Requesting Prayers for my Wife (updated 2023 - see p. 78)

[Middle-aged_Ball_Coach]

Indeed a good guess by MABC. Steroids are fantastic and a "pain the backside" by the same token. Definitely not a med to take lightly, as you know.

Glad you and Steph are both still doing well, and thanks again for the updates. The man upstairs is good! GBR

It's a pretty good guess.

One of my kids has used that previously w/ Crohn's ... IIRC, he had to adjust dosages in increments for his treatment or as he came off the prescription.

How did you know?

My father was diagnosed with emphysema in 1985, and he survived for 31 years in large part because of prednisone. The side effects are awful, but being able to breathe is not something to be underrated. Now my mom has been struggling with an organizing pneumonia and/or an autoimmune disease, so she has to be on prednisone in order to keep the scar tissue from building up in her bronchioles, but the prednisone is making her skin thin and easily torn, and it's almost impossible for her to sleep at night, plus she's retaining water to an unhealthy degree.

Personally, I've also had to take prednisone on two separate occasions due to severe allergic skin reactions from poison ivy. My dad knew more about it than the doctors. For example, whenever you step down for the final phases, don't go from 1 pill/day to nothing. Take the last 2-3 days of pills and cut them in half so that you can take a half-pill per day, and you might even want to consider a quarter-pill per day for the last 4 days. Your body stops producing the steroids that prednisone replicates, so it needs warning and some prep time to re-up their production.

For the record, I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, but any medical doctors who have worked with what I have described above should attest that what I said is accurate.

 

[EdgeCrusher]

My father was diagnosed with emphysema in 1985, and he survived for 31 years in large part because of prednisone. The side effects are awful, but being able to breathe is not something to be underrated. Now my mom has been struggling with an organizing pneumonia and/or an autoimmune disease, so she has to be on prednisone in order to keep the scar tissue from building up in her bronchioles, but the prednisone is making her skin thin and easily torn, and it's almost impossible for her to sleep at night, plus she's retaining water to an unhealthy degree.

Personally, I've also had to take prednisone on two separate occasions due to severe allergic skin reactions from poison ivy. My dad knew more about it than the doctors. For example, whenever you step down for the final phases, don't go from 1 pill/day to nothing. Take the last 2-3 days of pills and cut them in half so that you can take a half-pill per day, and you might even want to consider a quarter-pill per day for the last 4 days. Your body stops producing the steroids that prednisone replicates, so it needs warning and some prep time to re-up their production.

For the record, I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, but any medical doctors who have worked with what I have described above should attest that what I said is accurate.

Not a doctor either, but stepping down on steroids carefully is important, ESPECIALLY if the person has been on high dose steroids.

 

[Elwood von Kiowa]

My father was diagnosed with emphysema in 1985, and he survived for 31 years in large part because of prednisone. The side effects are awful, but being able to breathe is not something to be underrated. Now my mom has been struggling with an organizing pneumonia and/or an autoimmune disease, so she has to be on prednisone in order to keep the scar tissue from building up in her bronchioles, but the prednisone is making her skin thin and easily torn, and it's almost impossible for her to sleep at night, plus she's retaining water to an unhealthy degree.

Personally, I've also had to take prednisone on two separate occasions due to severe allergic skin reactions from poison ivy. My dad knew more about it than the doctors. For example, whenever you step down for the final phases, don't go from 1 pill/day to nothing. Take the last 2-3 days of pills and cut them in half so that you can take a half-pill per day, and you might even want to consider a quarter-pill per day for the last 4 days. Your body stops producing the steroids that prednisone replicates, so it needs warning and some prep time to re-up their production.

For the record, I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, but any medical doctors who have worked with what I have described above should attest that what I said is accurate.

Good to know. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Middle-aged_Ball_Coach]

Good to know. Thanks for sharing.

Fwiw, my father repeatedly had different doctors over the years who would tell him that he could step down from 1 pill/day (over a few days) to none, but the guys who had been working more closely for longer with people using it knew better. When I was on it, my dad rewrote the end of my prescription regimen so that I went from 2 pills/day to 1.5 pills/day to 1/day to .5/day, but still using the same total of pills as originally prescribed. I had no noticeable side effects tapering it off that way.

 

[Florida Husker]

Prayers continue or you and Steph. Thanks for the update.

 

[Cvillehusker]

Elwood was just checking in hope Steph and you are still doing ok,am still praying for you both

 

[Elwood von Kiowa]

Elwood was just checking in hope Steph and you are still doing ok,am still praying for you both

Well, she threw cold water on me when I was in the shower tonight, so I think "she's back".

She does OK in her rehab, when she's doing 20 minutes on a machine at a steady level. But she will quickly get out of breath during "short burst" activities, like even walking a short distance if she hurries too much. So that's a bit strange (and concerning). Progress now is slow, but she's ever so slowly improving.

Thanks for asking.

 

[All 'N' 011808]

Well, she threw cold water on me when I was in the shower tonight, so I think "she's back".

She does OK in her rehab, when she's doing 20 minutes on a machine at a steady level. But she will quickly get out of breath during "short burst" activities, like even walking a short distance if she hurries too much. So that's a bit strange (and concerning). Progress now is slow, but she's ever so slowly improving.

Thanks for asking.

I totally understand the concern, but over time, she will be able to handle the short burst activities better and better. Plus, God isn't finished restoring her, yet.

 

[Florida Husker]

Well, she threw cold water on me when I was in the shower tonight, so I think "she's back".

She does OK in her rehab, when she's doing 20 minutes on a machine at a steady level. But she will quickly get out of breath during "short burst" activities, like even walking a short distance if she hurries too much. So that's a bit strange (and concerning). Progress now is slow, but she's ever so slowly improving.

Thanks for asking.

Thanks for the update. Definitely a slow process for complete healing and restoration. Continued prayers for you both.

 

[Frosty1980]

Well, she threw cold water on me when I was in the shower tonight, so I think "she's back".

She does OK in her rehab, when she's doing 20 minutes on a machine at a steady level. But she will quickly get out of breath during "short burst" activities, like even walking a short distance if she hurries too much. So that's a bit strange (and concerning). Progress now is slow, but she's ever so slowly improving.

Thanks for asking.

I shouldn’t compare smoking to covid but I’m going to try. The lungs are an amazing organ and heal themselves over time. I noticed a drastic difference a few months after quitting. She’ll get there brother and make a full recovery. I have faith in that. Hoping you and your beautiful wife have many many great years together.

 

[Elwood von Kiowa]

I shouldn’t compare smoking to covid but I’m going to try. The lungs are an amazing organ and heal themselves over time. I noticed a drastic difference a few months after quitting. She’ll get there brother and make a full recovery. I have faith in that. Hoping you and your beautiful wife have many many great years together.

We had an appointment with her pulmonologist yesterday. While waiting in the exam room, I was reading the poster on the wall about how quickly things come back after you quit smoking -- sense of smell/taste, lung capacity, etc. Pretty interesting.

One thing that surprised me in this, is that they say scarring in the lungs does NOT heal. Maybe I need to learn more about this... Like what kinds of lung damage do heal, and what doesn't. The pulmonologist didn't make a definite statement (as no one knows for sure), but he leaned toward "you may have to live with reduced lung capacity."

I do know that on November 3 in the wee hours of the morning (after her 2nd cardiac arrest, coded for 45 minutes, collapsed lung, lungs leaking into body cavity), her chest X-ray was completely cloudy/white, where you couldn't even see any ribs. They said this was irreversible damage to the lungs. A few hours later, they took another X-ray; in that one, I could count every one of her ribs.

 

[Frosty1980]

We had an appointment with her pulmonologist yesterday. While waiting in the exam room, I was reading the poster on the wall about how quickly things come back after you quit smoking -- sense of smell/taste, lung capacity, etc. Pretty interesting.

One thing that surprised me in this, is that they say scarring in the lungs does NOT heal. Maybe I need to learn more about this... Like what kinds of lung damage do heal, and what doesn't. The pulmonologist didn't make a definite statement (as no one knows for sure), but he leaned toward "you may have to live with reduced lung capacity."

I do know that on November 3 in the wee hours of the morning, her chest X-ray was completely cloudy/white, where you couldn't even see any ribs. They said this was irreversible damage to the lungs. A few hours later, they took another X-ray; in that one, I could count every one of her ribs.

I’ve heard that scar tissue doesn’t heal. I will have to read up on it too. I’m just glad she’s doing better. I’m praying for a full recovery.

 

[Elwood von Kiowa]

I’ve heard that scar tissue doesn’t heal. I will have to read up on it too. I’m just glad she’s doing better. I’m praying for a full recovery.

Thanks!

The story certainly isn't over. BTW, the pulmonologist also said that "for every story like yours, there's a million who didn't make it." Considering that there have been 600000 covid deaths in the US, I'd say we've been especially blessed.

 

[All 'N' 011808]

We had an appointment with her pulmonologist yesterday. While waiting in the exam room, I was reading the poster on the wall about how quickly things come back after you quit smoking -- sense of smell/taste, lung capacity, etc. Pretty interesting.

One thing that surprised me in this, is that they say scarring in the lungs does NOT heal. Maybe I need to learn more about this... Like what kinds of lung damage do heal, and what doesn't. The pulmonologist didn't make a definite statement (as no one knows for sure), but he leaned toward "you may have to live with reduced lung capacity."

I do know that on November 3 in the wee hours of the morning (after her 2nd cardiac arrest, coded for 45 minutes, collapsed lung, lungs leaking into body cavity), her chest X-ray was completely cloudy/white, where you couldn't even see any ribs. They said this was irreversible damage to the lungs. A few hours later, they took another X-ray; in that one, I could count every one of her ribs.

I believe that God has big plans for Steph and He will do what he wants with that scar tissue.

 

[Pops]

All good karma headed her way for sure