I'm sick, too...

We started out at 7:15am and went to the lake.  I went to WW and Jack went to the Walmart to get Mucinex-D.  When I came out of the meeting he was napping in the car.  The Walmart pharmacy didn't open until 9am so he couldn't get the medicine he needed.  He insisted on getting me breakfast at Panera, then we drove to the lakehouse and dropped off the cabinets J built for the new basement pantry area.  Then we left to come home.

I suggested he go to the Immedicenter but he said, no, maybe later.  Until we got within 20 minutes of home and he decided we were going straight to the doctor.  They prescribed another Z-pack and Flonase, then suggested gargling with hot/warm salt water and some steam therapy with either an inhaler or a bowl of hot water and a towel.  He felt so bad that he wanted me to drop him home before I went to CVS to pick up his prescriptions.

I had made plans to go shopping with E and he insisted I still go.  He didn't want me to stay home and get infected.  So I went, and all I bought in 4 hours of power shopping was a can of dry shampoo.  Better luck next time...

I got home and he was awake, so I warmed up some homemade chicken soup, which he managed to keep down even though he was a bit queasy.  He slept in M's room because he didn't want me to get whatever it is he had.  I really don't like sleeping alone; it just doesn't feel right... 

Then my nephew called at 11:30pm to say he had a flat tire up the block from me, and he needed a lug wrench.  So I took it up there and waited until he changed his tire; one guy stopped to ask if we needed help, and then the local police patrol stopped, but J was almost done at that point.  I followed him home to make sure he got there.  I was a bit suspicious that he might leave after I did to go out again, but according to my sister, he stayed in for the night.  Call me a prude, but getting home at 12:30am is late enough; there's no need for him to be out until 3:30 or 4:30 in the morning...

Anyhow, all day yesterday I was getting pains in my left ear.  I've never had an earache and personally, I hope I never have another one.

I got up this morning, and MY HAIR HURT.  J told me that was a hangover, not an earache, but since I don't drink, that would rank up there with another virgin birth!  I have never ever thought my HAIR could hurt!!!  But it truly does!  The nurse practitioner I saw at the Immedicenter this morning (yes, indeed, today I went to see someone there!) said it was probably just my scalp was inflamed from the ear infection she can't swear I have because it all looks clear in there.  My throat is a little red but there was no indication of strep.  She did a throat culture anyway and will call me tomorrow to tell me if it came back positive or negative.  And she started me on an antibiotic even though she can't swear I'm positive for strep, and if she hadn't, I'd have begged her to, even though I'm not big on antibiotics unless I'm really sick...  For crying out loud, MY HAIR HURTS!!!

The medicine is making me really thirsty, too; my lips feel like they're cracked and chapped, even though I don't think they are, at least not yet.  I've been drinking loads of liquids today since my visit to the doctor...

I have to be sure I'm well 'cause next Monday I leave for Chicago and Wisconsin.  Yay.  Note the enthusiasm.

Well, I'm off to get another drink of something - I'm really, really thirsty!!!

Playing catch up...

So where should I begin?

How about last Wednesday night?

Watched some TV next to my husband (not "with" my husband - I was watching, he was sleeping!) and fell asleep at 11pm - I know this because I saw the end of the show I was watching and I know it was 11:16pm when I woke up - with a sore throat. And when I say a "sore throat," I actually mean a throat that hurt so much I couldn't swallow. At all. And it took a solid 16 minutes for it to get that sore. From 11pm to 11:16pm. With no symptoms before I fell asleep.

I was up until about 1am-ish, and finally fell asleep again, but not into a restful sleep 'cause when I woke up again, at 4:48am, I woke up convinced I had throat cancer. Now, those of you that know me well know I'm truly NOT a hypochondriac. But my eventually-will-be-my-brother-in-law just went through a course of radiation and two types of chemo for some throat tumors he originally suspected were swollen glands from a cold... So of course, I had throat cancer.

I called out sick on Thursday, and then called the dr at 10:03am. Angela, the wonderful office manager at the dr's office, squeezed me in at 12:15 so I drove over there at noon. For I think the first time ever, I only waited about 5 minutes. (Great doctors, but terrible waits in the waiting room!) I was escorted into the examining room, and the nurse came in to take my vitals: BP 120/80 (okay), pulse okay, slight temperature (99.6). She asked me what was wrong.

"I have throat cancer."

She slowly looked up at me and said, "What?"

So I explained that my BIL had cancerous tumors in his throat and so when I woke up with a really bad sore throat, my first thought was throat cancer. Although, admittedly, when I started to get a stuffy head and a low-grade fever, I changed my diagnosis to a cold or to the flu. (I started heading toward swine flu, but the nurse didn't really look like she had a sense of humor).

She told me the doctor would be in soon.

And she left me sitting there. Without an audience.

Until Dr. R. came in. "So, you're not feeling well, are you?"

"No, Dr., I have throat cancer."

Dr. R. is a much better audience.

"What makes you think you have throat cancer? You don't smoke. It says here in your file you've never smoked."

So I proceded to explain how T had cancerous tumors in his throat just a few months ago, how he'd gone through the radiation and chemo concurrently, how when I started to get other symptoms, I sort of disregarded my initial diagnosis of throat cancer...

"Brother-in-law, right? Not related to you?" I concurred. "Not throat cancer, Krys, but it could be swine flu."

LOVE this doctor!!!

Ultimately the diagnosis was pharyngitis. According to Wikipedia, pharyngitis is commonly known as a sore throat. (Duh, I could have told you that!) They did a throat culture just to be sure I didn't have strep, and sent me on my way with a prescription for Z-pac.

My, when you don't take antibiotics very often, they really work wonders on you! I took my initial two pills as soon as I got home, and my sore throat was almost gone within a little over an hour!!! I dozed during the afternoon, woke up for Dr. Phil and a little bit of Oprah. Watched Grey's Anatomy with Jack (LOVED it!!). Went to sleep.

Woke up on Friday, and took Friday off as well, even though I really was feeling markedly better. The doctor recommended I take the day off, and I had a full day planned for Saturday so I decided rather than wait until November to try and squeeze in the remainder of my sick days so as not to lose them, I'd just take another! So I did.

Watched quite a bit of TLC and HGTV, some more Dr. Phil and Oprah, then packed for the lake. We went up to the lake Friday night, and on Saturday, I spent the day scrapping at an all-day crop in Rockaway. LOVED the venue! I had a 6' table all to myself! They had food and snacks all day long, breakfast and lunch and dinner were served. Prizes every hour on the hour.

I wasn't as productive as I'd have liked to have been, but now that I know the women I won't spend as much time talking next crop! I'll be able to be more creative, and complete a few more projects...

My daughter is supposed to have a colonoscopy and an endoscopy on Wednesday, followed by another of her iron infusions, but she woke up today with some cold/flu symptoms (NO, she did NOT get it from me; I haven't seen her since before Mother's Day!). Don't know if they'll be willing to do the procedures... She's waiting to hear from the drs. Please keep her in your prayers. We don't want them to find anything wrong, but on the flip side, what could be causing all her symptoms??? She's run down, low iron, low hemoglobin. They keep saying she's anemic.

Okay, but why????? She wasn't for 3/4 of her life, just the past few years. They're going to test her for gluten intolerance, just for sh-ts and giggles (which, btw, I recommended a year ago!!!). She already took a look at the diet and decided she can't follow it - she'd have to give up too many of her favorite foods.

NOT! I referred her to GlutenFreeGirl.com. I've been reading Shauna's blog for about three years now, even before I found out she was an author here at my company! She's a terrific writer, and her recipes are to die for!!!

Anyway, gotta run - more later!!!

I've already shared this with you, but it's time again to tell you that "my hubby don't do sick real well!"

He was sick three weeks ago (see March 7, 2008, blog entry, if you're interested!). He's still sick. The antibiotic ran out a week ago. The decongestant/cough supressant ran out then, too. He was still congested and still coughing, but does he call the doctor to renew his prescription? No. Does he take anything over the counter to try and combat the symptoms? No.

'Til Monday. He was suffering so bad with his head being stuffed up and coughing so bad his whole body hurts. His niece gave him a couple of Mucinex DMs. Well! They really worked well on the congestion in his head and chest, but boy howdy! He was literally up all night! He didn't sleep a wink! Which, by the way, adds to his crankiness level!

Finally! "Call the doctor, please!"

So I did. And we went last night. And it's viral, which means no antibiotic in the world is going to help him. So now he's taking Mucinex Extra Strength and Delsym every 12 hours. And I just talked to Donna, the BEST CVS PHARMACIST IN THE WORLD, and he can take a little Nyquil to help him sleep as long as it's four hours after the Delsym. Yay. I won't be woken up at 3:23am like I was this morning...

I went for my mammogram yesterday. I had a young, friendly technician who told me I wasn't a "Dory" patient.

Mm-hmm. A "Dory" patient.

No, I didn't have a clue either. Apparently it's a reference to Dory in Finding Nemo. Dory is a bit, well, flighty. A bit ADD. There are patients, according to this technician, who just don't do what they're told.

"Hold your breath."
"Sigh." (Inhale.) "Sigh."

"Put your arm here."
"Okay." (Technician goes to take xray.) Patient drops arm.

They just don't listen.

I, on the other hand, a model patient! I hold my breath. I stay in position. My pictures came out beautifully! (Diagnosis to come.)

I'll bet hubby would be a "Dory" patient...

DH and I have done the sick thing. I had a bad cold in January, one that kept me home from work three days. Those of you that know me know that I don't like to waste sick days on being sick - sick days are for when you need a mental health day, a day away from the office or your head will explode, or a day when you get a chance to drive into Tower Records in NYC and see Patrick Swayze, live and in person, during his Dirty Dancing days... (Hi, Laura!)

Jack has been sick this past week, and continues to cough/choke/sleep these days, but he's much better than he was. He didn't miss a day of work 'cause he doesn't believe in not working, but then again, he gets paid extra if he doesn't take them... (Incentive, it's a wonderful thing!)

Now it's DD's turn. Poor baby is so sick that she called out today, and her boyfriend is sick, too, and called out. She just texted me to see if it would be stupid to go to the hospital - she's so dehydrated (since 2am this morning) that her lips are already chapped, and she's dizzy. I told her to go, volunteered to come home and take her; that's when she said The Guy was there, sick as well. She tried to reach the doctor but the service is no help and the office doesn't open 'til 10am. I think she's heading for the ER; she has insurance - maybe they can at least give her something to make her stop throwing up...

This isn't good; she has two funerals to attend tomorrow. I kinda think she might miss them both. Well, at least I hope she does. One, her mom's uncle, the other, a dear friend's dad. (Condolences to the families...) If I had anything to say about it, I'd recommend she not go - not only 'cause she's sick as that proverbial dog, but because I don't think you really want to pass this along to people who are already so sick at heart they feel physically ill, too...

Just to round out the family, my SIL has been really ill, too. Over a month ago she was scratched badly by one of her cats. She got an infection, a bad one - the scratch got all puffy and a red line started moving up her arm. The dr put her on high dosage antibiotics. After numerous dr visits to numerous drs (a whole 'nother story in itself!), SIL wound up with diarrhea for the past two weeks which has finally be attributed to C. diff. colitis. Apparently the intense antibiotic regimen they gave her for the infection messed up the balance of good and bad bacteria in her colon. This is so bad that it could have been fatal if left untreated, but after many more dr visits and other medication and dietary suggestions, she visited our gastro guy, Dr. M., and he diagnosed it, put her on the right medicine, and promised her she'd be well soon. Thank goodness they found out what it was! My SIL weighs in at a hefty 102 pounds in the winter, when she's wearing boots and heavy clothing, so imagine a 5-pound weight loss on her... When I hug her I feel like I'm going to crush her, she's so tiny and fragile. And that's on a GOOD day!!!

Get well, all of you!!!

Sickly.

That's the word of the week.

In case you all hadn't noticed yet, men (at least the men of my acquaintance) don't do sick well.

In fact, they absolutely suck at it!

I was sick a week in January. I stayed home, called in to work two days to participate in 4-hour conference calls so I didn't miss my sales meetings entirely. I stayed in bed for three days, sleeping a lot, coughing more, and wishing with all my heart I could get well. I took myself to the doctor, picked up my own medicine, and made my own b'fast, lunch and dinner, when I felt like eating.

Jack? Uh-uh.

He's at work. Admittedly he's one up on me with that. But the key is: THEY ALL WANT HIM TO GO HOME. AND HE WON'T. Where's the point in being a martyr? Will they give him a huge raise for coming in when he's so sick? I think not. Will they congratulate him and give him a huge raise for infecting all the children and teachers in the school? I think not. Will he get to leave early or not come in on days when he's feeling well and can have some fun with his wife? I think not.

SO WHY THE H-E-DOUBLE-HOCKEYSTICKS DOES HE HAVE TO GO INTO SCHOOL SICK? Any why-oh-why do I have to remind him to take his medicine, eat some dinner, rest so he can get better?

He's 56, soon to be 57 (April 12th). I think he's old enough to do sick better.

Readers, I SO hope you're not sick!

Just spent a couple of (work) hours catching up on my blog reading (sorry, employer!).
1 out of every 3 bloggers is sick, down with some version of the flu/virus cr*p I suffered from three weeks ago (I sure hope you didn't catch it from me!). It seems if it's not the writers, it's their spouses and/or children, and there's an underlying fear that their immune systems will soon be going on vacation and they'll be the next to catch whatever it is that's visiting their loved ones!

I used to say the crazy weather was an indication that the end of the world was coming.

I now think I'm wrong. Now I'm just convinced the Black Plague will return in the guise of all these illnesses...

Sick. Better.

I choose better.

I have 8 sick days at my job. I just used some of them. And please note that I usually only use them when I'm not sick. Who wants to waste perfectly good sick days home sick?

Let me catch you up... Two weekends ago I spent 2 days on the sofa. A bit of a cough, but not really sick.

Until I woke up on Monday, 01/14.

I did not go to work. I was sick. Sick beyond belief sick. I had what I thought was a low grade fever (those of you who know me know that when I have a low grade fever, the skin on my shoulders feels all sensitive and tingly. It wasn't, but I was hot, so "low grade fever" was my self-diagnosis.). I had a cough. I had hot eyes (another fever symptom). I had chapped lips. I slept during daylight hours. (Yet another symptom that I was really sick, and not just pulling the world's leg! I NEVER sleep during the day UNLESS I'm sick. REALLY sick.)

Dr. C. couldn't see me 'til 6:45pm. For the first time ever, they called me into the examination room before I could finish my HIPPA update. No 45-minute wait in the waiting room. Then I sat in the examination room for a 1/2 hour. Well, actually I laid on the exam table for 20 minutes and actually sat on the table for 10. Then the doctor came in and I had (drumroll, please!) a temperature of 101.4. Degrees. Fahrenheit. That's NOT low grade, my internet friends!

I was prescribed some of my lovely cough medicine with a decongestant. And Dr. C. thought I needed a 5-day Levpak. Antibiotics. When I tell you that one pill made me feel better, I'm NOT joking. Them pills are terrific! Even if I didn't have great insurance, I would have paid good dollars for them!

I spent three days in bed, in my pjs.

The best part of the three sick days (if there is such a thing!) is that I only took 2 of them off my available 8 at work. I spent four hours each day on the telephone, listening in on our sales meetings. I felt SOOO bad being home so sick that I couldn't attend. They'd been on the schedule for six months. So I called in, listened, coughed (I put the telephone under the sheets and the three blankets, under my a$$, whenever I had a coughing spell!), and tried to participate as best I could. So I only put 2 sick days on my timesheet.

Finally I was better. I still have a residual cough; Dr. C. warned me I would. But at least I didn't have the tummy upset and the over-dehydration that some poor souls had along with the cold and flu. (See http://www.dooce.com/ - poor Heather!!!)

In three weeks DH and I are celebrating my recovery by going to Las Vegas! Actually, I will be celebrating feeling human again; he'll be attending some credit union seminars. We're staying in the Paris hotel, quite possibly the closest I'll get to the real thing, since DH doesn't want to visit France... I can't wait! I have to read nothing between now and then, to save up some books to read when I'm not losing my panties in the casino!

I'm also going to San Diego at the end of March. On business but visiting someon I know, too. She's going to join me in SD, then we'll drive back to her house so I can play with her fluffy puppies for a few days. Then I'll leave for home from that state.

I'll be taking an overnight (or two) to Chicago in June, also on business.

Would love to travel somewhere interesting on business over the summer when DH can go with me and we can extend the stay for a long weekend away since that will be our only "vacation" 'til we save some money up again, to replace what we're spending on the house...

Later this week I'll have pictures of the new bathroom vanity I picked out, although the pictures don't have the drawers in...

I'll be back...

WARNING: Bodily functions will be discussed below. Proceed at your own risk.

Who knew I could blow my nose so darn much?!? And who knew that it would be productive blowing each and every time?!? Each and every five minutes... I'm soooooooooooooo tired of blowing my nose. I should have stock in Boroleum Ointment. It's the only thing keeping the skin from peeling off my nose.

Had a lovely Easter weekend, despite the cold. On Friday, I spent the day cleaning my house, making homemade mashed potatoes and homemade cole slaw. Yum! Two of my specialties, I must admit. Then on Saturday I went for breakfast with Jack, then to the bridal shower. It was fine. Although there's a big difference between young 23/24-year-olds and people of my generation. She was so naive that she didn't know to announce who the gift was from, what it was, or hold it up for people to see it. We were all wondering who gave what to her. She wasn't a very gracious bride-to-be, and I sincerely don't mean that in a malicious way. She just didn't know what to do.

A woman who thinks she used to date my husband was there. This is the 2nd time I've met her. She also attended a funeral that I went to; she's Patty's sister-in-law's best friend, or one of them, anyway.

Check's in the mail, Patty! I overheard my sister-in-law telling this woman (who claims she dated my husband, but he only remembers taking her out once or twice with Patty's sister-in-law, sort of baby-sitting them both, and avoiding her the rest of the time... Patty says she used to come to the house and stalk him and he'd just walk right past her, ignoring her...) - anyway, Patty was telling her that I was so wonderful, so sweet, the best for Jack, so loving, that they all love me... I told her, sure, on a good day, but obviously you haven't seen me on a bad day!!!

Apparently she's a sharer - we all know much more than we really want to about her - I know she's dating a cop from Bensalem, PA, and that she met him on singles.net, or some such website. I know that she's skeeved by replies to her own post that include pictures of guys with their shirts off or their tongues sticking out in an ostensibly sexy pose... And Carrie knows a lot about her personal life, details she didn't ask for but that Vicky shared with her. (I did not ask for examples!) Why would you tell someone you've met once in your life the private details of your love life (or sex life, as the case may be)?

Now, I realize I'm posting all this out in cyberspace for anyone to read and respond to, but I'm not going to be putting that kind of really private information out there. My life is pretty much an open book, but what goes on in the privacy of my own love life is going to stay there, with the exception, perhaps of a comment or two when my husband absolutely drives me up the proverbial wall!!! But that's not private, between-the-two-of-us-stuff...

Anyway, after the shower, I drove home and Jack took me out to dinner and to the movies. He must have been absolutely insane for the entire day; it was too cold to do anything outside and the house was cleaned up for the holiday so there was nothing for him to do, a fate worse than death for my workaholic, Energizer Bunny of a husband! We went and saw The Last Mimzy and I really liked it! The opening and closing sequence didn't particularly add anything to the movie, but in general, it's a good one!

Well, it's 8:56 and I have to skedaddle - I'm already a 1/2 hour into my work day without a bit of work-related productivity to show for it... More another time...