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My dearest brother,
Happy birthday!!!!! I can't believe that you are 20 years old! Who told you that you could be that old? It certainly wasn't me! I wish that we could be together to celebrate your birthday but, once again, I am very glad that you are where you are and that you are so faithfully serving the Lord. I hope that your companion makes you a Ramen noodle cake or something. ;0)
Things have been going well here. Well... for the most part. I don't remember how much I told you about what I have been going through so I will just tell you the whole story.
I saw my doctor earlier this year about getting a preventative inhaler to deal with my asthma. He gave me samples of an inhaler called Dulera to try. I tried that inhaler for SEVERAL months with great success - always using samples and one that I got free with a voucher. My asthma was practically non-existent and I could run as much as I wanted to without it acting up.
Well, I called in the prescription for purchase for the first time and when I went to pick it up they said that it was $212! I basically freaked out and found out that Dulera is a non-formulary medication through our insurance (meaning that they won't pay for it). They wouldn't give me other suggestions - all they said was that there wasn't another medication like Dulera on the market right now. Lost and confused I called my doctor back about what to do.
He tried calling in Singulair for me. Well.... no go. The insurance wouldn't pay for Singulair until I had taken Dulera for 60 days AND tried a different kind of preventative inhaler for 60 days. I called the insurance back and chewed them out about the situation and asked them what they WOULD cover. They told me that they cover Advair, Symbicort, Qvar and Asmanics. And we could get a "great price" through the church pharmacy for only $85 for a 90 day supply. Unfortunately... that really is a great price.
My doctor gave me a few samples of the Symbicort and I proceeded to take it like I had the Dulera. Well... about 2 weeks ago I got SEVERELY sick. I was in bed, doing nothing, for almost 3 whole days right before Halloween. I thought I had the flu.
Well my symptoms persisted. I have been nauseous with no appetite, weak, tired, dizzy and my asthma has been worse than ever. I was waking up at 4:00 in the morning just completely panicked and crying because my asthma attacks were so bad and I could hardly breathe. I called my doctor back to ask him what could be happening. While I was waiting for him to call me back I hit the internet and tried to find out what was wrong with me.
Well come to find out... all of these preventative inhalers operate on one primary ingredient - steroids. When I suddenly stopped taking the Dulera inhaler because I couldn't get another one my body went through withdrawal. The official term for it is Secondary Adrenal Suppression. "Adrenal insufficiency can occur when the hypothalamus or the pituitary gland, both located at the base of the skull, does not make adequate amounts of the hormones that assist in regulating adrenal function.[1][5][6] This is called secondary adrenal insufficiency and is caused by lack of production of ACTH in the pituitary or lack of CRH in the hypothalamus. Symptoms include: hypoglycemia, dehydration, weight loss, and disorientation. Symptoms may also include weakness, tiredness, dizziness, low blood pressure that falls further when standing (orthostatic hypotension), cardiovascular collapse, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea." (Wikipedia)
Sounds like fun, right? When I figured out that this is what had happened I called my doctor back and let him know. I also told him that I am not interested in taking these inhalers anymore. I have felt like an absolute slave the last few weeks to things that are out of my control and I hate it. He prescribed me a 6 day dose pack of a steroid called Medrol. It is used in cases of severe allergic reaction to get things back under control. I finished that pack on Tuesday of this week and since then I have been trying to care for my asthma more naturally. I have been taking Turmeric capsules for a week+ now and it seems to be helping. Turmeric is just a natural herb that has anti-inflammatory properties. I haven't taken the Symbicort since I found out about the Dulera withdrawal.
So... it has been hard. I have good days and bad days. When my cortisol levels spike (ie when I get stressed) my asthma acts up and my symptoms worsen. I have to work really hard to stay calm so that I don't flare up. I didn't do well about that today. I was up at 4 am this morning to watch Kayden's last game in the World Youth and the excitement and anticipation plus the lack of sleep put me over the edge. I stressed too much about everything that I need to do this week (make 4 desserts and 2 turkeys) and crashed. I have spent the day in bed feeling awful. :-(
I don't know how long this is supposed to last. As far as I can tell from reading on the internet there isn't really a specific time that can be predicted for when it will end. When my pituitary gland starts functioning normally again then I will be back to normal. Until then... I do my best and hold on. Any prayers that you could send my way would definitely be appreciated. This has been really hard for me and I want to get better soon.
Phew. Well beside that long, drawn-out story... school is going well and, can you believe it? I am almost done with the semester! I don't have any classes this week because of Thanksgiving and then next week is our last week of classes. I bet you can imagine how well I am doing at keeping my stress levels down through finals. LOL! But I am trying to pace myself the best that I can and to take it a bit by bit. I had a 6+ page research paper due this past week and I am just glad that that part is over.
Jake is absolutely loving being out of school and does not want to go back. He is enjoying his job and seems to be quite at peace with his life right now. His weight continues to frustratingly fluctuate although more and more people comment about how much weight he has lost and how good he looks. If this trend continues I am going to encourage him to reevaluate his goal and focus more on the measurement of his waist than the number on the scale.
Abrielle is doing really well. I have been focusing on a more calm approach to parenting and lots of eye to eye communication. When I tell her something I tell her to look at me and I get down to her level so that I can be sure that she understands me. We have also altered our time-out method and it seems to be working really well. She is still a major Diva with an attitude to match but we are working with her to be kind in her words and her deeds and I feel like she is doing a little bit better lately. We recently bought her a bunch of old classic movies on VHS and she is loving watching "Mary Poppins" and "Charlotte's Web." Her favorite food is definitely peach yogurt and she loves "Bunny Chocolate Milk" (which is just Nestle powder that I mix into milk for her if she doesn't wet the bed). She loves to do puzzles and adores going to preschool.
Nathan is growing up much faster than I would like! He is a champion walker and is getting better at talking. He goes around the house singing "Happy birthday to you" although it sounds more like "ah-pee erth ay oo oo." He is a major home body and momma's boy. He has started to go to nursery and loves it. He is totally fascinated with the concept of playing with other kids and especially with singing time. He loves music and will conduct it if he ever hears it. He is growing very independent and WILL NOT eat if he doesn't feed himself. That means LOTS of messes for momma but I am happy that he is interested in learning and growing. He loves books and usually carries one around the house with him, flipping through the pages. He still loves to sit on people and if you ever lay on the ground he will run as fast as he can to sit on your stomach. His hair is getting longer and longer and is all curly in the back - I hope that it stays after we get it cut!
That is pretty much the update from my side of the world. I love you so very much, my dear brother, and I hope that you are doing well. I miss you! Be a good man and work hard!
Lots of love,
Shayla
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