Posts Tagged ‘sick’

Down with the flu

laelene Posted in lifestyle glimpses，Tags: , , , ,
26 January 2016
0

Has it really been three days since my last post already?! Gosh, I’ve been pretty much bedridden this whole time. I first felt ill last week and began sneezing by Thursday. Friday I was working from home in bed and Saturday and Sunday I hung out inside as the snow piled up and Panda made a few runs at it. I was out sick Monday and Tuesday and will work from home tomorrow. Monday was the worst, when I was feverish with the chills, yet went through bouts of sweat spells. My whole body ached so bad and random nerves would have intense periods of pain. I had a headache the whole time and could hardly breathe much of the time. It was all very bizarre.

The last time I was this ill was two or three years ago, also in winter. I should really start getting flu shots, shouldn’t I? I’ve always had a rather strong immune system and wouldn’t get super sick, so as a child I enjoyed being a bit under the weather and spending the time to rest. However, nowadays my immune system might be weaker, or there may be more sick folks I’m exposed to, or the cold weather could affect me more. I don’t know what exactly, but it certainly is worse than it’s been in a very long time.

On Monday night, I was seriously doubting when I’d get better and imagined that pain extending until Thursday or later. Luckily, I woke up this morning feeling far better. Perhaps it was time and I had sweat enough, or perhaps that Aleve type pill I took did the trick. I had previously been taking a daytime flu thing or Excedrin when the pain was worst. I took less than half the recommended dosage, so that might have been a factor. I just don’t like so much medicine though!

Today I made it outside for the first time since Thursday and we got lunch and a few things at Costco. I was happy to stay inside again for the rest of the day. I don’t understand all those people claiming to have cabin fever not even 24 hours into the storm this weekend when I was inside for 5 days without a problem. Are you less likely to experience cabin fever if you’re sick and want to curl up in bed? I don’t think I would have felt it either way, since we luckily had no power outages in the area and I could easily use my devices or read with a light. For the most part, I took it easy and rested.

My head’s still cloudy and I’ve been coughing something nasty all day, but I’m well enough to get some work done from bed again tomorrow. We have a cool event on Thursday at the Australian Embassy, but I’m not sure I’ll be well enough to make it out. Too bad!

A week of yo-yoing

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , ,
16 January 2014
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I’ve been ill for a week, but not entirely. I’ve had so many ups and downs that I can’t figure out what’s for real anymore and when I might get better. Take today, for example. I started off the day strong, almost feeling better. The morning was filled with meetings out in DC and when I got back to the office, I was doing ok. But then in the afternoon I started to crash, hard. I couldn’t think straight. I could hardly keep track of what I was doing. I had very little energy for anything requiring effort. By 5 I had just about given up on getting anything else done.

This week has felt like a month and it’s been rather stressful. My mind is so foggy I don’t trust myself to make sense. Sometimes my eyes hurt so bad I can’t see properly (especially alarming when I’m driving home). Sometimes my head hurts enough to halt all thoughts (or at least jumble them up). I can’t even focus enough to write a blog post the way I want. In fact, I’m pretty useless in anything but consuming content. I’ll stop producing awful content now and try to regain my sanity.

Achy

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , ,
10 January 2014
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sleeping on side with face half covered by blanket

Being ill makes me want to hide in the covers.

I woke up sick today. Got to work just fine, but then was absolutely knackered. My throat is super dry. I have to clear it a lot. Breathing is slightly painful at times (better if I breathe a certain way through my nose, but it’s tiring). This might be TMI, but I was dry heaving a lot (don’t worry, my gag reflex system works such that I never throw up – only once in my adult life due to food poisoning). I drank lots of tea and mixed in some honey. I think it helped. I also had an Advil, which eased things in the afternoon. Wasn’t focusing well, and felt awful about it. The minutes dragged by like hours. What do you mean it’s only been 10 minutes? I feel like that was an hour ago. I rescheduled a meeting with the CEO to make some calls together. Was he disappointed? I couldn’t tell, but I was at myself for him. Alas, between being sapped of energy and dealing with physical pains of a sore throat and headache… I wasn’t up for the task. I feel guilty, but it is a fleeting thought. There are other pains to try to ignore now. I did manage to make it out to lunch with my work bestie. Thankfully, she drove. The restaurant was very toasty inside – perfect. I got a spicy sub sandwich (maybe not the best idea for my throat?). I made a pathetic attempt at work for the rest of the afternoon. I’m sad at how ineffective I think I was, but I did manage to get a few projects underway.

I had to leave earlier than usual (at 5ish) for my yoga class. By then I was feeling not too bad. The slight fever had subsided. I fell asleep during meditation as usual, then went through the yoga class not pushing too hard but taking challenging poses as I could. Somehow I was sore, which might have been yoga yesterday… I didn’t realize how not moving for three weeks had made my muscles weak. During class I felt ok, but now I’m not doing as well. Perhaps the Advil wore off? Perhaps I should keep active? I’ve been keeping warm in bed, which feels great so long as I don’t move. When I get out, my aching back protests. I feel feverish. I even managed to pull a muscle in my foot. Once again, might be TMI, but I am still dry heaving. It’s an awful feeling. It’s worse when I’m hungry but I don’t want to eat much. Loss of appetite and all. Everything throbs, everything aches. My nostrils are getting irritated with breathing too. Meanwhile Panda’s been sick for a few days and he’s been sleeping already. He probably gave this to me when he helped cook this week.

Am I making sense? I’m too tired to reread. I guess I should sleep but somehow checking something becomes browsing something becomes reading articles upon articles. It’s like the Wikipedia rabbit hole I often fall into. Lost, again. How many things have I read now? Yet the ache of my eyes (if they ache at all, I can’t tell) is drowned out by the dull pain throughout my body. Should I take a bath? But I might not ever get up. It is so much effort. Maybe tomorrow, then. Here’s to hoping for a good night’s rest. I should really try that oregano oil from my Homegrown box. Tomorrow.

Oh, and I guess I should take some pills.

Sweat it out

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , ,
18 March 2011
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It’s been a long week for me as a sneeze developed into a runny nose, a runny nose developed into a stuffed one, then came a dry throat that became a sore throat, and finally the chills and a borderline fever.  It all started when I got out of a shower and felt pretty good, so I didn’t put on enough clothing.  Next thing I knew, my wet hair was causing me to sneeze excessively.  I went to bed with a runny nose and got to work the next morning only to find there was a draft at my desk.  With that blowing on me on and off throughout the day, things got worse and come Tuesday I couldn’t breathe out of my nose for most of the day.

On and on this went until today I got back from work, collapsed into bed, and stopped fighting it.  With my guard down it seems my immune system went on hiatus too, so I start to feel a slight fever come on.  I stayed under the covers and let myself start to sweat.  After all, I was always taught to “sweat it out” when I was a kid.  I suppose it’s getting rid of the toxins in my body?  Well, now I’m a bit clammy but at least not cold (I hate when I’m cold).  In fact, the room is feeling a bit too hot, but I don’t want to take off the covers for fear of making it worse.  I’ll just keep drinking hot water and let some sweat build up.

Thankfully, I can still entertain myself while stuck in bed, with things like writing this post and watching some videos.  I’ll just laze around for the rest of the night and hope that when I wake up tomorrow, I’ll be feeling much better.

Fatigued

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , , , ,
18 June 2009
0

Well, the library trip got canceled and I was instructed to stay at home, so I spent my Thursday mostly lying in bed but for the time I was downstairs eating some lunch.  Between Bubble Bang and Bejeweled, I passed away the time in a bit of a stupor.  I felt clammy and weak and pretty much just bummed around to try to recover.  I have been given Vitamin C pills to be taken twice daily and a bottle of cough syrup to be ingested thrice daily.  I am warned that the syrup may cause drowsiness – I wonder if that’s why I feel so lethargic.

Lying around all day certainly wasn’t good for my weak blood flow, so when I stood up at night to go eat a little dinner, I found myself getting lightheaded.  The world turned black as the blood rushed from my head and I got dizzy, but I was used to this feeling so I just stood very still waiting for it to pass.  Unfortunately, it seemed I was far more feeble then I anticipated, so the next thing I knew an image of the TED video I had just watched flashed before my mind and I was jolted back to consciousness with the loud clanging of my medicine bottles and iPod clattering to the ground.  My knees had given from under me and I was in a strange sort of kneeling/sitting position.

I quickly gathered up the things I had dropped and heard Chatty and Typea’s brother (I’ll call him Circle) asking each other if that noise came from them.  I made my way to the hall to apologize for the startle and then proceeded downstairs to eat something.  There’s an area on the back on my head that feels odd, kind of like there’s a pressure or weight on it.  My mind feels cloudy and though I can do everything without much fuss, I feel easily drained.  Nevertheless, my throat is not sore anymore (however I did get a few strange croaks when I was talking) and I have not had a fever, runny nose, or deep coughing.

I’d really like a jar of pickles.  I think I’ll buy some tonight on my way back.  (Yeah, I know, strange craving that may or may not have to do with how I feel… but hey, to me it’s comfort food, so that’s good enough!)

Sick

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
17 June 2009
3

I got sick today for whatever reason, so I’m too lazy to write too much.  I’m supposed to be out all day tomorrow, so I can’t throw in a last-minute post, which is why I decided I may as well just type a little something here.

It started in the morning when I woke up with a sore throat.  I think having the AC blaring over me all night had to do with that.  Not unusual though, since who doesn’t wake up with a scratchy voice?  Plus, I’ve been waking up with a slight sniffle from the chill.  I thought I had set the timer to stop sometime in the night, but apparently it didn’t work.  At work the AC blows over my head and kind of chills my head and shoulders, so I had to huddle in my hoodie.  Normally that’s enough, but I was still unusually cold.

We went out for lunch and I welcomed the heat outdoors and the chance to get my blood flowing.  I even ordered some fish soup in hopes of preventing any sickness, but back in the office I was distracted and unfocused as I tried to go on with my day.  Eventually, I went over to the couch area to lay down and work, but of course fell asleep rather quickly.  At some point I woke up when Mizu came to put my laptop in a safer place, but soon fell back into a daze.  I woke up sniffling again, but feeling much less feverish than before.

Sad.

Sad.

I opted to work at the big desk out front where it’s warmer, but before long, Mizu was trying to get some medicine for me and Starfish was chasing us off to the doctor’s.  I’m quite used to waiting out a fever and sweating it off, but with the whole swine flu craze, I didn’t want to refuse a check-up to ease everyone’s minds.  So off we went, with Mizu escorting me along to meet up with Typea so he could show us to a clinic.  I found that rather than resting my voice, I was straining it to speak audibly, often overdoing it.  Every time I stopped talking I felt my swollen throat sore from the exertion.

While we waited for the doc to get back from dinner, the three of us weighed ourselves and I was shocked to find that I am only 132 lbs.  Maybe that shouldn’t be so shocking, but as of late my weight had been more around the 140-145 mark, depending on how much I had just eaten.  Still, my driver’s license says I weigh 137, which was a round down from what I weighed back when I was 18.  Is it just this sickness or is Singapore good for my weight?  I guess I have noticed a little difference, but I didn’t think it’d be notable.  So, my check-up was nothing exciting, with no fever, no redness in my throat, or any other suspicious symptoms.  The doctor prescribed me some Vitamin C pills (she was shocked I don’t take them) and cough syrup and sent us on our way.

We all got some dinner together and Mizu and Typea complained about my whining and teased me about my weight (I shouldn’t eat because I’m too fat).  I didn’t care because I really don’t care much about my weight as long as it doesn’t tip me into the obese category.  They were jokingly calling me obese, but once I knew the kg to lb conversion, it was all good.  I can’t remember the last time I weighed this much.  Still, I’d much rather weigh more and have better toned muscles.  They’re still hiding behind a layer of fat these days.  Swimmer’s curse?

Now I’m back and lounging on the bed.  I spent some time downstairs watching Don’t Forget the Lyrics for the first time, then trudged my way upstairs and showered all my gross sweatiness away.  I have been instructed to not use the AC and Typea has set up the fan for me.  Apparently Starfish ordered I go to bed half an hour ago, but hey, 11 is still early.  That’s like three hours I’m losing out on here.  I think a long night’s sleep will be enough to cure me.  I hope so!  My childhood bookworm is eager to get to play in a library again, scouring books and articles and enjoying the quiet atmosphere.

First encounter with the Goddess

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , ,
10 June 2009
0

Disclaimer: Not for the faint of heart, if you get sickened easily by hearing of others’ bodily functions (though really, it’s not that graphic).

Well, I was off to a nice start with today’s post when my nausea caught up with me and I found myself, for the first time ever, learning to worship the porcelain goddess.  I had found it strange when I came back after a filling dinner, bloated from eating so much, yet still as nauseous as if I hadn’t eaten at all.  It wasn’t long after that I learned that my food was spoiled.  I’m quite sure it was the skinny little mushrooms wrapped in a thin slice of beef.  So there I was laying there, feeling as if my bile was rising, causing my saliva to go sour.  I went to the bathroom to spit out the bad juices only to find that I really was unwell.

In all of my life, I have felt nauseated many a time, but never once have I done more than gag a bit and flex that gag reflex a bit.  This would be the first time that I consciously regurgitated anything and it was surprisingly more natural than I ever imagined it to be.  I’m sure I was burped as a baby, but since then, the only time that my stomach has been unhappy enough with its contents was back in 5th grade, when I woke up to find that my nightmare had caused me to empty my stomach’s contents.  It was a completely novel experience to stand there and be conscious of what was happening to my body as my unhappy tummy threw out its contents in the only way it knows how.  I guess I found it a bit fascinating because I’ve only ever seen others do it before.  Experiencing it yourself makes it put on an entirely different dimension.

I curiously noted that the flow was so powerful that at one point it almost came out of my nose.  Gosh those muscles are strong!  Also, one of my contributions to the Goddess included red, which alarmed me for a moment until I smelled the scent of tomatoes.  Why I had that I have no idea, since I cannot recall what I might have had that included tomatoes, but I really doubt blood could manage to smell like that.  I did a quick check gurgling some water and checking my nose and but for a burst scar on my nose, there was no bleeding to be found.  Thank goodness.

Being my first time, I had no idea what to do afterwards, so I went online to look for some solutions.  What it came down to was: drink water.  And so I did, drinking down any more sourness that I smelled.  I didn’t know if it was better to lay down or sit straight, so I lay on the bed breathing deeply until that was uncomfortable, then sat up for awhile.  I called up my mom to confirm what action I should take and though I really wanted to eat some of that Mamee I had, I resisted the urge in case my stomach in its delicate state decided to rebel again.  It’s strange that though I lost my entire dinner, I feel less “hungry” than I had when I was full to the brim with that poison.  I guess the sour of bad food was mistaken for the sour of a stomach with nothing to be broken down by its acid.

And now a lesson learned, to be more careful about what I eat.  It didn’t seem that unusual for the food to be a bit sour, but I guess I should have smelled more intently.  This was after going to this very restaurant yesterday and finding the seaweed salad to be stale.  Perhaps their quality just isn’t up there.  It’s time to find a new place to have my solo dinners now.  At first I was afraid to sleep lest I have another incident in my sleep, but it seems to have subsided and I think my stomach would have emptied things out more if it needed to do so.  So instead of a thoughtful entry on feminism, today you get a lovely depiction of my night.  With that, I should rest, so good night!

(I hope you don’t mind the lack of pictures… I think that may just make you worse off, so I didn’t take any.  :-P)

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