Ugh, I May Need an IV

Today I called my CF doctor because I wanted to know when I should expect this nasty cough to go away. Because it was Friday, he wanted me to come in just to make sure things were okay. Annnnddd...they weren't. My PFTs were down 20% and he said I sounded like I had bronchitis. He agreed that I looked fine, (and, honestly, I feel fine except for this cough), but he was concerned because I had already taken two oral antibiotics, and he was worried about me permanently losing lung function.

So, he talked to me about two options: Giving the Augmentin a bit more time and adding Cipro, or going on an IV antibiotic. This is the first time I've been this sick since I've become his patient, so he wasn't quite sure which option to chose. He said that, if I were one of his "normal" CFers, it would definitely be an IV. But, because I'm so healthy and even non-CFers can get nasty lingering coughs after a bought with a bad virus, he wasn't as certain. I pressed him some more and he told me he would rather be aggressive, so I agreed to the IV.

The plan is to administer an IV antibiotic at home for 10 days. Based on my previous sputum cultures, he will treat me for Staph, which means an antibiotic every six hours. However, I was able to provide a sputum sample at the appointment, so that may change when the culture results come in next week.

I am feeling extremely nervous and overwhelmed by all this. Just the thought of losing lung function scares me. The idea of having to get up in the middle of the night when I am already really tired sounds like a drag. And Lily has been teething, which means really fussy and clingy. It's going to be hard to manage the treatments and take care of her, but I do have a plan - vest during naps and after she goes to bed. And, luckily, I'm still allowed to move around when the IV is being administered, so she'll just have to entertain herself for a few minutes whiles I get it set up. And, if I get really desperate, I can turn on Sesame Street.

HOWEVER, because I didn't see the doctor until Friday afternoon, he said they wouldn't be able to place the PICC line until Monday. So, I was sent home with a prescription for oral Cipro and an order to use my vest four times a day. My doctor said, if I get better over the weekend, I probably won't need the IV. So, I have everything crossed that this will happen!

I am hanging my hope on the fact that, way back in college, when I used to get sick like this, I got better without IVs and didn't lose lung function. I have only needed IVs once in my life, and that was 22 years ago! I just can't remember how long it took me to get better on oral antibiotics - it's been 10 years since I've been sick like this! I seem to remember being sick for about a month (when I used to get bronchitis). I definitely remember that I was sick long enough that I was fairly out of shape by the time I was able to run again (I remember telling my field hockey coach, "I ran an 11 minute mile today" and her not being impressed :P ).

So, I could use lots and lots of :::GetHealthyFastVibes:::