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And today is Tuesday. There was no 'Friday night drunk' this week, so you missed nothing. Maybe you'll get luck next Friday night.

The gassing continues at an alarming level. They are using low, constant doses of 'new gas' and are punctuating it with shots of lung gas now and then. I have the 'new gas' signature down pat: huge amounts of mucus coughed up every ten or fifteen minutes. It sometimes takes three or four coughs to get it all out. At slightly higher levels it also produces a vague chest discomfort, and at high levels, a burning sensation in the lungs and coughing so frequent that there is no time for mucus to build up.

I did my 50 minute bike ride today to test out lung function and had no problems. There was the usual heavy breathing during long uphills, but no coughing at all during the ride. Problems began immediately after I got home: throat-clearing being the first symptom. Kootch has been clearing her throat too, occasionally, but doesn't perceive any gas. About the only time she gets any gas is when we are eating together. They will sometimes gas me on those occasions and it causes her to clear her throat, while I cough. Most all of the other time we are not in the same room, so it is easy to target only me, and keep my sensitivity to the stuff at a high level.

Last time I visited the HMO I suggested to the good doctor there that the coughing problem was 'environmental.' He conceded that it was possible, but stuck with his 'bug vs man' diagnosis. I know it is environmental, but it's not nice to correct your doctor. About the only time physicians think in the 'man vs man' category is when they see a bullet hole or a stab wound.