Beware of That Cough

We've all been there, haven't we? That much dreaded SUMMER cold! What a heck of a thing to catch, right? Miserable times 10.

I usually miss this dreadful menace of the summer. This year it caught up with me. I was feverish and achy...at the time I thought it might have been the flu-like symptoms of my Rebif injections for my MS, I had just titrated up to 44mcg. Don't I wish it had been that simple...😱😨😣
It was near the summer solstice, I remember thinking that I couldn't get much closer than that. Lol. My right ear hurt, the right side of my throat did, too. After two days, the pain the aching, everything stopped. Boy, was I relieved!

That's about the time I discovered a growth on forearm (again on the right side) and scheduled an appointment with my dermatologist. Of course, it had to be skin cancer!

Within the week, I began to have a nagging cough. This was a cough that just wouldn't go away...It continued to get worse, it would wake me up in the middle of the night. I would cough so hard I had problems catching my breath.

I spent 4 hours in the Emergency Department. Chest x-rays were clear, I knew it wasn't bronchitis or pneumonia. The dear doctor determined that I had pertussis! I am still trying to figure that one out...I had the complete series of childhood vaccinations at least 5 times because my records were lost.

Thanks to Rebif (Interferon beta-1a), my immune system is/was compromised. Follow your instincts...if it doesn't look right, if it doesn't feel right, if it doesn't sound right get yourself checked out by a medical professional.