Note: The title of this post is not intended to convey that I am particularly happy -- just Dr. Pulmonologist. Oh, I'm not unhappy... It's just that for me, it was kind of a good news/bad news visit yesterday...
First, the good news: The low dose of prednisone (20 mg) that I've been taking for about a month has apparently done some good. I told the doctor that I suspected as much, having noticed that I was not coughing and choking on my words as frequently as I had been. He confirmed this by listening to my breathing sounds with his stethoscope.
Also in the good news category; I compared the readings on the oxygen monitor that my Best Friend Leslie loaned me (her mother's) with those on Dr. Pulmonologist's monitor, and they matched -- both when I was sitting still, and when I was being "walked" by the nurse. Oh -- and this time my oxygen level did not drop below 91, which was very good news!
Best of all, Dr. Pulmonologist says that I can resume clogging, perhaps with a little more vigor than my shuffloggoing involved -- as long as my oxygen level doesn't drop below 90. (I had been using 95 as the point at which I needed to stop, so that's good news indeed.)
Now for the bad news, but first I have to admit that it might not (indeed, probably won't) be as bad as I'm anticipating -- remember, I'm the one who always expects the worse so as not to be unpleasantly surprised...The bad news is that we're going to increase my dosage of the dreaded prednisone. I'm to take 30 mg until I run out (about three days), and then up it to 40 mg. That being the case, happy though he was, Dr. Pulmonologist warned me that I shall now most likely become fat and puffy -- at least for a while. (Yes, he actually used the word "puffy," although he didn't specifically call me a Prednisone Puff, which I thought showed good manners.)
I suppose the increased dosage also means an increased chance of other undesirable side effects, but most of those will probably be long-term. Hopefully, by the time they manifest themselves, I will have forgotten that I ever was on the darn stuff.
So there you have it. Improvement is good. Prednisone is scary. However, it is apparently working, and I still trust Dr. Pulmonologist. And for now, he is happy.
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