Tag Archives: trikafta

Happy birthday to me…I’m 43!!

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My 43rd birthday was yesterday. February 1st should be a national holiday by now! Haha

I absolutely love my birthday. I know most women don’t like getting older but I’m not most women. Getting older is a blessing a lot of people take for granted.

Life expectancy numbers have never really worried me. It’s just a number. When I was born the life expectancy was around 12. Now for CF patients that were born between 2017-2021 the life expectancy is 53!!! There are now many more treatments and medications for CF including the revolutionary modulators like Trikafta that works on the cellular level. Research for CF is so important to extend the lives of those with CF. Finding a cure for CF is the ultimate goal. The CF Foundation has more than 70 chapters in the United States. Their slogan is “make CF stand for Cure Found.” You can go to http://www.CFF.org to find a local chapter or to donate to the cause. You can also find a Great Strides walk close to you. You can start a team or be an individual walker. Great Strides is the biggest fundraiser for the CFF.

Thank you for always checking in on me and for all the prayers and positive thoughts. Just remember that growing old is a blessing that isn’t offered to everyone.

Until next time…

CF Clinic

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I had covid last month and my lung functions went down to 37%, from 41%. I had a mild case of covid. I had a cough and I basically slept for about 5 days. Not much more than that. I did have the antibody infusion and a weeks worth of prednisone for the chest tightness.

Today was my regular 3 month check up. My lung functions went back up to 40% / 1.12L FEV1. I have managed to lose 5 pounds, which is good. My lungs sounded good, no wheezing, at least when he listened to me. We discussed the mental health side effect of the Trikafta that I have been dealing with. It has been worse since Covid as well. I have more blah days than I would like. I made an appointment with my psych doctor to discuss my meds and a possible change in one of them. That appointment is in 2 weeks. Maybe with a med change my blah days will be less and I will have motivation. Summer is my favorite season because of the ability to be outside in the sunshine which usually helps my mood.

I go back in 3 months for a regular check up. I will have my yearly labs drawn at that time to check my vitamin levels, liver function and kidney function, among other things. They check my sputum culture every clinic visit to see what bugs I’m growing in my lungs. I am usually growing only pseudomonas. We only treat it if I am having symptoms of an exacerbation. That would be increased cough, drop in lung functions, more wheezing/tightness, fever (I rarely run a fever when sick though), fatigue, lack of exercise endurance, etc.

All in all it was a good visit. We did talk about adding Spiriva (inhaler) for my asthma if I feel like I need it later. I didn’t want to add it just yet. I’m going to try using my albuterol inhaler before I do the treadmill to see if that helps with the wheezing while I exercise but that is the only change.

Until next time…

CF Clinic Day

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Today was CF clinic day. I am seen every 3 months, so today was a regular check up. However, I have been wheezing more so it was good timing. They had me do my lung functions at home on my home spirometer. My FEV1 was 35% which is my baseline (average). If you are new here the 35% FEV1 means I am using 35% of my lungs to breath. Most healthy people are 100% or more. They checked all my vitals and they were all good except that I had gained some more weight. Usually that would be a good thing for a CFer but I have gained quite a bit over the last 2 years since starting the new CF drug Trikafta. So basically they aren’t concerned with my weight but I am. The extra weight doesn’t make my breathing any easier that’s for sure.

We spoke about all my meds and what changes we could make, if any to change. They are going to try and up my inhaled steroid Budesonide (Pulmicort) in hopes that it will help with my wheezing. I have been wheezing a lot and getting out of breath easily with activity. My oxygen sats are fine so oxygen is not the answer. I am thinking it is a combo of the extra weight and the weather changing. The season changes mess with me every time.

They drew labs while I was there to check my thyroid, iron and vitamin levels to see if any of that could be contributing to why I’m always tired and sleep a lot. They decided to do an oral antibiotic, Augmentin, for 2 weeks and a prednisone taper over a 10 days. Hoping that combo helps with my wheezing and rattling in my chest. I see them back in December for another 3 month check up.

Until next time…

One year on Trikafta

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I have been on Trikafta for one year as of today. The major things I have noticed is that I am coughing less, less coughing attacks and weight gain. I have not gained any lung function like others have reported. I have been stable though as far as lung functions are concerned. I have been lingering around 35% FEV1 (give or take a few percentage points). I still however get very short of breath with exertion like walking in a store or. any long distances, moving things around the house, making a bed, carrying things, etc. I wish I could breath better because that is the most frustrating thing right now, but that’s life with CF (getting closer to end stage CF).

As far as transplant is concerned, I’m still too healthy to be transplanted. I am ok with that because I’m not mentally ready for it at this time anyway. According to one of my transplant doctors most CFers get listed around 20-25% lung function or less. So I still have a little ways to go. Mind you one bad exacerbation (illness) and I could drop lung function pretty quick. That’s about it as far as an update on Trikafta. I have a virtual CF clinic appointment on December 17th, just a check in/check up.

Until next time…

CF Clinic Check up

Posted in Blog Life, Health update by

Today I had CF clinic. Thanks to Trikafta my weight is up, not that I want it to be.  haha  My lung functions are holding steady at 37%/1.06 L FEV1.  In October they were 36%/1.02 L FEV1.  It is unclear if I will gain any lung function on Trikafta, only time will tell.  I’m just happy if I hold steady and put off lung transplant as long as possible which gives us more time to fundraise.  The hope is that Trikafta will extend the time between exacerbations (lung infection) needing IV antibiotics. Continue reading →

2 Week Trikafta Update

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I’ve had a few people ask how I’m doing on the new medicine so I thought I would update.  Today is day 14 on Trikafta, the new CF medicine.  On day one I noticed a difference in my cough within about 4-5 hours from when I took my first dose.  My cough was more “juicy” and productive.  It was the medicine working to try and clear out the old mucus in my lungs.  I was coughing more and coughing up more than usual as well.  By day 3 my cough had changed back to my usual dry cough and was not very productive (my usual).  I’m coughing less but still having coughing fits as per my usual but they are less intense and I recover faster.  I also recover from being out of breath faster as well.  My sputum (mucus) is lighter in color and thinner (not as thick and sticky).  I’m not coughing as much at night, or at least I’m not waking up to my coughing as much.  I have not had any bad side effects thus far. Yay! Continue reading →

New Triple Drug for CF is Approved!

Posted in Blog Life, CF Awareness by

The new triple drug for CF has been approved!  You can read the FDA article here.  It is supposed to help about 90% of the CF population.  It is for my CF mutations (double delta f508).  The name of it is Trikafta (elexacaftor/ivacaftor/tezacaftor).  I can’t help but to think trifecta when I see the name…haha. Continue reading →