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Q: Please answer asap. What is a CAT scan like?
Hi, I was at my allergy, asthma, and sinus doctor this morning.
This is my story: when I was in 4th grade, I started getting tonsilitis about every 2 months. Then 5th grade it stayed that way, 6th grade I got them about every month, then last year in 7th grade I got them so much, my tonsils were huge and I couldn’t breathe well, that I got that removed along with my adenoids. After that I was okay for a while, but then I got sick alot all over again and the health department always said I had a throat infection but my ENT always knew that it was sinusitis infections. Once he even found that I had a staph infection in my sinuses, which was the most painful infection I’d had. I always got put on antibiotics, and choices are limited because I have allergies to ceclor and sulfa drugs. I am in 8th grade now and this has still been going on. I have been on Zepac, Tetracycline, Augmenten, (excuse my spelling), Azithromycin, and even pennicillin once (it didnt work.) I also caught the h1n1 flu, the regular flu, and a stomach bug too, which is unrealated apparently. Anyways in december I got an allergy test, and I only reacted to molds which are bad this year. I am on allergy shots twice a week right now, being treated for asthma also. This morning I was at the AAS (allergy asthma sinus center) and saw my FNP. She hadn’t thought that I needed a CAT scan although my PCP had really pushed one. Today at my appointment I was really drug down becuase I have had a sinus headache for 3 days (imagine feeling like cotton is expanding through your sinuses or that a balloon is slowly being inflated in your sinuses.) Today she said its time to do a CAT scan and see whats wrong. Well I went to school and when my mom picked me up a while ago she said they called, I have a CAT scan on thursday but its out of town because our hospital stopped taking TennCare.(last year when i had surgery i had Cover kids) so I have to go out of town to get my cat scan.
My questions:what is a CAT scan like? please describe it thouroughly. is it like a MRI where your closed in a tube? I am extremely claustrophobic. How long does it take?
Also, what kinds of sinus surgeries are there? I dont reckon I have deviated septum or anything.
Thanks! longest informative answer wins.
ps i dont have a choice. i have the CT scan scheduled and when you have dealt with this so long you run out of options

A: okay, CAT scan is different from an mri- for one thing you are not closed in a long tube like that. it’s really more similar to an x-ray as far as the patient experience, although it has some similarities to an mri too. basically, if it is a contrast CT scan then they will have you drink some stuff about an hour ahead (doesn’t taste great but isn’t the worst thing ive ever had). Then (contrast or not) you go in to the room and they have a long narrow table and they’ll have you lay on that and they’ll tell you how to do your legs and arms and stuff, since it depends on precisely what they need to see. You’ll see at one end of the table this circular thing that goes around the table (like an mri, only more of a hoop than a tube, will only surround a portion of your body at a time and not near as closely as an mri does). So you lay there and the table will move (fairly slowly) forward and backward, so that the hoop gets positioned around various spots, and you will probably be told at certain times to hold your breath and then to breathe, and you’ll hear (off and on) like a whirring sound. Then if it is with contrast they’ll probably put this stuff, iodine, in your IV and if they give you that it will make you feel warm from head to toe, but it’s not painful. Then you’ll go back to the same thing with the table moving and hearing the whirring, and “hold your breath, now breathe” etc. none of it is painful, and not near as scary or claustrophobic as an mri. no worries. not counting the contrast parts, the whole thing takes maybe 10 minutes, or possibly 15. It would be unusual for it to take longer than that. (except for the time after they’re done and they may let you lay there for a few minutes so they can look at the images and make sure they got what they needed.
As far as sinus surgeries, the only one I’m that familiar with is the one for deviated septum (I had that about 7 years ago)- the main thing with me was that I was always getting sinus infections that wouldn’t go away, and then I started getting pneumonia again and again.
good luck! :-)

additional:
I really wasn’t shooting for it being soooo long, just to give you a detailed description like you asked for, lol :-)

Q: Anyone have demanding elderly relatives. That need help. But want to take up your whole life. Be negative etc?
Sorry to vent here. I have an elderly aunt. Her husband recently died. I go over and spend the night and help her out about once a week. However she seems to want me to stay there constantly since I am on unemployment. Though I tell her. I need the time to look for work. Hell I even stayed there when she had some back surgery recently for 4 days. Then she asked why I have not found a job. She also has a daughter. Who’s hubby makes over 100 grand a year. The daughter has ran down to help her a few times a week. Grocery shopping etc. Has even offered to take her up to a senior center during the day and bring her home. Offered to take my aunt and her dog to her house to hang for a while. Seems all my aunt ever liked to do was gamble. So she has negative responses to all this. And after all these offers Sits there and bitches about being cooped up.
Now as for me. This lady had bailed out my mom financially while growong up several times. But was also very mean to my mom. And she does pay me a few bucks to go over and help her. She does not understand though that in order to be a functional adult. I can not be there for more than a day or so. Yesterday. I was going to go over but was ill. She started cussing me out and out me down. So I got poed and kind of let her have it. Also she is a heavy smoker. One evey 10 minutes and has all her windows nailed shut. The smoke even seeps to the downstairs where I normally chill while there. And she refuses to believe that it amkes visitors sick. Including myself. I have allergy induced asthma. And over the past few months. This is when I’ve been staying there more. I’ve had to go to the Doctor for allergy problems and sinus infections 3 times. Her only response I need a cigarette. She won’t even let you run the fan on the furnace to circulate and filter.
Well here is the deal. I also have had dysthymia since I was a child. So I can’t stay cooped up for too long without getting down. And I’d love to help out over at her house here and there, But it seems to be just a negative and controlling experience. Thta is what my counselor seems to think too. No amount of money is worth the smoke illness and negative talk. anyone have similar problems.
To Diane. Thank You. I have an ex girl friend who is a CNA. She said my cousin should perhaps look to see if her medicare would pay towards a home health worker to come there 2 or 3 times a week. They also can do light housework like laundry and vacumming. As for say my cuz getting poed at me. Well she has way more cash and resources than I do. She has even said “I got a life too”. Odd ly she has developed a steady cough. They are also moving in with her when they sell there old house and build a new one. Said they are buying a smoke eater. Think that is the reason she won’t go to their current residence. They will restrict her smoking to one room. Oh well if they get poed that’s life. I got my own things to get together. And a little financial help is not worth all that crap. I need to be out here networking and job searching. And doing my social things. Like helping my 13 year old.
Oh. She also refused to acknowledge any of my problems on the phone last night. My asthma/allergies,my dysthymia depression(it hits harder since I don’t have any work),my life (ihave a discount gym ymca membership keeps me form getting too down),My appointments(counselor, career coach) etc. All I heard was how her back hurts, how she can’t get downstairs to do wash, how I can’t be sick because her and my cousin both are already, Even tried to tell me I’m selfish.
Also I have done some messed up things when I was younger. She tried to tell me all problems were self made etc. And to her no matter what good I do it is not enough. Also I did not have a stable home life growing up. And she constantly compares me to people who had supportive/stable upbringings.
So if my extended family swallows her BS so what! I got to live too. Sorry to pile all the problems here.
And to the second answer. When the docs talked of her surgery. She called and said that I will stay and help her. Not can you?

A: I have more than one relative who behaves in ways similar to what you describe (some elderly, some young, and some middle aged.) I know it can be stressful and frustrating to spend time with people who behave like your aunt; even when we love them!

It is difficult, but also possible, to learn ways to cope with situations like you describe. Here are a few ideas for you:

Figure out how much time you can offer to help your aunt, what you are willing to do; keep her informed about when and how you can help; and then stick to your offer. Don’t skip job hunting to go running to her for one of her whims. Don’t spend extended periods of time in her home anymore. Set up schedule with her and stick to it. You can’t help her very well if you don’t take care of yourself.

Learn not to respond when she is being overly critical, mean spirited, controlling, or unnecessarily negative. Let her babble on if she needs to; but to respond. Don’t take the bait. If she becomes to demanding or critical of you; then tell her that you have other commitments for the next week….or two weeks…..and take a break from lending her your support. Do not allow yourself to be guilted into doing things that you will regret. While it is good to respect and support our family members, doing so doesn’t have to be unlimited time and work while being abused.

Talk with your aunt’s daughter (your cousin?); maybe you two could work out a schedule where one of you is available to your aunt while the other tends to his or her own life. Let the daughter work with her mother and local senior care providers to figure out how to get her more help.

Just do the best you can. Accept that you can’t do all that your aunt asks; do what you can. If she complains or is mean-spirited; then gently cut her off; just excuse yourself and tell her you’ll check with her later.

Q: I have Lip Blister, could it be from dry, chapped lips?
Hey, I just noticed that I have a little blister on my top lip, right in the centre… it’s not a cold sore or a fever blister or a canker… it’s an actual little blister…

The last week or so my allergies have been acting up, triggering my asthma and making my sinuses super congested, so I’ve been breathing out of my mouth… could the dry, chapped lips from breathing out of my mouth have caused a blister?

A: Possibly. My lips get chapped in the winter, and occasionally I’ve had a blister as you describe – right on the little “point” in the center of the upper lip. I’ve found it happens most often when I’d been unconsciously tearing at little bits of dry lip with my teeth.

Q: Breathing Problems Lasting Over a Month?
Five weeks ago, I got a sinus infection. Over the next four days it went straight into my chest. That Thursday I was sent home early from work and I went to the hospital. I had a chest x-ray. The doctor came back and said I had bronchitis and gave me an antibiotic. He wouldn’t give me anything else to help me breath so I actually ended up going back to the ER at a different hospital the next night where they clearly heard wheezing and gave me an albueterol inhaler and an expectorant with codeine.

After four or five days I felt perfectly fine.

Then after a four or so days of feeling great, I started getting tight-chested again and my cough came back. The following Friday I had a day off, so I went to a regular doctor at an immediate care center. He listened to me and said I had bronchitis again. He gave me avelox, Tussionex Pennkinetic and Clarenex D (though he said this was more for the decongestant, not allergies). I know the tussionex has an antihistemine in it also, so maybe he was thinking allergies were causing all this, but he never mentioned allergies.

I missed several days of work over the next five days. I have a physical job that requires me to move around a lot and I kept getting short of breath and it was making it difficult. However, by the next Thursday I was feeling well enough to go back, and all weekend I actually felt 100% again.

Then on Monday (this week) I started coughing again. The cough became more frequent and by the time I woke up on Tuesday I was starting to feel tight chested again. I didn’t want to wait until it got bad. I just wanted answers. I wanted to know what the hell is wrong. So I went ahead back to the immediate care center.

The doctor I saw seemed perplexed but not too worried. He said he doubted it was bronchitis anymore, though he did hear some wheezing. When I was younger (late teens, early twenties) I had some asthma issues (I’m 28 now). He wondered if maybe it could have been coming back, to which I answered I really hope not. I don’t have insurance and all that stuff is very expensive.

He gave me a prescription for a methylprednisolone dose pack. He said if I don’t feel better by the weekend, to fill two other prescriptions. Advair and Singular.

I started taking the steroid yesterday. All day at work, I was short of breath (though not to the point where I felt in danger). It was very difficult and very stressful on me mentally. Once at home I relaxed and pretty much stayed stationary, so I didn’t have too much of a problem, but I could still feel that it was there and bothering me.

Today (Thursday) I woke up and I still feel absolutely terrible. I know the steroid won’t really work right away, but I have to go to work tonight and I’m really worried about how I’m going to be able to handle it.

Most of all, though, I’m worried that this is something more serious, something that is being overlooked, especially since I don’t have a primary care physician. I’m worried that every moment I sit at home or at work is a moment where something inside me of is getting worse and that this could be potentially dangerous. I know that is extreme, but considering I’ve been having problems for so long now I think it is somewhat justified.

Does anyone have any suggestions/ideas? The worrier in me really wants to just go to the hospital and beg someone to figure out what is wrong with me. But I’m worried I’ll just get brushed off like I was on my first visit and they’ll just pat me on the back and say take the steroid. I realize the steroid may work, I may feel better by Saturday, but right now, I feel absolutely terrible and being awake is like being tortured.

A: Go to the doctor

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