Re: nakedness in front of family members--I'm with Aims in how the women in my family consider nudity, as in no big deal amongst ourselves. I remember being in 8th grade and getting out of the shower with only my underwear on, leaning out of the bathroom and telling my (5-years-older) brother not to look down the hall while I went to my bedroom. I'd get out, he'd teasingly say, "I'm looking..." and I'd shriek and then run. It became a ritual. (I also got embarassed by pad/tampon commercials if he was watching tv with me.)

As a solo apartment dweller, I always leave the bathroom door open, and my cat is always there to check out/use her own litter box (also in the bathroom), jump up on the sink and explore or accept petting, or jump into the tub and sniff around. Otherwise, she just lays down in the hallway just outside the bathroom and watches me. Occasionally, she'll stake a seat on the folded-up bath towel I leave on the sink while I take a shower. The last time she did this, she meowed at me constantly while I was showering, apparently concerned about my mental health for deliberately getting wet.

Can I get some medical hivemind advice from those who have had pneumonia or breathing disorders? I'm having a hard time breathing--can't get a deep breath without violent and painful coughing--and my diaphragm is so sore from a week of coughing that it feels like a knife in my chest every time I cough. I don't want to overreact, but is this a sign that I'm not getting enough oxygen? Should I have ND take me to the hospital? I tried the inhaler the doctor gave me, but it isn't helping much. It's not constant, sometimes I feel like I'm breathing okay, but I feel like I'm fighting for breath a lot of the time. What should I do?

Is the fighting for breath in your chest, or your throat?

Are you getting overheated, nervous? When I've had bad asthma, it starts to feel panicky, not so much *painful* but that might just be me.

It also sounds a little like pleurisy, which could be a possibility, given the pain you describe.

If you really can't breathe, and are actively *trying* to get air in, GO TO THE ER.

In my chest, definitely not in my throat, which is clear. Right now I'm not panicky, but when I'm having an episode I do get panicky and have to force myself to relax.

Pleurisy. Aw fuck. I hadn't thought of that. I can breathe, just not super consistently. And yeah, when I cough, it hurts.

I'm worried about money. Urgent Care is cheap, but I'm not convinced they wouldn't slap an inhaler in front of me and send me on my way. The ER is $100 copay, but any actual hospital stays appear to be 20%(!!).

I don't know about the trouble breathing, but you can easily pull a muscle from coughing, and then it hurts like a son of a bitch every time you cough.

Kristin, most places will negotiate payment plans. And while even with insurance, the health system is made of lame, your health is WORTH IT.

Lillian is 3. Mal turned 3 last month (he's 3 weeks older than Lillian). Owen is 4, as is Annabel. They were basically due date twins. (Lillian and Isaac were also due date twins!)

Aidan turned 5 in February.

{{{Kristin}}}

Do you get whistling in your chest when you breathe? When my asthma was really bad a couple of weeks ago, I'd wake myself up with the wheezing.

The inhaler may not be getting down far enough into the lungs if there's crud or stickiness in the air passages at the bottom of the lungs.

I'm going in to the Urgent Care. That co-pay is doable. I'm probably fine, but you're right, better safe.

Definitely better safe, Kristin. Sounds like you need more ABs anyway, and something the cough. Poor baby. Health~ma, babe.