Canadutch
I have no voice. If I try to talk it comes out as a painful whisper, or if I really try hard, a croak. My throat is so sore, I am sucking back Halls (which I’m so glad I brought back from Canada with me!) and Vicks Anti-Flu lozenges like nobodies business. I even wake up in the middle of the night with my throat aching and sit up in bed just long enough to chew one before going back to sleep. So I’ve been communicating with my husband with weird sign language and the occasional written note.
I went to the doctor yesterday morning and explained that the dizziness had some back full on, and that I was starting to have cold symptoms as well. He finally gave me some medication which he said would ease the symptoms, which I thought meant all of them but when I got home it was just dizziness and nausea that it was meant for. I’ve been taking them 3x a day but I haven’t noticed any difference.
Yesterday I was in bed from 9am – 11am and then again from about 2pm – 8:30pm, mostly because it was the only place I could get warm and comfortable enough. After I was out of bed for a while I still had no energy at all and felt like my eyes were burning. I took my temp over time between about 9pm and 10:30pm and it went from 38.8 to 39.4 (which is about 104 F). Xander started to really worry about that and the fact that I had no voice or energy, so he called the hospital. They wanted me to go in so they could check me out but I really didn’t want to go. I hate sitting there waiting and my throat hurt just to BREATHE so I knew that it would really hurt once I was panting coming back up all the stairs to our flat.
He ended up talking me into going and we got in right away, as promised. The guy looked at my throat and said ‘oh yeah’ like in that… ‘yup, you’re fucked’ kind of way. He checked my ears and everything else too, which was a nice change from this doctor I’ve been seeing (the husband of the doctor I usually really like, who never seems to be around anymore). He told me that I have a really bad viral infection and that he can’t give me anything to make it go away but he can give me something to lessen the symptoms. Yup, heard that before… but the meds he gave me were aimed at the flu symptoms rather than just the dizziness. He basically is pumping me full of paracetemol and codeine. They said it would make me drowsy, which I love because the more time I am sleeping the less time I am awake and feeling like shit.
The doc was saying that this flu is pretty much at epidemic levels here in the Netherlands at the moment, so I don’t feel so bad. Meaning, I don’t feel like the no immune system loser I felt like yesterday.
Right now my throat is killing me, I have no voice, when I cough all the muscles in my chest and stomach hurt so bad… but I have no fever. The doc did say to expect the fever to show up in the evenings though. I really hope tonight isn’t like last night again, that was brutal.
Oh, and I totally gave my cooties to my husband too. He’s started getting sick last evening and is feeling crappy today too. Less crappy than I am, but not very nice all the same.
I don’t know what our livingroom looks like with us two invalids on the sofas and the coffee table full of medicines, teacups, and scrunched up tissues.
Yup, its an epidemic. I work as a substitute teacher, and the phone’s been ringing off the hook for the last several weeks with requests for me to fill in for sick colleagues.
I’ve never been so busy… The other day, a principal called me asking if I would sub for a sick sub.
Get plenty of rest, drink lots of fluids and up your vitamin C intake… and if you can get your hands on it, get yourself a supply of Airborne immune-boosting tablets: http://www.amazon.com/s.html?ie=UTF8&node=3760931&brand=Airborne
A friend sent me this from the States and it’s been an absolute godsend. Working in a classroom where at least a couple of children usually have a cough or runny nose, I’m prone to sickness, but since I started taking Airborne, I’ve managed to stay healthy – which is v_e_r_y unusual.
Oh you poor thing. I hope you feel better soon. Beterschap :-)
Okay, Tammy, it’s official. You ARE becoming a Dutchie (I hope that’s not a perjorative term, Dutchwoman didn’t sound right)–you’re even using European words without giving a translation (though in your weakened state, this is understandable). I had to google paracetamol to find out what it is. Turns out that over here in Canada, we call it Tylenol.
Feel better soon.
Yeah, all docs refer to it as a viral infection when they don’t really know what it is. :D
But that’s cool you got that medicine it’ll help i’m sure to be sleeping. I’m a firm believer that sleep = getting better faster. the more you sleep the faster you get better.