TB Results: Probably No

I called my nephrologist's office yesterday morning. I wanted to know if they had read my x-ray that was taken Wednesday morning. I figured two full business days would be long enough. They called back and told me that the x-rays results had not been filed by the radiologist yet. However, my nephrologist took a look and said that it is unlikely that I have contracted tuberculosis.

So, all is good news on the TB front. In other news, I visited an allergy doctor last Friday, to complain about my runny nose and stopped up ears. He told me my ear was just full of wax (so I had that flushed out on Monday afternoon). He switched my allergy medicine from Zyrtec (well, generic cetrizine) to Nasonex. I've been taking it a few days, and I'm not sure what I think yet. I have a full allergy test scheduled for next week, just to get an idea as to what makes my nose run.

The allergy doctor must work mainly with nasal allergies. When I asked about my allergic reaction to just about every deodorant I've ever tried, he said he'd have to talk to a dermatologist. Oh well, I'll keep trying different things, then.

Hopefully, the allergy test will give me some good information and maybe help me avoid the sniffles on a more regular basis.

That's it for today.

Chest X-Ray

Quick update: I went to the doctor's office and had a chest x-ray at about 10:00 this morning (Wednesday). The technician said that the radiologist should give me a call within the next day or two. I still feel fine, so I'm guessing nothing is wrong.

Thank you to everyone that has been praying! I do appreciate it.

TB Scare!

Welcome to the blog for today. First things first, if you did not read my blog from March, you can find it here: http://nmccart.blogspot.com/2008/03/happy-birthday-to-me.html

I went home from work at about 2:00 pm today. I heard rumors around 1:00 or so that someone in our office, on my floor, had tuberculosis. For those of you that don't know, tuberculosis, or TB, is:

Reference (http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/tuberculosis-tb-topic-overview)
Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infection that is most often found in the lungs (pulmonary TB) but can spread to other parts of the body (extrapulmonary TB). TB in the lungs is easily spread to other people through coughing or laughing. Treatment is often successful, though the process is long. Treatment time averages between 6 and 9 months.

Now, this is an infectious disease, which is easily spread through coughing. I do not know if I have caught it, but I am going to call the transplant office in the morning to schedule a chest x-ray. I called them the minute I left work, asking what needed to be done. They returned my call about 4:30 (after the scheduling office was closed) to tell me to set up a chest x-ray to confirm if I did catch TB.

My boss called and said that the environmental people were going to come out and clean around the infected person's cubicle (which is not near me) as well as all the common areas in the building. They are supposed to disinfect everything overnight, so I should be safe in the morning. I haven't decided if I want to wear a SARS mask or not, but I'm considering it!

So, tomorrow, I will schedule my chest x-ray. It is doubtful that I have anything, but it is better to be safe than to be sorry (especially since it can take a year to cure TB in a healthy person).

That's it for today. I'd appreciate any prayers my direction in regards to my upcoming x-ray. Thanks!