So much has happened

nancyj194

The week before last we were planning a visit with my soon to be 103 year old mother, in Iowa. 

DH started coughing about four days before we were to leave. Our son and his wife, an RN were going and driving our son's car.  

I was concerned, but in May before a trip to my mother's, DH had a less serious cough, which did go away after a few weeks.  

Our DIL said it could be from seasonal allergies, which my husband does have. 

So the night before we were to leave, the cough became worse and nothing I gave him helped. In fact he seemed worse and so I sat up with him until 11 pm when he finally went to sleep.

Around 2 am he started coughing again with a vengeance and was mostly incoherent.  I decided to er on the side of caution and call 911. He had never had a fever and the covid test I gave him was negative. When the ambulance arrived, DH was able to talk and answer some of their questions. I filled in where he could not.  He was transported to the ER and the gamut of tests were run.  He was also having Afib with RVR. His heart rate was 150.  

Tests for covid and pneumonia were negative. He did test positive for rhinovirus aka the common cold, The attending physician said DH's lungs were overly sensitive. DH was then admitted to the hospital and so the trip to Iowa was off. The attending physician had gone to medical school, at Creighton in Omaha, with a hometown boy where my mother lives and I grew up. It's a small world.  Anyway, the doctor suggested my DH might be released from the hospital as he was responding well to the meds they had given him. The doctor gave us the go-ahead for the trip.

By that afternoon, DH was released and the trip was on again, a day late.  We headed across Nebraska for the 8 hour drive and it all went well. DH was still coughing, but his heart rate was normal as was his oxygen level.  We stayed with Mother Saturday and Sunday and headed back home on Monday morning. The trip back went well also. Thankfully my mother did not catch a cold from DH.

We have now been home a week and the cough is still there, though somewhat better.  He sleeps a lot during the day and won't venture over to the puzzle table any longer.  His appetite is slightly better.  

This spring/ summer he started constantly mumbling. It's mostly the same sounds and he is not quiet. lol 

My sister and her DH were also visiting Mother from NC. She had been a dietician in a nursing home, so I asked her about the repeated mumbling sounds and she said it is quite common with Alzheimer's patients. She said there are medications for this, but at this point, I think I can keep dealing with it.  Sometimes it is stressful, but mostly I just let it go. 

Everything falls on my shoulders, but thankfully I can take up the slack. Our son and DIL help out quite often.  I've mostly recovered from IT band syndrome this summer. 

Thanks for listening as this is my only outlet where I can open up. 

MaryG123

Wow!  I’m exhausted just reading about your saga Nancyj!  Well done.  I hope you can get some much needed rest.

Marie58

I'm so glad you got to go and that it went well.

You mentioned seasonal allergies. A few years back, my DH suddenly developed a cough that wouldn't go away. In the past he would sometimes cough while exercising. One thought was asthma and PCP prescribed an inhaler, which seemed to work. For some reason we stopped using it and the cough came back in the spring. I wondered if it was allergies so I started giving him OTC generic zyrtec in the spring and fall and that took care of it. Just a thought.

nancyj194

I have had one of those weeks with doctor appointments and my last day of PT for the IT band syndrome that has plagued me spring and summer.  The most helpful therapy was lying on my side on top of the bed and moving a tennis ball from my hip to my knee, rolling it back and forth each time. What a difference it made! 

The hand specialist I saw on Monday for my Dupuytren's Contracture will do needling on my left hand first. Hopefully it works so I don't have to have surgery. 

MaryG, I am getting some rest.  My DH sleeps well most nights with the help of medications that continue to work for him.  

Marie, thank you for the great comment. DH was prescribed an inhaler while in the hospital which sometimes helps when he does it correctly, which is hit or miss.  

DH is on over the counter allergy meds, as he breaks out in body rashes if he stops taking them.  At beginning of COVID, DH broke out with a rash from his neck to his waste and on both sides. It was the worst I had seen. We had a phone/video call with my dermatologist who prescribed Allegra and two kinds of prescription body creams, plus an antibiotic because he was scratching to the point of breaking the skin.  Everything worked, thankfully.  

His recent follow up visit with the family doctor didn't bring any changes except the doctor suggested giving DH Mucinex. We left his office and bought some.  I am to take his BP every other day as his numbers 151/91. He's on two different kinds of medication, so not sure what the next step will be.  I'm weary of being a nurse, but on the plus side, there is no blood to deal with. 

Marie, how is your DH's cough? Is he doing okay otherwise?

N