Part 2 of I Guess My "Fast & Loose" Youth is Catching Up to Me

The Allergy Doctor - Tuesday s I said...Or maybe I didn't...(Must be the drugs - Hee Hee!) I'm of an age now that means I am supposed to be more concerned about my own health. Especially if I want to keep hanging out with the Queen! My other referral from my MD's office was for an allergist as I have not been able to breathe properly for at a minimum of 15 years and now seemed as good a time as any to get tested because my sinuses were really giving me hell. I'd had a sinus headache going on two weeks straight. (or so I thought) And nothing was giving me relief. N-O-T-H-I-N-G was working. Not the stuff my MD was prescribing and nothing from over the counter either. So off I go to the Allergy Clinic. Go through the usual 5000 questions. The attending nurse has me blow into this tube to test my lung capacity - Three times - Obviously she does not like the results. After the 5000 (or so questions) they send in a technician(?) who will be performing the allergy tests. The old fashioned way - little pricks to the back. But before that let's go do the REAL Lung test. Blow into this tube please. The doctor comes in to explain what will be done. "By the way he says, I do think you have asthma. So we'll be administering some medicine for that first in a mist form. Takes about 10 minutes and then we'll do the lung test again and then we'll do the allergy thing. Is that Okay?" "You're the Doctor." I say. So I do the breathe this medicine in thing and we go out to do the test again after about 15 minutes. And we do it several times because the machine is fucking up. I don't think we ever got a conclusive result, but Dr. Kline is clearly not happy. Back to the exam room where the techie is setup with her samples. Laying on my stomach she pricks me with all these samples and then goes away for 10 minutes. Comes back to check goes away for another 5 minutes. I don't really care (I've brought my own reading materials - Model Train Mags) except it's cold and my back is itching pretty good by now! She comes back with Dr. Kline, who is not happy with these results either(!) "Well Tom, either you are allergic to EVERYTHING or for some reason your skin is really sensitive. We'll have to try the arm test." 'Great!" I'm thinkin' "But not today," he continues. "Let's see if we cannot get you stabilized first. Now I want you to take all this stuff for 2 weeks and then come back. And I'd like you to get a chest X-Ray." After all is said and done, I've got the following: 10 days worth of steroids to take Stuff called Nasarel to spray up my nose (This shit WORKS!) two to four times a day Another steroid in an inhaler to do nightly (Oh yes - you need to rinse your mouth out after) And a rescue inhaler in case of an attack! I don't think I've even ever had an attack! Hell I didn't even know I had asthma until Tuesday But I smoke and I have for over 30 years (hard to believe and really sad in a way) I thought I was supposed to be short of breath. I pay my co-pay and leave with more luggage thasn I arrived with. Stop by the X-Ray place they've recommended, HealthSouth - right up the block and request a chest X-Ray. I'm asked, "Do you have an appointment?" "No I don't. Do I need one?" "Yessir - the earliest appointment I have open would be 9:15 in the morning. Could you be here by 8:45?" What ever stuff they've given me at the allergist is really working. My sinuses have stopped hurting and I can breathe. But now the left side of my mouth is really throbbing. Did I mention I've been eating and drinking with one side of my mouth? No? Well I have...For about six months. Right about the time I had one of my crowns come off on the right side. Went to the dentist immediately for that. Asked them about the left side being sensitive to cold. Dentist said I needed to talk to the Endodontist that did the work over there last year. THAT guy was going to be chewing me out for not getting the additional work done that he said I needed. So I blew it off and ate increasingly on the right side of my mouth. I knew something was very wrong because drinking water shouldn't hurt! Fast forward to Day before yesterday - Tuesday - I decide to call him and set an appointment. "Yes Mr. Hynds, we can see you, Tomorrow afternoon." Part 3 tomorrow - More Gamma Rays and More Bad News