Coccidioidomycosis??

Weird huh? Ever heard of it? Or Valley Fever?

Remember this?

About 6 weeks ago I went to get a CT Scan after I had been sick. They found 3 nodules in my lung and I have been waiting to see a Pulmanologist. It seems to take forever to get into a specialist when you need it the most!

After much time and waiting I finally got some information.

He diagnosed me with Coccidioidomycosis or otherwise known as Valley Fever in Southern Arizona.

Never heard of it? You can get it if you visit Southern Arizona, live here, or are passing through.

What is it?

According to the NCBI:

Coccidioidomycosis is a fungal infection most commonly seen in the desert regions of the southwestern United States, and in Central and South America. You get it by breathing in fungal particles from soil. The infection starts in the lungs.

Symptoms:

Most people with this infection never have symptoms. Others may have cold- or flu-like symptoms or symptoms of pneumonia. If symptoms occur, they typically start 5 to 21 days after being exposed to the fungus. They include:

Change in mental status
Chest pain (can vary from mild to severe)
Cough, possibly producing blood
Fever
Headache
Joint stiffness and pain
Loss of appetite
Muscle aches
Neck stiffness
Night sweats
Painful, red lumps on lower legs (erythema nodosum)
Sensitivity to light
Weight loss
Wheezing

Additional symptoms associated with this disease:

Ankle or feet swelling
Enlarged or draining lymph nodes
Joint swelling

My hubby actually collapsed his right lung 2 years ago and was in the hospital for 8 days. His blood tests always came back negative but after undergoing a bronchoscopy his pulmanologist (the same I one I have now gone too) diagnosed him with Valley Fever as well.

My blood work has come back negative too but the tests are not very conclusive especially if tested very early stages. I feel fortunate that my Dr. is very educated on this illness.

If I wanted I could go on an anti-fungal medication. At this point he said he didn't feel that it would do any good since I am past the worst symptoms (which is good right?). The down side is the current symptoms I do have (fatigue, varying fevers, out of breath all the time!) can continue for months! I am hoping that things will be better sooner than that! I am staying optimistic!

3 months I see the Dr. again and have a repeat CT Scan!

I am so glad I finally have some answers.

While I have been sick I have tried very hard to make our home safer, cleaner, and non-toxic. I figure we have enough problems without putting more into our home! I have gotten rid of all of my toxic cleaners and changed to Shaklee! I encourage you to check out this clean and safe way to clean!