Getting worse..

Even though I was on sick leave and had a nice stash of painkillers (Panacod 500mg, Burana 600mg) and such at home, my cough was going insane and I had to visit Keskusta 3 once again! At this point sleeping at night was really hard due to cough attacks and constant slimyness in the throat and I had also had a slight fever (37,5C) on Wednesday (25/4). I could also feel a mild pain in my chest from time to time. Like always they sent me to check my CRP value and like always it was elevated enough to get another lung infection diagnosis. This time they prescribed me a batch of Avelox 400mg (10 days) which is like the scariest poison I had ever had to eat. The list of side effects was endless! Moxifloxacin is the working ingredient and I guess it is a very broad spectrum antibiotic but not as broad as the list of symptoms I was waiting to experience. On top of everything it was expensive like hell! About 10x the price of the other stuff I had been prescribed so far.

She also though it could be good to have a strong cough medicine, Codesan 500ml, and a pack of Precosa 250mg to prevent diarrhea caused by the strong antibiotics. Didn't get that though, my stomach can handle most things! (And it did..) Before I had time to tell the doc I already was on sick leave she had printed me a new one from 27/4-3/5. Needless to say I didn't send that paper to my employer since I already had sent the one with sick leave until 6/5.

CAT scan

TGIF, and time for a CT-scan. This time at Turun Kapunginsairaala. Somehow they had failed to inform me to come 1h earlier to binge a few litres of iodine solution but that didn't delay my appointment much. I just had drink faster and somehow I've picked up that skill over the years, no biggie. Since most of the contrast solution had to be fed intravenously I they put a cannula in my arm, I'm pretty sure that was my first time ever. Not a big fan! (Doesn't really hurt though) The procedure itself was easy and fast, just a machine telling you to hold your breath while the bed you're lying on is going back and forth thorugh a big plastic donut which is bombarding you with X-rays. So I'd say the worst part was the cannula. (Or finding a parking spot in the rain)


Now all I had to do was wait for the results back at TYKS 3/5..

The pain of finding out why you're sick!

While I was on sick leave I got a fat letter from TYKS for a series of examinations. Instead of feeling all well and eager for a comeback to work this Monday, I spent a few hours in TYKS T-hospital. 12:00 pre-medication, 12:30 spirometry (for real, again?) and 13:00 bronchoscopy, which I knew was going to be nasty but I had NO idea! This also meant that I didn't get to eat or drink for a few hours so I was really thirsty by the time I got to the last procedure. Anyway, the pre-medication was some sort of saliva-stopper injection that would dry up my mouth for a few hours and a walk-thorugh of what was coming. While the meds were kicking in I went for yet another spiro without any significant result. I'm a pro at this by now.

Time to stick a tube down my lungs! For starters two sets of anesthesia were just sprayed in my mouth and back of the throat (no needle penetration). While I was waiting for those to kick in they had to change the operating table because I was too heavy for the one they had, haha! So I got a bed rolled in for me instead.. Kinda embarrassing really. =) Anyway, then I got the "lie down and relax" command, it's funny how they all say that. In fact I was quite relaxed since my pulse was only 85, they told me most people are at 150 by now. Badass! But only for a brief second since as soon as they started jamming a thick tube down my trachea the fun was over. After a good 10-15min of feeling like drowning and throwing up at the same time, all while watching the inside of my lungs on TV, they pulled the damn thing out. While in there they took 3 samples, (biopsy) so now I was coughing up blood as well as hurting all over and feeling generally violated. Fun times!

They had me sitting in the waiting room for about 30min (under "obervation" with nobody watching me?) only to send me back upstairs to get a few blood samples. I don't know what the guy did wrong but after filling 5 vials of blood he pulled out the needle and told me "that might bruise a bit". My entire friggin' arm was blue and yellow a week after that! I looked like a total heroinist. Good work mate! I asked him why the heck they needed 5 samples for and if I remember correctly they were for checking CRP, liver values, cancer values (NSE), kidney values and hemoglobin..  (I was a bit worried they wanted to test me for cancer!) They needed to check that my kidneys were ok because I had a CT-scan later that week and the radiocontrast agent used can be damaging to the kidneys.

X-Ray and first signs of lung-trouble

Three days later (5/4) I finally got my lungs X-rayed. To this day I just can't understand why they didn't already to that at Terveystalo.. Medical professionals my ass! This was supposed to be a quick in and out procedure but the attentive X-ray nurses told me to go back to see a doctor when they got a look at my lungs. Some kind of oxygen-free pocket at the top of my left lung wasn't looking that good apperently.. So back to Keskusta 3 (same building) to see a doc. Of course with no appointment I ended up waiting about 2h but this time it was totally worth it. I explained my symptoms from the last 3 months and she was really shocked that nobody had done futher examinations earlier. My CRP was once again elevated and the diagnosis was "unknown lung infection" (J18.9). Sick leave until 15.4 and a full set of examinaions for the week after that! Not a great way to start a new career but at least I can finally get some answers! 

This time I got a prescription for Tavanic 500mg antibiotics. (10 days)

Feeling sick again

After working a hectic week at my new job I started to feel sick again in the beginning of April. Since I no longer had free medical care from my job I went to the Turun Terveyskeskus Keskusta 3 health station, which is the one the public uses and the number corresponds to the area where I live. The wheezing and bubbling had become more fequent and noisy and I had also developed a strong slimy cough and felt tired all the time. The only way I could sleep now was on my right side since most of the breathing noice was produced while having weight on my left lung. (Same problem while speeping my back) The doc perscribed me a cortisone inhaler, Flixotide evohaler 125µg/dose and told me to book lung x-ray just in case. X-Ray, finally!!

Up until this day I had still been actively going to the gym about 3 times a week.. I think my last visit was 4/4, it'll be a long time 'til next next time!