Ed has always been healthy, for the most part. We did suspect for a long time, that he probably had emphysema. After much urging and harassment (mostly from Mama), he quit smoking in October of 2007.
This year, several people commented in hushed whispers that they noticed Ed seemed 'run down', that he was having difficulty with his breathing, coughing a lot, and when he lifted something heavy he seemed to be in pain. A lot of times after lifting something heavy he went straight to the bathroom. He sat with a heating pad on one of his arms quite often. I suspected torn rotator cuff.
Mama said his coughing and breathing loud was driving her crazy. Her comment sent me off one day, and I got angry and said ugly things and sped off in my car.
Mama said Ed had taken to not answering her or talking to her. She said alot of times he stared off in space. I noticed alot of times he sat with his head in his hands. He had, over the past years, went to bed with pillows over his head with what we call 'sick headaches'. Migraines. Other than the occasional headache or bout with vertigo, he never complained of headaches or other ailments. (He told us after his diagnosis that he had indeed been having unusual headaches in his left temple).
The only meds Ed took were for his high blood pressure, and the occasion pill for vertigo. He took Chantix, a medication to help stop smoking, for only a few weeks. And of course he took antibiotics the few times he had the flu.
After his surgery to remove his brain tumor, Ed was now taking several different medications, which included medications for high blood pressure, cholesterol, Dilantin for seizure, steroids for brain swelling, two meds for emphysema, a pain med for the incision in his head, and over the counter Tylenol for times it wasn't too bad.
This year, several people commented in hushed whispers that they noticed Ed seemed 'run down', that he was having difficulty with his breathing, coughing a lot, and when he lifted something heavy he seemed to be in pain. A lot of times after lifting something heavy he went straight to the bathroom. He sat with a heating pad on one of his arms quite often. I suspected torn rotator cuff.
Mama said his coughing and breathing loud was driving her crazy. Her comment sent me off one day, and I got angry and said ugly things and sped off in my car.
Mama said Ed had taken to not answering her or talking to her. She said alot of times he stared off in space. I noticed alot of times he sat with his head in his hands. He had, over the past years, went to bed with pillows over his head with what we call 'sick headaches'. Migraines. Other than the occasional headache or bout with vertigo, he never complained of headaches or other ailments. (He told us after his diagnosis that he had indeed been having unusual headaches in his left temple).
The only meds Ed took were for his high blood pressure, and the occasion pill for vertigo. He took Chantix, a medication to help stop smoking, for only a few weeks. And of course he took antibiotics the few times he had the flu.
After his surgery to remove his brain tumor, Ed was now taking several different medications, which included medications for high blood pressure, cholesterol, Dilantin for seizure, steroids for brain swelling, two meds for emphysema, a pain med for the incision in his head, and over the counter Tylenol for times it wasn't too bad.
Over the course of the last two months, more meds have been added as other symptoms have appeared and of course his Chemo meds. He is now taking about a dozen different meds a day. In the next few blogs you will see why more meds were added, and why we had to purchase a pill minder to help him remember when to take what.
For a person who basically took one pill a day for blood pressure, taking a dozen or more different types of pills, some more than once a day, it is disturbing, baffling, confusing and frustrating.
I won't even go into the cost of these meds yet. That is a story for another day.
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