Sometimes when you have CF weird shit happens that nobody else would understand!
On Monday, my chest felt tight and I kept complaining to my husband that everything in my chest felt really irritated. I thought it felt like allergies, but given the time of year it seemed doubtful. As the day went on my cough become constant, but it was a deep irritated cough which is not at all my typical CF cough and I started to get worried.
Wednesday, we were driving to the river to spend the afternoon on the beach and thank goodness my husband was driving because my cough was so violent, I had to brace myself against the dashboard and each cough brought a set of stars that danced around my vision. Anyone else get that during a bad coughing fit? Of course, Kaylee is so used to my cough she was chattering away as if nothing was happening!
Wednesday night just as I was drifting off to sleep, I was awoken by a cough that felt as if it were coming from the depth of my core. That sounds dramatic, but seriously, I think it came from a part of my lungs that I never knew existed or at least not in the past 15 years. And the next thing I knew I was coughing so hard, I couldn't breath and started choking, and coughing and hoping I wouldn't pass out. And then, my lungs expelled a small rock!
Okay, of course it wasn't a real rock, but holy crap if I didn't know better I would swear it truly was a rock. And to make this gross story even more disgusting, I will point out the obvious! I expelled a plug that was so old and so dry that I can't help, but wonder if it was created before Kaylee. Because I have never in my life had a plug like that.
The next day I felt 100 x better and my irritated lungs calmed down and my nagging cough disappeared. And when I told my family in the morning Kaylee cheered before asking, "Did you take a picture of it?" This kid knows me too well, because of course I took a picture of it. It is not everyday you cough out a plug that was probably around before you met your husband. That little guy has been with me so long that I had to keep a picture keepsake.
Like I said, sometimes shit happens to people with CF that nobody else could possibly understand!
I cough these up from time to time, too! Rock-hard little pebbles of old mucus. It mostly happens for me after several hard coughing fits when I'm on prednisone and all those little airways are really opened up. The most recent time it happened was when I was in the hospital last month, so I showed my pulmonologist. He said they're called "pearls" and are usually indicative of an asthma component. Every time I see one, I think, "I really hate that that was in there to begin with, but I guess I'm glad it's out now!"
ReplyDeleteGlad you got that gunk out!! (P.S. I totally take pictures almost every time, too! It's just so weird!! haha)
First, thank you for making me feel more normal! And can I say that I love that you take pictures too? Haha.
DeleteI like the name pearl which makes them sound so much nicer than they really are. It is interesting that pearls are indicative of asthma. I absolutely have an asthma component so that actually makes sense!