A
couple weeks ago was the most medically busy I’ve been in a while!
Over
the last several months I’ve been getting out of breath more easily, and have
found myself getting short of breath even walking short distances. My doctor
thought that my airways might have narrowed again, possibly triggered by the 2
respiratory infections I had earlier this year. During the first couple years
post-transplant my airways narrowed frequently and I needed regular
bronchoscopies to dilate them. Thankfully this settled down over time, and it
had been over 2 years since my last bronchoscopy. But a couple weeks ago it was
finally bronchoscopy day once again! Fortunately it went very well and I
recovered relatively easily. They dilated some of my airways and took sputum
samples to check for infections. To no one’s surprise they found pseudomonas in
my lungs, which has been a recurrent issue. Right now I’m not showing any
significant symptoms so we’re not jumping to treat it, and will just continue
monitoring the situation. On the plus side, once I recovered from the procedure
I definitely noticed that I was breathing better and was able to walk more
easily. Hopefully that’ll take care of the issue and I won’t need another
bronch for a long time!
That
wasn’t my only medical procedure though! Back in February my right ear got
clogged up while I was recovering from a cold. It was uncomfortable and also
impacted my hearing. At first we expected it to clear up on its own, but after
a couple months it hadn’t made any progress. I already do regular medicated
sinus rinses, so we tried adding a nose spray to open things up. When that
didn’t work we tried raising my prednisone for a couple weeks (aka a prednisone
burst), which also didn’t help. Finally I made an appointment with a specialist
to get my ear checked out. I originally thought I could see my regular ENT, but
apparently he only does sinuses, so I had to go see a completely different ENT.
A hearing test confirmed that my hearing was compromised in that ear, but it
also showed that the hearing loss was due to a blockage. So they put a tube in
my ear! They poked a tiny hole in my eardrum to let the fluid drain, and stuck
a little plastic tube into the hole to keep it open long enough to clear
everything out. They said since it had been so many months the fluid is
probably thick and will take time to come out, so the tube will keep the hole
open for 6-12 months before falling out. Getting it in was uncomfortable, but I
felt an IMMEDIATE difference both in terms of less pressure in my ear and being
able to hear MUCH better. During the day my ear feels fine and I don’t even
notice the tube. Overnight, however, the fluid drains out when I lay on my
side. It’s a little uncomfortable and a little gross, but it’s better than not
being able to hear!
After
not having much going on medically for a while, 2 procedures in one week felt
like a lot! Thankfully they were both pretty routine, and both produced
immediate results. Hopefully they’ll just be an unexpected bump in the road and
I won’t need any more procedures anytime soon!
