First I would just like to note that this is my 200TH POST! Whoa!
Thanks to all my faithful readers who have made blogging this much worth while!
Ask my Mom and she'll tell you I'm really bad about ordering my refills until I have about a weeks-worth left. This usually isn't a problem since our mail-order pharmacies can usually overnight it and I'll have it once I need it. But this time, my stupidity was a bad thing because our pharmacy got bought out by Walgreens, so it wasn't as simple as calling it in... we had to switch over to Walgreens meaning my refill would take 10 days... when I had only 6 vials of Pulmozyme left. (Pulmozyme is an inhaled medicine that I've been using since I was little, it helps to break up the mucus in my lungs to allow me to better get it out). Considering there wasn't much we could do about this dilemma, all falling right before the Memorial Day long weekend, I figured I'd just suck it up and go without it for a few days... after all I still have my hypertonic saline and my vest, which all do a pretty good job of helping me to get rid of all the mucus.
So today was Day One without Pulmozyme and I was wishing I had it. Not only did I have to go without one of my meds, but my lungs have also been feeling pretty bogged down by the amount of pollen in the air. My tan car is now bright yellow.... so I can only imagine what's stuck in my lungs! That being said, I was feeling alright today until I went on my run.
Since I'm visiting Kyle and his family in Maine, I of course, dragged him along with me for my long run for the week. We originally intended to go for a 7 miler, but due to unforeseen circumstances (AKA me taking a nap :) ), we opted for what-we-thought-would-be-a-5-mile-route...which turned out to be almost 6 miles. As we were running, my lungs were really rumbling, releasing all the mucus the Pulmozyme would usually break down. I was hacking and spitting and coughing and huffing. After having a nice long cough attack and a spitting out one of many beautiful-looking wads of phlegm, I said to Kyle "Wow, I really appreciate all my meds!" Just one day without one of my 10+ meds, and I was feeling it. Kyle said "I think I smell a blog!" (A typical boy would say, "I can't believe how nasty that ball of my phlegm my girlfriend just spit up is.... EW".... But Kyle, of course, is a very special boy!)
So tonight, I called up my mom and told her to give Walgreens a hard time and lo and behold, they are over-nighting my pulmozyme. But in the meantime, I re-learned a few very important lessons.
1) There is no such thing as part-time compliance. You either go 100% or you go home! Just ONE day without ONE of my meds caused me to feel like I was drowning on my almost 6 mile run (I don't mean to brag but I still completed it despite the difficulty!). I can't imagine how I would feel if I didn't do my treatments every single day without falter.... Actually I could because I would skip them lots when I was an angsty-teen which caused me to spend a lot of time in the hospital (go figure) [not that a lack of compliance is the only reason for CF hospital visits though]. The way I see it, I can't go letting myself skip my treatments because letting myself skip even ONE time, opens up the doors for all sorts of slacking. And when it comes to my health, there is no time to slack.
2) I am so thankful for all of the medications that I am able to take, inhale, and inject. Pulmozyme was just coming to fruition when I was first diagnosed and it has helped me beyond belief. Since then, I've seen TOBI, Hypertonic Saline, and Cayston come through the pipeline, all which have helped me in my fight against CF. If doctors, scientists, and donors have worked so hard to get these drugs through to help me, I sure as hell better take them if I can help it... every day, no skipping!
3) Always call in my refill well before my meds run out!!!! Anything that I can do to aid in my own compliance helps. Though I won't die from missing a day without my pulmozyme, I'd rather have it on hand than not have it at all!
So who knew, something that should have been frustrating and annoying turned out to be a little lesson for me (and props to Walgreens for dealing with it so courteously). Everything happens for a reason, though I wouldn't wish to not have my meds on hand again! Here's to 100% compliance, long runs, and clear lungs.