Seven Days, and Counting

[handful_ofdust]

...or maybe six, since I think I roughly started feeling this bad last Sunday. But holy crap, I feel rotten now: My back is all knotted, I'm feverish and over-hot, my nose is constantly clogged, my teeth hurt (probably from grinding them in my over-medicated sleep), the skin around my nostrils burns from blowing my nose every five seconds, and that lovely, wet, scraping-out-your-chest-type cough is still very much with us. All to all this that I'm the only person doing chores, as ever, and that I can't even really go to the gym, and you have my dilemma in a nut-shell.

Finally went to the doctor on Friday, to get that form filled out for Cal's disability tax break claim. He says it's probably bronchitis, and gave me a prescription for Ventolin in an inhaler, which may be working. Also told me to take Benolyn DM, which makes me stupid and teeth-grindy. I truly don't think I've felt this shitty in years, and I really hope this is the worse before things get better, because I feel like beating my head against the nearest wall until A) it bleeds and B) I put myself in a coma.

In other news, I've been catching up on my reading, since I have literally nothing else to do. Yesterday I read Tess Gerritsen's latest, The Bone Garden, which I was amused to note had been promoted as another Maura Isles M.E. book, though Isles appears in it for exactly one scene right near the beginning. Also Craig Russell's Brother Grimm, which was far more Grand Guignol, and contains some potentially interesting information about fairytale tropes/meta. Both were fun while I was in them, but in the end, I'm glad I didn't have to pay for the privilege--guess there really is something to this whole "using the Public Library" thing, after all!

Comments

[come-love-sleep.livejournal.com]

Have you had bronchitis before, or any lung-related ailment?
They're kind of my family's trade--so at the risk of offering unsolicited advice, may I offer some unsolicited advice?
You're probably doing this all already, but. Don't drink milk, don't eat cheese or chocolate or any other dairy product--they produce phlegm. Avoid bananas for the moment(unless your drugs are sucking potassium). Drink a lot--a LOT of--water and clear juice, don't lie flat(use two pillows, or three), take really hot showers.

Um. And feel better?

(I'm currently suffering with what is probably walking pneumonia, and most of the people in my workplace sound like plague zombies. It seems to be everywhere.)

[handful-ofdust.livejournal.com]

Huh. The not lying flat thing is interesting--I'm doing pretty much all of the rest, though I did eat ice-cream a couple of times. Gotta say, though, I find it really hard to sleep with my head elevated...but thanks.

On a personal note, very sorry to hear about recent developments. Take care of that pnuemonia.

[sarcobatus.livejournal.com]

Gemma, you sound like you have this nasty mutant adenovirus that's making the rounds. I've been down with it for over three weeks now, same symptoms, and when I start feeling slightly better and do something, like house work, etc., I get sick all over again. It takes about a month to get well, and then another month to recover, from what I've heard. I had to go on antibiotics, but I'm still sick, head full of snot, headaches, and tired all the time. The bummer is, the cold never took away my appetite!

Rest up. Sleep seems to be the only thing that helps, at least for me it's sleep.

[handful-ofdust.livejournal.com]

Sleep is definitely helping for me, too. Too bad it's back to nine-hour days at work as of Monday.

[agincourtgirl.livejournal.com]

I agree on the non-dairy front completely, and hot showers too. Soup and tea and honey, as well. Demand a backrub, from me if necessary. I can't advise anything about the teeth grinding but to take whatever causes it in the morning, so it has time to do it's thing and you're awake, instead. Hugs!

[handful-ofdust.livejournal.com]

Steve's not so bad at the backrub thing, actually. Thanks!