. 

The same thing had happened a week earlier, a few days after my mom had visited.  According to her, I was feeling worse because of "overdoing it" (she had seen me in action, she reminded me).  It is true that while she was here, I was in constant motion unpacking and getting the house in order, shopping and cooking for everyone, and generally just being my go-getter self, wanting to take advantage of the extra set of hands in the house.  I even managed to fit in a long run while she was here, the first in several weeks, and a fairly intense core workout. Apparently, I overdid it.  A few days of rest and I was back to baseline by the time the next set of grandparents arrived.  I felt fine throughout their visit, but somehow I must have overdone it again, even though I had made an effort to relax whenever possible, and only at the end did I do some racing around as I tried to maximize my time to get school shopping done. 

When I woke up on Wednesday morning I knew I hadn't slept well.  It had taken me a while to fall asleep, which I attributed to taking Afrin later in the day to help with congestion, and so I woke with a headache and without a feeling of well being.  By the afternoon, all of my energy was gone.  When I get like that, it is to the point that I can hardly smile or respond to a question.  I am just wiped out, blank-faced and exhausted.  After we said our goodbyes, I took a catnap on the couch while the kids watched TV.  It wasn't enough.  A little while later, I asked Jon if I could lay down while he finished up his workday.  An hour and half later, I felt a little improved, but I was still so tired that I needed to go to sleep at 9:30, even though I had just slept from 4 to 5:30. 

This fatigue has stayed with me through today.  I have had to nap and rest throughout each day, and when I do move around the house, I feel like I am running a 5K.  I slump into a chair afterward, exhausted.  I have had to take multiple doses of extra-strength Tylenol for the dull headache that started last night and continued upon waking and throughout the day today.  It is finally gone, so I can think a little more clearly and tolerate the commotion of busy kids a little better.

Next week is our last official week of summer.  I hope to live it up with the kids as much as I can.  I don't want to rush them off to school, but I am grateful that it will begin soon, since it is now obvious that the next order of business is to figure out the mystery that is my health.  I am glad that we are here, in this beautiful place where I believe healing is possible.  There are almost no distractions to keep me from my task, other than those I create for myself.  Soon, I hope to have a treatment plan that I will follow with the help of my doting husband and a doctor whose philosophies line up with my own.  I am ready.  I am good to go!

Finally!

I am finally writing from our new home in Southwest Florida. It is beautiful here! Tonight after putting the kids to bed Jon and I watched the sunset from our front porch, pink and orange over a huge sky. We talked about how I have been feeling, and how amazing it is that we are actually here.

When we first rolled into town at the end of the longest drive of our journey, Cape Coral was deserted due to the Fourth of July holiday. No stores were open, and everything looked bleak and dreary, as a huge thunderstorm had just blown through (which added time to our trip, right at the end when we had all hit our limit of car-time!). Without saying a word, Jon & I knew what each other was thinking: "What on earth have we gotten ourselves into?". We had only visited this town once, for ONE day, during a three-day whirlwind tour of the area. We had never seen our home in person, but simply put our faith in the realtor I had found online, and trusted. We had some idea of the neighborhood in general, but not the specific street or area right around this home. We literally arrived here on faith.

Knowing what he was thinking, because it was the same as me, I told Jon, "Just don't think about it. Don't think about anything. Just get to the hotel, and we will see what happens tomorrow." I knew our emotions were not to be trusted. We had not slept in our own beds or our own home in 9 days. Even though it was fun to see friends and family, we were worn out from so many days of living out of suitcases and being in the car. That day in particular was the worst of all. We had woken at 5:45 AM in order to leave by 8, and didn't arrive in town until almost 6 PM. The hotel experience was less than ideal, only because it had two queen size beds and there were five of us, but we survived. The next morning we once again woke up before 6 so we could have breakfast and be at the rental office by 8 for the keys. By then, the sun was out and it was gorgeous. The town was alive again, and it was as beautiful as our favorite Caribbean island, Aruba.

Our entire family was filled with nervous excitement as we drove to our new home and finally unlocked the doors. It was better than we could have imagined! Beautiful, new, and clean, with rooms the perfect size for us, and giant closets for all the toys from our previously huge playroom (which we don't have here), this house has everything I could have ever wanted, and more. It is not a mansion by any stretch, nor is it total luxury, but it has a lot of high-quality features that seem to make life easier and more pleasant. There is something wonderful about a master bathroom with a giant soaking tub and a toilet with a door. Hello, relaxation! In choosing to live in Florida, one thing we considered a must was a swimming pool. For years in Pennsylvania we had been members of our community YMCA pool, and though we always had a blast there, for me, taking three children alone was more work than it was worth, and thus we didn't use it as much as we would have liked. Here, it is right out our back door, and we have the bonus feature of total privacy, since there are no neighbors next door and the canal behind us provides a generous buffer between us and the street behind. The view is truly incredible as well. There seems to always be a breeze: again, just like Aruba! When I am out there, I breathe as deeply as possible (which is still a little tricky on that pesky right side), and soak it all in.

Symptom-wise, yesterday was the first day I truly began to feel good again. It was also the final day of my SECOND round of antibiotics. 20 days in total, going back to mid-June. Finally, the signs of infection are all but gone, and I am breathing almost normally again. There is a slight sensation of swelling or congestion on the right side, but air is flowing, which feels fantastic. I am continuing with the strictest regiment of twice daily rinses with one pulmicort (steroid) rinse, two nasal sprays, twice a day (an antihistimine and a steroid), and Zyrtec. I am also continuing to take my supplements and vitamins, to which I recently added Calcium at the suggestion of the doctor friend we had stayed with in North Carolina. Apparently, prednisone gets in the way of calcium absorption, something which would have been helpful to know a long time ago, especially considering my age and gender. At least I know now, and am going to step up my calcium to try to make up for it.

Physically I am finally over the feeling of total exhaustion that has been with me for weeks. Unlike with past infections, when I would feel this way for no apparent reason, this time it was pretty clear that I was tired because of the physical labor involved in moving. Also, when I take prednisone I don't sleep as deeply, so probably this contributed as well. Yesterday I slept in until 8:30 for the first time in forever, and it felt great! Now I feel like I am almost back to my normal self, rested and just about over this infection (but not quite there yet).

Despite the boxes to unpack, things around the house have been mostly calm and quiet. The children are in heaven with the swimming pool out back, and they are highly motivated to get along, clean up, or eat all of their food if a chance to go swimming is the reward. Having a one-floor home seems to contribute to cooperation and happiness as well. While I am in the kitchen or laundry room, they are playing in one of their bedrooms just a few feet away. Somehow, it makes things easier and everyone has been super happy.

Now that we are getting settled, we have entered a small stage of having visitors, beginning with my mom's arrival from South Carolina. We are so happy to have her here! It is fun to finally have someone to share our joy with, as we can hardly contain it! In two weeks, Jon's parents will come as well! God has been so faithful to us so far, and we have no doubt that He will continue to provide for all of our needs, including my health and restoration as each day I feel better and better! We are incredibly thankful for all of the friends and family out there who have been praying for us. Keep it up-- it is working! I hope to continue to be able to post positive updates on this blog.

Tomorrow we are taking our first excursion over to Sanibel Island, which we visited back in April. It is one of the most gorgeous natural settings we've ever visited! Mom has never been there, so it will be fun to explore it some more with her, and to relax and let the kids play in the sun and sand for as long we we care to stay. After all, it will only be a thirty minute ride back home again!

On Our Way

I am writing tonight from the home of good friends of ours in Maryland. The kids are all sound asleep (finally!) and I have a moment to write a brief update.

The movers were swift and efficient on Monday. Although, what took them 7 hours to load would have taken us days, so we were incredibly thankful for their service! After the weeks of intense packing, it was a needed luxury to hire professional movers. They loaded the last items by 7:30 PM, and we hopped in our car behind them to stay at Jon's parents' house for the night, where the children were already, having a blast. As predicted, I took my last Biaxin pill on Monday, but was not 100% better.

Yesterday was a cleaning day, and it was an all-day affair. By afternoon, the house was in good shape but my body was giving me signs that I still had not cleared the infection completely. No more achiness or fatigue (if you can even sense fatigue when you are working as hard as I was for several days straight, I am not sure), but still complete congestion in my right nostril. Zero air flow. Slightly better in the left, but overall stuffy, and certainly not the healthy type of evidence you would expect when blowing your nose. So, I called my ENT's office during the day and was told to leave a message. I received a call at 6 PM from a nurse who said he would call first thing in the morning. I informed her that we were planning to pull away at 9 AM, but there was no call by 9:30, and when I called his office, they could not tell me when he would be able to get back to me, since he was in with patience. I completely understand that, but it was so tough that it came down to the last minute, and it is difficult to get a quick response in this type of situation. Because I did not want to leave the state with no instructions or new prescription, I ended up making a last-minute appointment at my primary care doctor's office (thankfully it was within 30 minutes of my call), leaving everyone waiting at the house with the car all packed.

An hour later, I had a script for a different antibiotic (Augmentin) for 10 days and a week course of Prednisone (the steroid). My family doctor was really great about it and listened to my full story (I see different doctors there, and since I started seeing an ENT almost exclusively more than 3 years ago, none of them really follow my status). Everything that he questioned me about has already been explored, which confirmed to us that, as we believed we had, we have truly exhausted all of the typical avenues for this illness, to no avail. My perfectly healthy post-surgery sinuses must have been exposed to some irritant or trigger. The mystery is finding out just what that is, and this move is just one piece of that puzzle, a rule-out if you will. A big one, granted, but one that makes sense to make after we have already ruled out everything else that we could control for in our current environment.

So here we are, Day 1 of our 8 days-on-the-road moving adventure (or Day 3 of 10 if we count Monday with the emptying of our house, since we haven't slept there since Sunday night). The expected arrival of our belongings on the moving van is exactly one day today, possibly a day sooner. So, tomorrow we head out of here to the home of another wonderful family in North Carolina, where we will stay for a few days so the kids can catch up, we can relax, and to avoid the holiday traffic on key days this weekend. After that there will be one night with my mom in South Carolina, and then the long 8 hour haul across Florida, where we will be spending the Fourth of July this year in a hotel. We hope to see fireworks over the nearby Cape Coral bridge. What a way to begin our life in this new town!

A Better Day

Today turned itself around a little, beginning with a good friend's phone call first thing in the morning offering (well, stating) that she was coming by with a last-chance-for-a-while traditional coffee and bagels. It was a good visit, although once I sat down on the couch to chat I realized I wasn't going to be very productive today. I simply couldn't move. This was a good realization, though. My mom and in-laws have been telling me to rest, so today I did.

The kids went out with their grandparents in the late morning for lunch, movies, and ice cream! I watched reruns of "The Real Housewives" and didn't move from the couch, as predicted, for a good two hours. My mood was still as low as my energy level, but finally sometime in the mid afternoon my right nostril began to clear a bit and I had the energy to get a little packing and laundry done. Sweet relief came in the form of a musty old smell in my nose, a true indicator of my sense of smell slowly returning, gross as it is in the beginning.

I am still achy in my face and tired all over, and of course super stuffy, but the duct-tape and cotton ball sensation has subsided. Friendship, rest, lots of water, and a little bit of quiet seemed to have been just what I needed to get past the worst symptoms, so I can make it through another day on this ever-bumpy road to healing.

No Relief In Sight

It is 2 AM and I am awake, beyond miserable with congestion. I feel as if someone has stuffed half a dozen cotton balls in each nostril and then sealed them with duct tape. I have already woken several times tonight with nose-blowing, until finally about thirty minutes ago I decided to do a sinus rinse, take more allergy medicine, and see if it helped. It didn't; I think it made it worse. I was back in bed, propped up with humidifier running (we had to borrow it from Luke's room-- his allergies have been so bad this week he ended up with an ear infection), gulping down air with my already-dried-up mouth and cracking lips. Cracking lips is what happens when you've been breathing with your mouth constantly for more than 10 days.

I literally feel as if this could kill me.

I know it can't, of course, but I imagine if I had lived a few hundred years ago, or were in some remote place that had never heard of these symptoms, this is what I would be thinking. Expecting, even. My body seems to hate me, and no amount of medication or remedy is offering any relief.

Last week I posted that I called the doctor after 4 days of worsening symptoms, and was put on the antibiotic Biaxin. That was a week ago today, and I am no better. Any other normal person would be feeling better sometime within 24 hours of starting an antibiotic, but not me. This is with the stronger of the two doses that I am aware of. We aren't talking Amoxicilian, either. Luke's "yummy pink medicine" ceased to be effective three years or about one hundred infections ago. I have moved up the ladder to a point where, I'm afraid, no antibiotic will work for me. I am maxing out on my usual cocktail of other medications as well. I been taking 24-hour Zyrtec daily, plus the occasional piggy-backing of a short-term antihistimine, as I did tonight, even though it is not recommended to add a similarly-acting drug while another is in your bloodstream. My other main, almost daily stand-by, Sudafed, is also floating in my system, although not as much so at night because it keeps me awake. During the day it gives me caffeine-like energy, which I need right now, and clears the airways to a degree of toleration. I have also been diligently rinsing once a day and popping vitamins, Fish Oil, high-end Probiotics, and lots of water.

As I am writing I feel somewhat better emotionally. I no longer feel that I might die. There is hope for me as long as I am reminded of a world beyond my physical misery. I only wish that there were some answers for me, especially to those "why" questions:

"Why does this keep happening? Why do I get an infection and it won't clear up with medication? Why am I experiencing extreme allergy symptoms right now (worsening congestion, itchy ears and throat, sneezing), despite having negative allergy testing multiple times over several years? Why has every possible medical explanation been explored and become a dead-end? Why did I get sick just one month after surgery? Why is my body so messed up when I have been healthy my entire life?"

And then there is the final "what" question that has been plaguing me ever since this infection started 10 days ago: "What if moving to Florida doesn't work. What if I am still sick?"

I just don't know what I, or we, will do if that is the case. I could look at the positive and appreciate the nice weather and beautiful surroundings. Or, as Jon has suggested recently, we get on some list, somehow, to get me into one of the best clinics in America so I can be studied full-time by a team of the smartest doctors, who will not stop until they have a diagnosis that will explain and cure my issues permanently. I don't know if that would even be possible, considering I am not suffering from a disease that will kill me. At least not in the literal sense.

We are moving in just a few short days, and we are trying to remain hopeful as we earnestly pray that it will work. My fantasy is that we will open the doors of the car in Southwest Florida, and I will suddenly be able to take a deep breath of that fresh, hot air, and smell the flowers and the ocean and my kids' hair, and never think about sinusitis again. But I know that won't happen, except by miracle, which I suppose I should add to my prayer list. Being a little more detailed about my request with God might help, perhaps. But what I expect, from my experience with this, is that it is going to be an battle yet. Hopefully the clean air will be on my side, and this sinus infection can clear up for good within a short period of time. I hope so, because one thing I have not done is to look up a doctor in the area. Though I guess I should, at this point. So now I will go back to drinking my hot tea and hope I can get sleepy enough to not be bothered by all the congestion and pressure.

Poked and Prodded

My company decided two years ago to put healthcare "in the hands of employees," which means I am now my own plan admin.  Thanks a lot.  If anything, it is interesting to see how much healthcare costs us and what Melissa has been dealing with the past three years.  Aetna has tons of data on their website and looking at our family's "Health History Report"  the difference between the two of us is incredible.  I always tell her that the data never lies...

Medical "service" comparison between the two of us:

Yes, 145 medical services versus 21 over 3 years (and this does not include the first year of infections and ENT visits, or her initial surgery in 2008)!

  

Medical services include all doctor visits, procedures at visits, blood tests, flu shots, CTs, etc .  For me it was poison ivy last year, 1 sinus infection this year, and some general doctor visits.

Just to get an idea of what the amount of testing, visits, and procedures is like for someone with chronic sinusitus :

1	3/11/2009	OFFICE VISIT
2	3/26/2009	FIBERSCOPIC LARYNGOSCOPY
3	3/26/2009	OFFICE VISIT
4	4/21/2009	OFFICE VISIT
5	4/22/2009	NASAL ENDOSCOPY
6	4/22/2009	OFFICE VISIT
7	5/7/2009	NASAL ENDOSCOPY, SURGICAL;93
8	5/7/2009	ENDOSCOPY, MAXILLARY SINUS
9	5/7/2009	SINUS SURGICAL ENDOSCOPY
10	5/7/2009	NASAL/SINUS ENDOSCOPY-SURG
11	5/7/2009	MISCELLANEOUS SERVICES
12	5/7/2009	CAT SCAN OF FACE, JAW
13	5/7/2009	3D RENDERING WITH INTERPRETA
14	5/7/2009	MEDICAL SERVICES
15	5/7/2009	DECALCIFY TISSUE
16	5/7/2009	INTRODUCER/SHEATH, GUIDING
17	5/7/2009	MORPHIN SULF UPTO 10MG/192MX
18	5/7/2009	ONDANSETRON HCL PER 1MG/32MX
19	5/7/2009	PROMETHAZ HCL UP TO 50MG/1MX
20	5/7/2009	METOCLOPRA HCL UPTO 10MG/4MX
21	5/7/2009	NORMAL SALINE 1000CC/1 MX
22	5/7/2009	RINGR LACT UPTO 1000CC/1.5MX
23	5/7/2009	PHARMACY
24	5/7/2009	MED-SUR SUPPLIES
25	5/7/2009	STERILE SUPPLY
26	5/7/2009	LABORATORY
27	5/7/2009	PATHOLOGY LAB
28	5/7/2009	CT SCAN
29	5/7/2009	CT SCAN/OTHER
30	5/7/2009	OR SERVICES
31	5/7/2009	ANESTHESIA
32	5/7/2009	DRUGS/DETAIL CODE
33	5/7/2009	RECOVERY ROOM
34	5/7/2009	NASAL ENDOSCOPY, SURGICAL;93
35	5/7/2009	ENDOSCOPY, MAXILLARY SINUS
36	5/7/2009	SINUS SURGICAL ENDOSCOPY
37	5/7/2009	NASAL/SINUS ENDOSCOPY-SURG
38	5/7/2009	MISCELLANEOUS SERVICES
39	5/8/2009	NORMAL SALINE 1000CC/1 MX
40	5/8/2009	DRUGS/DETAIL CODE
41	5/15/2009	BASAL/SINUS ENDOSCOPY-SURGIC
42	5/15/2009	OFFICE VISIT
43	5/22/2009	BASAL/SINUS ENDOSCOPY-SURGIC
44	5/22/2009	OFFICE VISIT
45	5/29/2009	BASAL/SINUS ENDOSCOPY-SURGIC
46	5/29/2009	OFFICE VISIT
47	6/5/2009	NASAL ENDOSCOPY
48	6/5/2009	OFFICE VISIT
49	7/17/2009	NASAL ENDOSCOPY
50	7/17/2009	OFFICE VISIT
51	8/20/2009	ASSAY, IGA/IGD/IGG/IGM EACH
52	8/20/2009	IGG 1,2,3 OR 4, EACH
53	8/20/2009	IMMUNOASSAY, NONANTIBODY
54	8/20/2009	OFFICE VISIT
55	9/2/2009	FIBERSCOPIC LARYNGOSCOPY
56	9/2/2009	OFFICE VISIT
57	10/2/2009	NASAL ENDOSCOPY
58	10/2/2009	OFFICE VISIT
59	11/13/2009	NASAL ENDOSCOPY
60	11/13/2009	OFFICE VISIT
61	12/16/2009	AMP PROBE
62	12/16/2009	OFFICE VISIT
63	12/16/2009	PREV VISIT, EST, AGE 18-39
64	12/29/2009	OFFICE VISIT
65	12/31/2009	LIPID PROFILE
66	12/31/2009	HEPATIC FUNCTION PANEL
67	12/31/2009	RIA ASSAY, TRUE THYROXINE
68	12/31/2009	ASSAY THYROID STIM HORMONE
69	1/20/2010	OFFICE VISIT
70	1/20/2010	NASAL ENDOSCOPY
71	2/16/2010	OFFICE VISIT
72	2/19/2010	OFFICE VISIT
73	2/19/2010	FIBERSCOPIC LARYNGOSCOPY
74	3/8/2010	RIA ASSAY, TRUE THYROXINE
75	3/8/2010	ASSAY THYROID STIM HORMONE
76	3/8/2010	ASSAY TRYROID (T-3 OR T-4)
77	3/25/2010	COMPREHEN METABOLIC PANEL
78	3/25/2010	AUTOMAT HEMOGRAM-COMPLET DIF
79	3/25/2010	RBC SED RATE, AUTO
80	3/25/2010	LYME DISEASE ANTIBODY
81	3/25/2010	PREV VISIT, EST, AGE 18-39
82	4/26/2010	OFFICE VISIT
83	6/28/2010	OFFICE VISIT
84	6/28/2010	EVALUATION OF WHEEZING
85	9/29/2010	ALLERGY SKIN TEST
86	9/29/2010	OFFICE VISIT
87	10/20/2010	OFFICE VISIT
88	10/20/2010	NASAL ENDOSCOPY
89	11/1/2010	CONSULTATIONS
90	11/26/2010	CULT BACT;NO URINE/BLD/STOOL
91	11/26/2010	OFFICE VISIT
92	12/6/2010	FLU VIRUS VACC-SPLIT 3 YR &
93	12/6/2010	FLU VIRUS VACC-SPLIT 3 YR &
94	12/6/2010	ADMIN INFLUENZA VIRUS VAC
95	12/6/2010	ADMIN INFLUENZA VIRUS VAC
96	12/10/2010	OFFICE VISIT
97	12/10/2010	NASAL ENDOSCOPY
98	12/13/2010	UPPER GI ENDOSCOPY,DIAGNOSIS
99	12/13/2010	UPPER GI ENDOSCOPY,DIAGNOSIS
100	12/13/2010	AMBUL SUR
101	12/29/2010	OFFICE VISIT
102	1/3/2011	ASSAY, IGA/IGD/IGG/IGM EACH
103	1/3/2011	ASSAY OF IGE
104	1/3/2011	ANTINUCLEAR ANTIBODIES, RIA
105	1/10/2011	PREV VISIT, EST, AGE 18-39
106	1/19/2011	CONSULTATIONS
107	1/25/2011	ASSAY THYROID STIM HORMONE
108	1/25/2011	MICROSOMAL ANTIBODY, RIA
109	1/31/2011	OFFICE VISIT
110	2/17/2011	OFFICE VISIT
111	2/23/2011	OFFICE VISIT
112	2/23/2011	NASAL ENDOSCOPY
113	3/11/2011	CAT SCAN OF FACE, JAW
114	3/11/2011	3D RENDERING WITH INTERPRETA
115	3/11/2011	CT SCAN
116	3/11/2011	CT SCAN/OTHER
117	3/25/2011	OFFICE VISIT
118	3/25/2011	NASAL ENDOSCOPY
119	4/14/2011	OFFICE VISIT
120	5/16/2011	ANESTHESIA
121	5/16/2011	COLLECTION OF VENOUS BLOOD
122	5/16/2011	METABOLIC PANEL TOTAL CA
123	5/16/2011	MEDICAL SERVICES
124	5/16/2011	HEMO/PLATELET CNT-AUTOMATED
125	5/16/2011	DECALCIFY TISSUE
126	5/16/2011	LABORATORY
127	5/16/2011	LAB/HEMATOLOGY
128	5/16/2011	PATHOLOGY LAB
129	5/16/2011	NASAL ENDOSCOPY, SURGICAL;93
130	5/16/2011	ENDOSCOPY, MAXILLARY SINUS
131	5/16/2011	SINUS SURGICAL ENDOSCOPY
132	5/16/2011	NASAL/SINUS ENDOSCOPY-SURG
133	5/16/2011	NASAL ENDOSCOPY, SURGICAL;93
134	5/16/2011	SCAN PROC CRANIAL EXTRA
135	5/16/2011	INTRODUCER/SHEATH, GUIDING
136	5/16/2011	ADRENALIN EPINEPHRINE INJECT
137	5/16/2011	RINGR LACT UPTO 1000CC/1.5MX
138	5/16/2011	PHARMACY
139	5/16/2011	MED-SUR SUPPLIES
140	5/16/2011	SUPPLY/IMPLANTS
141	5/16/2011	OR SERVICES
142	5/16/2011	DRUGS/DETAIL CODE
143	5/16/2011	RECOVERY ROOM
144	6/8/2011	OFFICE VISIT
145	6/8/2011	NASAL ENDOSCOPY

 

'nuff said.