The Kvetch Thread

It seems you had a Brown-out.

My sincerest sympathies to you.

Sozlet had a 24-hour bug on Friday, which required full attention for the whole day -- this was likely a virus (when I told the school secretary that sozlet had started to walk to school but returned home because she was nauseous, the secretary said that she'd been getting a lot of calls about that this week and described what was likely to happen, and she was right) but sozlet has this thing where if she starts vomiting it's really, really tough to get her to stop and she not infrequently winds up in the Emergency Room with dangerous levels of dehydration.

So I was perched next to her pretty much all day, administering sips of water at 10-minute intervals and trying to talk her through severe nausea episodes, distract her, etc.

Overall, while it was a lot of effort, it went well. She did a great job, a lot of willpower involved.

She woke up Saturday morning and was pretty much fine. Whew.

However.

Here's where the kvetch comes in.

The whole thing was pretty exhausting, and I have a bunch of stuff I have to do to catch up (work, home, etc.) Meanwhile she now has a new problem which is really hard to deal with. She has some sort of shortness of breath thing that happens occasionally, that is partly physical and partly behavioral. She takes these big, gaspy, shoulder-lifting breaths that create a bad feedback loop.

She got pretty bad last night, but got "reset" overnight and was fine when she first woke up this morning. Then the first big gaspy breath....

I'm really worried I'm going to get the email from school saying that she's panicky and needs to come home because she's not breathing well. The problem is, there isn't any quick fix for this issue -- when she's had it before, Albuterol etc. didn't really help. She just has to get it under control behaviorally, and she used up like a month's worth of willpower already on Friday. (And willing yourself to breathe shallowly when you feel like you're not getting enough oxygen requires a lot of willpower.)

So I'm worried about her just in general, and I'm worried that I won't have time to catch up with stuff just when I really need it. And not liking that there isn't a lot I can DO about it, really.

So I better get to catching up instead of writing this. Sigh. Fingers crossed.

Minor next to Sturgis' epic rant (sorry, Sturgis, that sucks), but on my mind and helped a little to get it out.

Sounds rough on both of you. Hope she finds a way to self-manage.

My nurse practitioner called last week to tell me about the status of the VA hospital. According to her, rumor has it that the Manhattan VA hospital could be out 3 months to a year before it reopens.

It might be helpful to have sozlet practice some breathing exercises, particularly diaphragmatic breathing, on a daily basis, when she is not having the breathing problem. Becoming familiar with the technique may help her to use it when she does have the problem. It should help her to deal with her shortness of breath--and also make her feel more in control of it.

Roberta, I wonder if there is any way you can track down your doctors from Bellevue so you could speak to them, or find out if they have been deployed to work elsewhere, at another city hospital, where you can continue seeing them.

I can't imagine that the city will just continue paying their staffs from the closed hospitals without re-assigning them to work elsewhere.

Temporary Locations (Bellevue Hospital):
http://fgp.med.nyu.edu/temporary-locations
Physicians contact page:
http://fgp.med.nyu.edu/acc-contact-emails

That's great info for Roberta, tsar.

Yes, this has been helpful:

http://asthma.about.com/od/faq/f/BB_Buteyko_exercise.htm

That's what I mean about willpower though, hard to do when she's feeling panicky and short of breath. But it does seem to help.

It's something that only happens to her very occasionally (maybe twice a year, for short periods), and there seems to be a physical component as well. Possibly something about her vocal chords. Also maybe related to being sick on Friday.

The point is that there isn't a magical fix for it and I know she's already worn out.

edit: so far so good. I know she talks a lot at school, that helps. (Minor non-kvetchy note, I find this endearing -- evidently everyone in the whole school has a tendency to quietly talk to themselves as they do their work. "So I have to carry the 8, and then..." There's sort of a general low hum, and then sometimes people will overhear a problem and help, etc. She hates studying in absolute quiet partly for that reason, she likes that hum.)

A simple response to responses on my earlier post.
First off, my thanks to all who found it at the proper kvetching standards.

Next, on to the nose bleed. It's been a few good days, fingers crossed, seeing the doctor tomorrow and will ask what she thinks.

Butterflynet, after your inquiry about blood thinners (which I am amazingly not currently on, although in the past I was), it seemed time for a random google-search and there it was. The 'medication name' plus the words 'side effects' plus 'nose bleed' and bingo! I am on a medication which has a risk towards epistaxis...er, nose bleeds. It's relatively small risk, although it increases with age and length of time on the med. According to test results, all people who have been on the med. for at least 5 years have had to deal with nose bleeds, although with differing levels of severity.

Life continues, and early greetings towards Roberta on her upcoming annual event this weekend approaching.

I'm glad you are now aware of the cause. Let your doctor know it is happening. Maybe a temporary adjustment in the dosage can help ease the problem. It is also good your doctors know so they can take extra steps to stop bleeding and be more cautious about bruises and cuts should you be injured.

After his hip surgery, when my brother was on warfarin (blood thinner) his nosebleeds got so bad he had to go to the ER a couple times to have it cauterized to stop the bleeding. It left a lot of scar tissue and damage in his nostrils.

BBB had an occasional nosebleed during one of her hospital stays (I can't remember which one) and that too was due to an overdosing of the warfarin.

soz, Sorry to hear that sozlet isn't feeling well. The breathing thing scares me, and I can relate to it.

Sturgis, You're paying attention to my annual event? In the midst of a bleeding schnozz and UPS incompetence. You are a saintly man in a curmudgeon sort of way.

I have to deal with something very tension provoking. I can feel my throat and chest tightening as I type. Manana. Today I lump.

tsar, thanks for the links. Those are for NYU, but they can be helpful.

Not only is this not a kvetch, but it's an antikvetch.

I made the tension-inducing phone calls. Waited a long time. Hypnotized by the wait music. Tension is now gone. I'm a limp noodle. An overcooked strand of spaghetti. Very relieved. Almost relaxed, which for me is ususual.

Yer right. That ain't no kvetch. That's almost a mitzvah.

That's some powerful wait music! I'm a little suspicious. Don't give anyone your credit card info if you can help it.

Meanwhile sozlet seems much better. Gave her Claritin which helped her breathe through her nose better which improved breathing overall a great deal. Fingers crossed.

soz, The wait music isn't what caused the relaxation. It was what happened when I reached a human. The wait music was hypnotic, but not a solution.

Glad that sozlet is better. Overall breathing--breathing in two directions--a good thing. I was worried.

Andy, I'll take the mitzvah. Relieved beyond relief.

Oh good! I kind of thought that I wasn't sure.

Solutions are lovely, lovely things.

Glad that the tension-producing phone call ultimately resulted in a relief of tension. That's a great outcome. I'm happy for you that you are, "Relieved beyond relief." It's wonderful to have such moments.

soz, I was so relaxed that I wasn't clear.

firefly, I didn't realize how tense I was until the tension went away. Yes, wonderful to have such a moment.

Sigh.

The last time I had to make the tension-producing phone call, I had an asthma attack and ended up in the hospital for four days. Another reason I was tense.

I thought I'd drop by for a kvetch with the Queen Kvetcher.

I iz tired, tired, tired, tired, tired...my knees are useless, and I have a poorly finger (that sounds harmless enough) but that ffffffinger HOITS...(oy vey) and I know from hoiting! I've too much work, too little time, too many things to do on the home front, a 50th (Fri), a wedding (next Fri) (an anniversary (Ma&Pa 50th on 6th April) all coming up waaaay too quickly...and ohhhhhhhh the planning involved <... and I'm too tired.

and a LUFTMENSH at heart - I need to be dreaming... time to zzzzzz

<give me strength on sorting out - NACH A MOOL>

AY-YAY-YAY!




<did I kvetch well Boida, huh huh huh? >


Nighty night ma boid, love you much xxxx


I iz tired, I'm sure I musta mentioned that somewhere!