My Journey with Pulmonary Fibrosis

I am having a very hard time dealing with the heat which we are having here in the deep south.  We had a really nice, cooler than normal spring, but the last two weeks have been miserable.  I have never had a drop of moisture appear on my forehead, never, ever until last year.  This year it must be going to be worse.  Now if I just cross the doorway, forget a "drop" it is like an instant tub of water has been doused on me.  Or more like those football players pouring a huge tub of water over their coach at the end of a winning game/season...thank heaven there is usually no one to see me looking like they do!  I did check into this symptom though and the doctor says it is a side effect of one of the pain medications.  I begged him for something else to no avail.  Apparently all opiate type meds cause everyone who takes it the same severe problems in the heat.  My makeup washes off, my hair falls straight and limp, but the heaviness of the air and humidity too has the only really important problem and that is it is so much harder to breathe.  So the only option is to not take the medication and be in unbearable, mind altering pain, or take it and be unbearably hot and "misty"....I don't want either one, but I really cannot take the pain, so the choice is made for me :(  The medication by the way is Duragesic Pain Patch, 75 mcg, every 48 hrs. with Morphine for break through pain in between. I fought this medication for a year and had to give in to and accept taking it because I was literally going to lose my mind from the torture of the pain in my bones.  The meds usually make it pretty tolerable.

It is so hot that I can water my flowers or yard in the morning and by 2pm the dirt is just as dry as if I hadn't watered in a week.  Some of my flowers and plants are just burning up:(   I don't know if that is because I haven't been able to keep them up with my hand surgery the last month or it is just the heat.  The hand is still healing...

I hope it is cooler where you may be!  If it is do you have a spare room?!!!  LOL

|  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this

• #1 Comment from pharmolo 
  6/8/07 11:27 AM | Permalink

  I'm sorry to hear of the problems that the heat is causing for you, Jan. It is cooler here in the far north, but probably too cool and windy most of the time. At the moment we're having a warm day * 62 F *, so it's sizzling, the tar melts and the birds fall off the roofs already cooked. LOL. Not making light of your situation, you're caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. Hope it cools down soon.