But my fever finally didn't come back yesterday! Finally, a fever-free day.
Still coughing like crazy, but I think the absence of the fever is a good thing.
I'm starting to get a little stir-crazy after being cooped up in the house all week.
We'll see how tomorrow goes since I'm planning to go back to work, assuming the fever is really over.
Mookie has been my constant companion, and today let me rub his chest. I swear he had a smile on his face.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Mystery solved
And lesson learned....
Usually I ask more questions when told to take something drug-related, but yesterday I didn't since I've had bronchitis before and inhalers have worked in the past.
I had a thyroid then...now I don't and apparently that makes a big difference. I used the inhaler yesterday and it actually made the coughing worse and of course kept me up all night--I literally dozed off around 5am. Mr. Wonderful was surprised to find me on the couch and told me it was "thoughtful" of me to let him sleep instead of being woken by my best imitation of a TB patient.
According to the giant folded-up piece of literature in the box and Dr. Google, one of the side effects is "sleep problems". Well good God I don't need that now, do I? As I read more, it also said that you should NOT use this if you have an overactive thyroid. Um, while I don't have a thyroid anymore, my TSH is kept in the overactive zone...so wouldn't that be the same thing??
Hence, my night of sleeplessness.
The physician's assistant I saw didn't make a great impression--not very talkative, didn't say much, kind of seemed annoyed. Among the questions she asked: "Smoke? Alcohol? Use drugs? Sunscreen? Seat belts? Eat meat? Last period?" Just like that. I told her the last period was in September, that I had had thyca and that I was in menopause. Guess thyca didn't mean anything to her? I knew I should have said more and questioned the meds, or should have told her that I was thyroidless, but her demeanor wasn't exactly encouraging, and I felt like crap. And I was wearing a face mask that was making me feel claustrophobic and I couldn't wait to take it off. Wasn't that info in the tiny notebook she was carrying and typing my answers? (No, socially, no, always-you see how pale I am? always, yes but red meat not very often, September.)
So, as a result of my passivity, I lost a night's sleep. I have not used the damn inhaler today, and the coughing has subsided a ton. I also had a huge mug of hot water, lemon and honey to calm my cough-ravaged throat. I slept for a little bit, but feel wide awake. Not sure what that will bring for tomorrow, but the plan right now is to go back to school unless I don't sleep again.
Nope, fever is back as of 9pm, so I'm not going anywhere tomorrow. Except maybe back to the doctor's office, but this time I'll ask to see an actual doctor.
Sigh.
I'm thinking of switching to a different practice anyway, and this experience just makes the decision easier.
On a non-medical related note (because I'm determined to not let this rule everything), I finished "Cutting for Stone" and loved it--really interesting twisty story about lands and cultures I don't know much about. I just started "Room" by Emma Donoghue, and I can't wait to finish it to see where it goes. Disturbing but so well written.
I'll take that as a good sign--it's been a long time since I've been able to concentrate enough to read an actual book. Ok, there are boxes waiting for me, but I've missed being able to lose myself in a story for the past couple of years.
And, I got to watch the speeches live online given by Ireland's president Mary McAleese and Queen Elizabeth. Neither woman shied away from addressing the long, painful history of the two islands, and it was amazing to hear the Queen begin her speech in Irish, and watch Mary McAleese mouth the word "Wow!" twice. What was disappointing was watching the Queen walk away from a perfectly poured pint of Guinness placed in front of her earlier in the day at the Guinness factory....Prince Phillip looked longingly at the glass but also walked away. What a waste.
Usually I ask more questions when told to take something drug-related, but yesterday I didn't since I've had bronchitis before and inhalers have worked in the past.
I had a thyroid then...now I don't and apparently that makes a big difference. I used the inhaler yesterday and it actually made the coughing worse and of course kept me up all night--I literally dozed off around 5am. Mr. Wonderful was surprised to find me on the couch and told me it was "thoughtful" of me to let him sleep instead of being woken by my best imitation of a TB patient.
According to the giant folded-up piece of literature in the box and Dr. Google, one of the side effects is "sleep problems". Well good God I don't need that now, do I? As I read more, it also said that you should NOT use this if you have an overactive thyroid. Um, while I don't have a thyroid anymore, my TSH is kept in the overactive zone...so wouldn't that be the same thing??
Hence, my night of sleeplessness.
The physician's assistant I saw didn't make a great impression--not very talkative, didn't say much, kind of seemed annoyed. Among the questions she asked: "Smoke? Alcohol? Use drugs? Sunscreen? Seat belts? Eat meat? Last period?" Just like that. I told her the last period was in September, that I had had thyca and that I was in menopause. Guess thyca didn't mean anything to her? I knew I should have said more and questioned the meds, or should have told her that I was thyroidless, but her demeanor wasn't exactly encouraging, and I felt like crap. And I was wearing a face mask that was making me feel claustrophobic and I couldn't wait to take it off. Wasn't that info in the tiny notebook she was carrying and typing my answers? (No, socially, no, always-you see how pale I am? always, yes but red meat not very often, September.)
So, as a result of my passivity, I lost a night's sleep. I have not used the damn inhaler today, and the coughing has subsided a ton. I also had a huge mug of hot water, lemon and honey to calm my cough-ravaged throat. I slept for a little bit, but feel wide awake. Not sure what that will bring for tomorrow, but the plan right now is to go back to school unless I don't sleep again.
Nope, fever is back as of 9pm, so I'm not going anywhere tomorrow. Except maybe back to the doctor's office, but this time I'll ask to see an actual doctor.
Sigh.
I'm thinking of switching to a different practice anyway, and this experience just makes the decision easier.
On a non-medical related note (because I'm determined to not let this rule everything), I finished "Cutting for Stone" and loved it--really interesting twisty story about lands and cultures I don't know much about. I just started "Room" by Emma Donoghue, and I can't wait to finish it to see where it goes. Disturbing but so well written.
I'll take that as a good sign--it's been a long time since I've been able to concentrate enough to read an actual book. Ok, there are boxes waiting for me, but I've missed being able to lose myself in a story for the past couple of years.
And, I got to watch the speeches live online given by Ireland's president Mary McAleese and Queen Elizabeth. Neither woman shied away from addressing the long, painful history of the two islands, and it was amazing to hear the Queen begin her speech in Irish, and watch Mary McAleese mouth the word "Wow!" twice. What was disappointing was watching the Queen walk away from a perfectly poured pint of Guinness placed in front of her earlier in the day at the Guinness factory....Prince Phillip looked longingly at the glass but also walked away. What a waste.
I wonder what he's thinking?
I just like this pic with Michael Collins taking it all in on the wall up there...it was a pretty interesting day.
Tick Tock
It's almost 3 am, and I'm still awake. WTF.
I took tomorrow off, and I guess it's a good thing I did since I'm clearly not asleep. I think it's the stuff in the damn inhaler that is making me wired. And if I lie down, I can't stop coughing. Right now I'm sitting on the couch in the living room since I was afraid that my crazed coughing would wake up Mr. Wonderful.
Sigh.
I can only play Frontierville so many times.
How about some random thoughts that can only pop into your head after 3 am?
I took tomorrow off, and I guess it's a good thing I did since I'm clearly not asleep. I think it's the stuff in the damn inhaler that is making me wired. And if I lie down, I can't stop coughing. Right now I'm sitting on the couch in the living room since I was afraid that my crazed coughing would wake up Mr. Wonderful.
Sigh.
I can only play Frontierville so many times.
How about some random thoughts that can only pop into your head after 3 am?
- Why does O'Malley the cat sound like a really large pigeon, especially after 3 am?
- Why does Mookie the cat have a closer relationship with the kitchen faucet than with his humans?
- So if we have big solar storms and flares, what will really happen to the internet and all the stuff we can't live without?
- I can't wait to have me some Kohl Rabi at the end of the summer.
- Why is Queen Elizabeth visiting Ireland now? They have so much security that no one will see her anyway....however, I am curious about her speech at the state dinner later on today.
- I love love love Adele. She played a sold out show in Boston recently and got rave reviews. That would have been worth seeing.
- I can still hear songs from "Les Mis" in my head. Really cute thing tonight--Mr. Wonderful is looking for videos and lyrics to "Master of the House" so he can sing it. My fav is the 10th anniversary version with Lea Salonga.
- I can hear birds singing. Why aren't they asleep? They are incredibly loud even though I'm on the 5th floor.
- I'm actually really really hungry at the moment.
- And my feet are cold.
- What is going on in Japan these days? Haiti?
- Sis will be ready for the solar flares because she can make her own: laundry detergent for .22 a gallon, yogurt, soap, butter, firestarters...she's like MacGyver.
- Did the Bruins win tonight?
- I can't find much on me if I google myself--too many people with the same name.
- I think I have a cavity. Or two.
- Yes, the Bruins did win. Series even, 1-1.
- O'Malley and Mookie are fighting.
- It's still dark out. And very foggy.
I should probably try to get a little bit of sleep. My random thoughts aren't really all that interesting....
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
And now, Bronchitis.
I am seriously starting to feel like a crazy person. I now have *&^%$# bronchitis.
We went to PA this weekend to see my niece's school production of "Les Miserables" (the musical), and it was outstanding. Amazing. Phenomenal. Hard to believe at times that we were watching high school students. The songs have been swirling on an endless loop in my head for days. C was the assistant choreographer and a featured dancer, so she was on stage quite a bit. Beautiful voice and stage presence. It was familypalooza again but a whirlwind.
We flew down Friday night and came back late Sunday night. Since the east coast is currently socked in by miserable rain and storms, flights were delayed in both directions. I started feeling "off" after we got to the airport Sunday night--fever, chills, heavy chest...uh oh. I wasn't able to get to see anyone at a doctor's office until this morning, and the physician's assistant thinks it's bronchitis. At least it's not pneumonia. My fever broke last night and she gave me an inhaler so I can breathe, but now I'm coughing a ton. I'm figuring I'm out of school again tomorrow. Sigh. I wonder what rumors will get started this time? I should probably put something on the announcement page of my class blog to tell them that no one has died and that I'm not in Ireland.
So, I'm headed back to bed for a bit.
We went to PA this weekend to see my niece's school production of "Les Miserables" (the musical), and it was outstanding. Amazing. Phenomenal. Hard to believe at times that we were watching high school students. The songs have been swirling on an endless loop in my head for days. C was the assistant choreographer and a featured dancer, so she was on stage quite a bit. Beautiful voice and stage presence. It was familypalooza again but a whirlwind.
We flew down Friday night and came back late Sunday night. Since the east coast is currently socked in by miserable rain and storms, flights were delayed in both directions. I started feeling "off" after we got to the airport Sunday night--fever, chills, heavy chest...uh oh. I wasn't able to get to see anyone at a doctor's office until this morning, and the physician's assistant thinks it's bronchitis. At least it's not pneumonia. My fever broke last night and she gave me an inhaler so I can breathe, but now I'm coughing a ton. I'm figuring I'm out of school again tomorrow. Sigh. I wonder what rumors will get started this time? I should probably put something on the announcement page of my class blog to tell them that no one has died and that I'm not in Ireland.
So, I'm headed back to bed for a bit.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
grrrr....
Slightly smaller growls lately.
My insomnia hell has abated for now. You know things must be really rough when your no-nonsense endo starts her callback with, "Oh, honey..." and a deep sigh. She's never called me honey. Ever.
Dr. N upped my estrogen to .625 (Prempro), and that has helped a ton. It still took a few more days to start sleeping through the night, but it's getting better. I do not feel like a miserable, cranky, emotionally overwhelmed zombie, and that has greatly improved my quality of life.
She seems to think that this is how things will go until the hormones stabilize themselves, and it's quite possible that they won't be able to stay stable. However, if I feel the same symptoms coming on again, I'll be on the phone much faster. She said it takes a few weeks for my body to decide if it has enough, or if it needs more. I have an appointment May 23, so she'll recheck bloodwork and see where I'm at. I guess we'll discuss the one year whole body scan then.
My memory, or lack of, is still a huge issue.
Funny side story after my being out of school for four days--at the very end of last period the day I went back, at 2:14:30 (bell rings at 2:15), I was done and kids were packing up to run into vacation. A girl approached me with a very serious face and said, "Mrs. K I'm so sorry for your loss." Two other kids standing nearby echoed her statement. I'm thinking, "For my loss of sleep??" and then realized she thought someone in my family had passed away. I said, "For what loss?" She replied, "For your dad." Hmm. He died in 1999....turns out there was a rumor circulating around the junior class that I had been absent because my father had died. And I had to go to Ireland. Huh???? No one could tell me where the rumor came from, but after vacation I started asking other faculty members about the rumor, and some of them said they had heard a similar story. Once we were back from vacation, I opened each class with a few minutes of rumor clarification--every class had heard the same story. I have no idea how that rumor could have gotten started, but it made me laugh.
As for vacation, we drove to the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia with my mother-in-law so she and Mr. Wonderful could visit their 95 and a half year old sister-in-law/aunt. It was a lot of time on the road, but the family visits were nice, and that part of Virginia was absolutely beautiful. We stopped at Mr. Wonderful's brother on the way down and on the way back outside of Philadelphia, so it was familypalooza all the way around. Quick visits, but nice to catch up. We tried driving home via the Skyline Drive, but it was all fogged in and vista-less.
Now I'm supposed to be doing my term 4 grades, and I'm in serious denial.
My insomnia hell has abated for now. You know things must be really rough when your no-nonsense endo starts her callback with, "Oh, honey..." and a deep sigh. She's never called me honey. Ever.
Dr. N upped my estrogen to .625 (Prempro), and that has helped a ton. It still took a few more days to start sleeping through the night, but it's getting better. I do not feel like a miserable, cranky, emotionally overwhelmed zombie, and that has greatly improved my quality of life.
She seems to think that this is how things will go until the hormones stabilize themselves, and it's quite possible that they won't be able to stay stable. However, if I feel the same symptoms coming on again, I'll be on the phone much faster. She said it takes a few weeks for my body to decide if it has enough, or if it needs more. I have an appointment May 23, so she'll recheck bloodwork and see where I'm at. I guess we'll discuss the one year whole body scan then.
My memory, or lack of, is still a huge issue.
Funny side story after my being out of school for four days--at the very end of last period the day I went back, at 2:14:30 (bell rings at 2:15), I was done and kids were packing up to run into vacation. A girl approached me with a very serious face and said, "Mrs. K I'm so sorry for your loss." Two other kids standing nearby echoed her statement. I'm thinking, "For my loss of sleep??" and then realized she thought someone in my family had passed away. I said, "For what loss?" She replied, "For your dad." Hmm. He died in 1999....turns out there was a rumor circulating around the junior class that I had been absent because my father had died. And I had to go to Ireland. Huh???? No one could tell me where the rumor came from, but after vacation I started asking other faculty members about the rumor, and some of them said they had heard a similar story. Once we were back from vacation, I opened each class with a few minutes of rumor clarification--every class had heard the same story. I have no idea how that rumor could have gotten started, but it made me laugh.
As for vacation, we drove to the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia with my mother-in-law so she and Mr. Wonderful could visit their 95 and a half year old sister-in-law/aunt. It was a lot of time on the road, but the family visits were nice, and that part of Virginia was absolutely beautiful. We stopped at Mr. Wonderful's brother on the way down and on the way back outside of Philadelphia, so it was familypalooza all the way around. Quick visits, but nice to catch up. We tried driving home via the Skyline Drive, but it was all fogged in and vista-less.
Now I'm supposed to be doing my term 4 grades, and I'm in serious denial.
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