you are getting enough Vitamin C and antioxidants.
So you can heal up.

http://www.nctcog.org/trans/air/

this is north central texas council of governments. it has the daily ozone alerts.



www.pollen.com

just put in your zip code and your local pollen counts.

I know I'm clueless but want to help you so and was wondering if this could be part of when you had pneumonia? I know when I had it the congestion and draining was there for a long time after. I also had so much pressure in my chest still. I wonder if the pneumonia is not gone or this is the aftermath still and your still having symptoms.

I'm a Sjogren's gimp (mine is severe, systemic, and accompanied by a slew of other autoimmune issues) with 3 years of med school behind my broken back, so... this is just my opinion as a med geek but even moreso as a sufferer that has had all kinds of Sjogren's problems.

I agree that you definitely don't want to overdo the sprays... rhinocort, pulmicort, etc... if you use too much for very long, your body gets tolerant and stops producing its own corticosteroids, so... careful and conservative with that and prednisone!! Even the nasal spray will deliver some to your bloodstream, just like injections of it at the joints (which I've had)...

Mucinex=good stuff. If you have Sjogren's, I recommend taking it every day-it is good preventative medicine for Sjogren's, allergies, and even smoke exposure (first or second hand) as it keeps the mucous thin and less likely to get infected... depending on how much you're already taking, 4 a day of them is perfectly normal, and honestly, you can go really high for it-they give megadoses for fibromyalgia, for example, with very few people having side effects aside from a runny drippy nose, which you'd probably kiss the ground in New York City to have right now.

Try Theratears nutrition--it's a supplement made by the same people whose eye drops my eye docs swear by (and they're big on the supplement, too)-very highly controlled marine lipid oil, flaxseed oil, vitamin E... good for eyes, nose, throat... BUT only take 1 a day, not the 3-you don't want to overdo the vitamin E in particular.

If you are taking supplements by means of vitamins, they could be causing problems... even Vitamin C pills are a big bad no-no (I teach college Nutrition classes... while vitamin C in JUICE is great-it's an antioxidant etc-in pill form, it's actually a pro-oxidant that can do a lot of harm). Folic acid, on the other hand, I would recommend...

If you have Sjogren's (I can't tell from this post whether you do or whether it's just a possibility), a couple more things could help: Plaquenil (an antimalarial DMARD) and Evoxac (which stimulates the parasympathetic glands, causing spit and to lesser extents tears and mucous to be produced in better levels). If the prednisone is chronic, please, for your bones' sake, taper the level down. If it's just a dosepack, 20mg is alright. You don't want to stay on that for long at all if you can help it, though 5mg/day is an okay amount in the long run to prevent more problems...

Sorry this is so disjointed; I'm having a bad flare-up and very distracted by my digestive tract being kind of ... upset... today, so I'm typing in a hurry so I can race to the bathroom in case it (again) catches me off guard.

Feel free to email me if you have questions about anything related to autoimmune illnesses.

Oh yeah, I'd also be really interested in knowing the kind of full span of your issues-do you have vertigo type things going on along with this? Reason being my sister went to a fabulous ENT that made her realize her own sinus and ear issues were from 2 different things-one she takes rhinocort for, the other she has to do exercises for to shift these yucky granules in her ears around until they get flushed out. With Sjogren's, the granule type things is a common side problem, so I thought I'd see what is going on in your head besides just this little snippet my google alert linked me to!

Hope you feel better pronto!!

I don't know if this is part or not. I haven't had another chest X-Ray, so don't know what that looks like now.

I missed using the nebulizer once today... Not good, started feeling like bronchitis or pneumonia coming on... Called doc-not to worry, lots of allergies going on right now.

I know there can be lung involvement if one has Sjogren's, but I don't know if there is one lung doc in this whole area who knows anything about it. I have always thought my pulmonary doc was good, but maybe he has never seen Sjogren's involvement...

I got so disgusted, I ate a bunch of cinnamon toast for dinner.
Cathie

Uh oh... I think Curious has been doctoring up my post... My cinnamon toast is in the RED!!! Well, I know it is not a very healthy coping technique, but it sure was tasty...

Oh, I forgot to mention that my phone call to the pulmonary doc ended with him suggesting I got up to 40mg of Prednisone. Well, I am sorry, but that is NOT going to happen. I have been on this stuff daily now for over 15 years and I am NOT going to do that... The objective here is to try and get back down to my maintenance level, if that is possible. I will just try to stick it out with the nebulizer and other stuff...

And Singular??? Well, the pharmacist told my husband it can make people irritable. That is an understatement. I am already HIGHLY irritable due to steroids. I have had UNBELIEVABLE nightmares and irritation at volcano level. Yesterday, I woke up to a nightmare where I was smearing huge plates of pancakes madly all over my husband's head... Did he do anything to bring this on? I don't remember that part of the dream...

Cathie

Hi Nallukka:

Welcome to our board here. You will find lots of good information and friendly people here. I would imagine you will also be full of a lot of good information yourself.

I will email you a respose, as the issues I experience have been dragged out on this board to a phenomenal length...

Hope you are having a good day today,
Cathie

Not a 'roid rage? Steroids are tough!

I have no problem with Singulair...nada. I have been able to be almost 100% inhaler free... excluding environmental insults that are unforeseen.

Here is the reported side effect list:
http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/monteluk_ad.htm

It is one of the most mild tables of side effects I have ever seen.
Singulair metabolites are excreted thru the gall bladder. That is the only major factor I would consider, in those with biliary cirrhosis, which is not common.

Some small children exhibit irritable behavior with allergies, and hence on Singulair. But it is not common either. In general people who are sick are easily irritable and it is very hard to prove it is the drug causing it.
This means it does not cross the blood brain barrier..
So one would not expect much in the way of psychiatric side effects.
Here is the FDA reports (623 compared to 2100+ for forteo which is not nearly used as much)
The most common appear to be in small children, and convulsive.

Steroids are really really hard on the body. They create huge problems in comparison. So I hope you will give it a try at least. If it does not work for you, then at least you will know that.

edit to add: Small children and the very old, often have blood brain barrier faults. For example, Zantac and Pepcid can cause
delirium in the very old, while not causing this in other age groups. When the blood brain barrier fails many drugs and viruses and bacteria and peptides from food, can enter.

How interesting, MrsD. Well, guess I cannot blame it on the Singular-need to find a good article or two on steroid rage... An older friend I used to know was on 15mg Prednisone q.o.d. I could tell by talking on the phone whether it was her off or on day... She was NOT nice then... Since I am on it every day, and an elevated dose at that, take a guess about the level of "nice" around here... Husband is thinking of taking on another job, so he will get a break... I think he got a little nervous over the pancake story.

Something is causing me to see things that are not there... My cinnamon toast-I swear it was sooo cute in red... Now it has disappeared... Hello Curious, are you the toast doctor???

Hope you all are having a good day... It is raining like mad here... The Yorkies are NOT happy campers over this.

Oh, MrsD: does this mean that a person who has been on Zantac or Pepsid for years should try and find something else to take instead if they are, aahhh, getting on up there?

Cathie

i think you really wanted him covered in syrup.

the cinnamon was a good thing. next time...just lick it off the bread.


hey...did you get pumeled by rain? i barely got the kids to school today. the roads were flooded. oops...just saw you did. the vets office behind me had all the animlas crying this morning. it was so sad.

now roid rages...i can tell you stories girl. years of being in the health club...oy.....


hehehe...cathie..did you do a search for cinnamon toast? when you search for words...they appear in red.