A Bit of a Shock

I had my routine 3 month checkup yesterday in Boston and wasn't expecting great news as I hadn't been feeling well for a couple months. I am feeling somewhat better since taking the oral antibiotics so didn't expect that my pulmonary function tests would be the lowest that they have ever been. It's always a bit of a shocker when you hit an all-time, new low.

Now for the tricky part: because this has been going on for a few months now my pulmonologist thinks it's a good idea for me to be aggressive and do some IV antibiotics if I'm not feeling back to 100% by Monday. No pressure!

There's a part of me that wonders if the low PFTs are just a residual from the proteus infection I had and that it will take more time for my lungs to settle down. On the other hand, I haven't felt great for a couple months and perhaps I'm just in denial and thinking that this is going to go away on its own. It's always such an unclear judgment call! Where's my crystal ball when I need it?

My preference for treatment is always to be as aggressive as possible; so why am I hesitating to just go in and get it done? I suppose in part because my culture is fairly clear, I don't want to take unnecessary antibiotics and I dread an admission. A new culture was sent yesterday, but the previous one showed abundant proteus and some pseudomonas. I'm not sure if my old friend Stenotrophomonas was there or not. The proteus has been treated and I do feel some better, but certainly not back to my baseline. Or is this a new baseline? Ugh, all the second-guessing is enough to drive me mad.

I'm to check in with the nurse today and let her know that the tentative plan is for me to go in early next week. We'll see how the culture looks, which should be back on Monday. Even as I write this, I know I'm leaning towards the admission, but I still can't help but wonder if this would clear up on its own, given a little bit more time. Ah well. I'll have to be patient and see how this plays out. Not one of my stronger points, when it comes to my health!