If you saw my retirement post, then you saw that I was diagnosed last Thursday with Valley Fever. It was pretty ironic that it was the same week as Valley Fever Awareness week. It's a fungal airborne disease that is primarily in the SW of the US. Unfortunately it is very commonly misdiagnosed and many doctors don't even test for it. Most of the cases of pneumonia in the SW are actually Valley Fever (fungal, not bacterial).
After having a dry cough off and on for a really long time one of my co-workers suggested that I might have Valley Fever. Well, I didn't know much about it so I googled it (with Swagbucks) when I got home that night. I found out that it mainly attacks the lungs, but it could spread to several parts of the body, including joint issues. Well, my knees and ankles really started bothering me a few days before that and felt really heavy. I went to my dr. a few days later, had lots of blood work done, and tested negative for Lupus, kidneys, and Rheumatoid Arthritis. He said I was an interesting puzzle and that it was probably just viral and would go away by itself in a couple weeks and to come back and see him in a month if I was still having issues. He also wanted me to continue taking the Nuproxin he prescribed. Instead I went to a different dr. for another opinion. After our consultation, she decided to test for Valley Fever and Lyme Disease. She also took me off of the Nuproxin and said that Advil should be fine.
I also realized since all this that I do have a shortness of breath sometimes and that I have been pretty exhausted (when I stop and allow myself to have a little downtime). Tonight it's 12:34am and probably the latest I've been awake in quite a while.
Sooooo... now ... it's been five weeks since this all started. Last Thursday I was diagnosed with Valley Fever. Today I was prescribed Diflucon. I have to take 400 mg/day for a month. Since it can mess with my liver I have to go back and have my blood drawn again in two weeks to make sure the meds are cooperating ok with my body. In a month she is hoping to decrease the dosage or stop it completely. She is hoping that the Valley Fever will be flushed out of my body within 1-2 months. YAY! It will be so nice when my knees and ankles are normal again.
Luckily I have a somewhat mild case of it.
If you are interested in more info about Valley Fever.. see HERE and/or HERE.
