CF Happens

Sometimes in life CF (Cystic Fibrosis) happens…pun intended

recent posts

  • Chapter 8 – Children

    “Playing the Cards Life has Dealt”

    I get asked if I can have children quite often.  I have many friends with CF that have biological children.  Having children is something that needs to be discussed with your doctor so that they can determine what is best.  Women with CF are able to have children but may have some difficulty getting pregnant due to the thick cervical mucus that the CF body produces.  Some may also have fertility issues.  Ninety-seven percent of men with CF are sterile.

    (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cystic_fibrosis#Infertility)

    If you want to conceive and one person has CF or is a carrier then genetic testing can be done on the person who does not have CF to see if they are a carrier.  There is a one in four chance that your child will have CF if both people are carriers of the CF gene.  Some people choose not to have genetic testing done and that is their choice.  You should discuss getting pregnant with your CF doctor.  Most likely once you voice an interest of getting pregnant to your CF doctor, they will suggest genetic counseling.  Genetic counseling consists of the genetic counselor getting medical history information about yours and your spouse’s/significant other’s family.  The medical history will help the genetic counselor to see risk for inherited diseases.  If there is a risk then you will receive information about the diseases and the level of risk.  A lot of times you do not have to do genetic counseling if you already know that you are a carrier of CF or other diseases.  You can bypass the counseling and go straight to getting the genetic testing started.  Once the results are in then you can make a better decision about getting pregnant.  Pregnancy should be under a doctor’s supervision so that you get the best care possible.  Pregnancy can be hard on a healthy woman’s body, so having CF and carrying a pregnancy can be very difficult.

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  • Chapter 7 – Dealing & Depression

    “Playing the Cards Life has Dealt”

    “I do not want CF anymore!!!!”  I think most everyone with CF or any disease will utter those words at some point in their life.  Depression is no fun.  As I get older and the fight becomes harder the depression has gotten worse.  The frequency of exacerbations (CF infections) has increased over the years.  The progression of my CF has been hard to deal with at times.  Since CF is a progressive disease it is hard when you are doing pretty well and then out of nowhere CF rears its ugly head.

    I went through a time when I was very depressed and had thoughts of ending it all.  I had the mentality that I was going to die anyway so why prolong the inevitable.  When I say “die anyway” I mean from CF or CF related things.  Yes I know, everyone will die and we don’t know when that is but when you have an incurable disease you are pretty certain of your future.  You may not know the time but you know what’s coming.  During this time of major depression I was not doing what I needed to do to take care of myself like breathing treatments or taking enzymes.  I was very good at hiding my real thoughts and feelings.  I always had a smile on.  I learned how to fool everyone when on the inside I was just waiting to die because I did not want to do it anymore.  There are still days when it just gets overwhelming and I just do not want to do it anymore.  Taking care of myself is draining.  I get very tired of taking tons of pills and liquids, doing multiple breathing treatments, lots of airway clearance, “Club Med” stays, home I.V.’s, shortness of breath, coughing, wheezing, coughing stuff up including blood, being known on first name basis by the hospital and doctors, and just plain fighting.

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