Status Update: Sept. 11, 2013

Well the respiratory issues I've been having sort of hit a peak in the last two days.  By last night I was pretty sure that I had some fluid in at least one lung, based on the rasping sound I could hear while breathing, as well as the cough.  Despite that, I went swimming today, and here's why: Swimming laps causes you to breath deeply and that causes your lungs to open completely, which can give your body a chance to drain any fluids collecting at the bottom portion of your lungs.

I swim 4 different strokes during each lap; breast-stroke for first quarter, freestyle for second quarter, full back-stroke for third quarter, and alternating back-stroke for last quarter.  During most of those strokes, but especially during the full back-stroke (both arms in sync) I could easily hear the sounds from my lungs, and there was definitely some rasping and rumbling from what I think is the left lobe.  I've had pneumonia 4-5 times since my original diagnosis, and have gotten pretty good at recognizing the early signs of respiratory problems, and sometimes cutting them off at the pass.

It took me a full hour to swim my 10 laps, instead of 50 minutes, because it was considerably more work this time.  The good news is that it seemed to hit a peak between laps 5 and 6, and then began to improve.  I felt much better by the end, and again after 3 - 10 minute rounds in the sauna.  This sauna is dry-heat, not steam, so I hoped it would help me get rid of any moisture in my lungs as well.  The cough is still there, but it's better than it was last night and this morning.  I think I'll go swimming again tomorrow, instead of using the bike as planned, to try and route this before it turns into something bigger, like full-blown pneumonia.

I go in to my primary care physician tomorrow for my monthly INR check (for blood thinner level) and to my oncologist for a review on the 19th.  If the problem is still hanging on, I'll no doubt do a course of antibiotics.  This is the time to practice deep-breathing techniques via the spirometer (discussed earlier) or in my case, by swimming laps.  As long as I still feel a bit better tomorrow morning, I'll swim again on Thursday, bike on Friday, then swim again on Saturday.  Hopefully I can nip this thing in the bud.

I'd ordered a new lap-suit and when I got home it had arrived.  This is great because my old one had too much lycra in it, and that doesn't hold up well under chlorine - it was about to give out.  For you lap swimmers out there, a good chlorine and stretch-resistant fiber is Polyester or a PET mix.  Suits made with these fabrics (as opposed to lycra and spandex) can last 10-20 times longer, which is a big deal when you're lap-swimming regularly.  I bought it in a slightly smaller size than I currently am, hoping it will be usable for 4-6 months.  We'll see.

I'll update the lung status again later this week.