Breathing Deeply: My Life With Cystic Fibrosis

I knew I was out of shape, but I didn't realize just HOW much ground I had lost while battling pneumonia. I can't do my bench presses anymore, and it's a struggle just to lift my 5lb weights to do some pectoral flies. While I have some time at home before I go back to work, I plan to slowly restart my exercising routine. I would love to be in good enough shape to take advantage of the gym at Mount Hermon when I go in a few weeks. The thing I really need to work on is coordinating my breathing as I lift the weights. That will definitely help me improve my FEV1 I think.

Speaking of which, I now have a small home version of a spirometer. It's not particularly impressive, but it does measure peak flow and FEV1. I figured now would be a good time to start using it more diligently since I know exactly what my FEV1 was the other day. I think I'm going to have to apply some sort of correction factor to it if I want to know how it compares to my PFT results at the doctor's office.

Tomorrow is my follow-up appointment at the CF clinic. I have the last appointment of the day (8pm, ugh!) so I'm pretty sure I'll end up doing my evening infusions there while I wait. I'm hoping that the doctor will clear me to stop the IVs on Thursday, which is when they were originally scheduled to quit. It's not uncommon for me to do a 3 week course of antibiotics though. As of Thursday it will only have been 2. We'll see what he thinks.

Energy-wise I'm doing well. I would be in favor of stopping the antibiotics so that I can start gaining my weight back. These drugs are really hard on my digestive system. No matter how much I eat, most of it comes sliding out. Not fun in the least. Also, the tobramycin makes me so incredibly thirsty all the time. The excessive thirst was really beginning to concern me. I was worried that I'd finally crossed the threshold into having CFRD. My blood sugars however have actually been on the low side. Today I got so low in fact that I nearly collapsed. Fortunately we were at the mall and a roll of lifesavers followed by some lemonade from Hot Dog on A Stick nursed me back to full glycemic health.

I'm anxious to get back to work, but I don't want to push it. My supervisor has been very understanding and isn't pressuring me into anything. I'm so thankful and blessed to have the job I do. Freelancing is going well too. All in all, I'm in a good place right now. God is good and so is the life He's given me.