The Joys of having CF

The Joys of having CF

Thursday, April 21, 2016

The Perfect Appointment

Today was the day that I was to go see my local ENT that was recommended to me. Going into this appointment I was expecting to set up a surgery date. I did a lot of research and didn't think there was much else that could be done.
I've prayed A LOT. I've prayed that this ENT dr I was going to see would be a good fit. I prayed that surgery will have no complications. Deep down my silent prayer was that by a miracle my sinus's would clear all up and I wouldn't have to have surgery. 
I left for my appointment this morning knowing what was ahead(or so I thought). I left my appointment with a whole different view. 

Onto the appointment. I arrived, and got in immedietly. Went through all the routine things, and I gave the assistant the disc of my CT scan that I had. 
The doctor came in, did his small exam, and said; "ok here are our options". First to hear that there were other options kind of shocked me. I had hoped and researched to see if there were other options, and everything had kept going towards surgery. Then he said, there's actually multiple options.
1) do nothing-he said if I felt fine, and didn't feel like fixing anything, I could, it's my choice
2) do a 30+ day run of a steroid(prednisone)-this is his number one choice
3) do a steroid nasal spray
4) do a sinus rinse-which is also recommended either way
5) do a course of antibiotics-an ok option, but he said with someone with CF, we have such a higher risk of needing antibiotics in the future, and can become resistant, why take that chance, and save it for when we really need it.
6) surgery-which he said he does not recommend at this time. he said, with CF patients, we tend to go through so much, why add a surgery on top of everything, and add a whole bunch of unnecessary risks. He did say, yes it is inevitable that someday I will need a sinus surgery, but he proceeded to say, lets not explore that avenue until I really need it, because once you have one surgery, then you will almost always need more in the future.

This doctor was truly a blessing that came into my life I feel for a specific reason. I asked him which option he recommended, and he said option 2, for a number of reasons.
1) by taking a steroid it can shrink my polyp into almost nothing in a short amount of time
2) with CF the way it pretty much works is that if the lungs don't feel right, it can be because of he sinus's, and if the sinus's don't feel right it can be because of the lungs, and if the two together don't gel-you basically have a problem(which I do), and a steroid is good for kicking both problems in the butt-fast-and then it'll all work its way into place. Which could also be the reason my lung function is low, and it could help increase it.

Next he went onto say how amazed he was that I've made it 21 years without any sinus surgery's or other issues. His goal is to make sure we do what I feel comfortable with.

So gameplan: NO SURGERY!! at least for now. I cannot tell you how happy I am. I chose option 2, so tomorrow morning I am starting a 42 day run of Prednisone. For the next 6 weeks, I will be on a different dose each week. I am prepaired to make sure my blood sugars stay ok(I usually get high sugars when I'm on it).
I go back when the prednisone is done for a follow up and we will see where I am at then.

Today turned out to be a great day. I am very thankful that this doctor was brought into my life, and i'm very happy my intuition/instinct told me not to go with the other doctor.

Today I feel very blessed and thankful. It truly was "the perfect appointment".

~God Bless