Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Blech!
I've been sick the last few days. Monday was Coming Down With Day. Yesterday was Flat on My Back, Headachy, Weak, Not Very Hungry, Muscle-achy, Slept for Hours, Misery Day. Today was Better, But Still Not Quite Right Day. I took a nap, which helped, but my head is still threatening to ache if I don't behave. The good thing is lots of sleep, which, according to Po Bronson, is a very good thing indeed. Check out his article on sleep in New York Magazine. I can feel my brain cells getting stronger already.
Labels: illness, po bronson, sleep
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Me and My Yeasts, We Have a Thang
Forgive me. I'm going to kvetch about personal health problems. My Grandpa Jens always used to say he was feeling punk when he wasn't feeling well. I always wanted to ask him if he was having a blue mohawk kind of day. In any case, to borrow Grandpa's expression, I'm feeling punk and I promise that I'll make a larger point here than simply complaining.
I started taking fluconazole Friday night. Fluconazole is an anti-fungal medication. I've been suffering from yeast infections for, good heavens, probably twenty years. I'm sure it started with a few rounds of antibiotics taken in my late teens and early twenties and was compounded by the fact that doctors used to know squat about the effects of too much antibiotic use and how a person on antibiotics should take acidophilus and other good bacteria in order to replace the friendly bacteria wiped out of the body by the antibiotics. This friendly bacteria keeps yeast in check. Well, let me tell you, my yeasts have been having a party. Every once in a while, they flare up and make themselves known in an itchy, annoying sort of way. I will spare you the lurid details, but suffice it to say, I'm pretty sure they've gone systemic.
At my physical last Monday, I talked to my doctor about this because I've decided to evict the little buggers for good. They've been freeloading long enough. My doctor said he could give me an antibiotic for the yeast infection. Read that last sentence again carefully. Yes, he said he could give me an antibiotic for the yeast infection! I said, "What? An antibiotic? Won't that make it worse?" He said the name of the medicine (diflucan) and said that it was an antibiotic for yeast. Thankfully I've done quite a lot of reading on yeast infection treatment and recognized that diflucan is an anti-fungal. The doc was mis-speaking, but gave me the proper prescription.
I read the drug info sheet and noted the side effects of the medication. Well, I'm pretty sure that most of the side effects are not really due to the medication, but are caused by yeast die-off. Toxins from the yeast can cause headaches, bowel problems, joint pain, foggy thinking, and a host of other symptoms. Funny thing is I've had most of these problems over the past twenty years, but intermittently. It's as though my yeasts and I have become sympatico, buddies, if you will. As long as I keep feeding them, they stay under wraps, making an obvious appearance only occasionally.
Since starting the eviction process, I've had a rumbly tummy, I can't think straight, and I had the monster of all headaches yesterday. Light hurt. Moving hurt. Pound, pound, pound. This is your brain on fluconazole. Most of the headache is now gone, but my head is still foggy, my ears feel full and my tongue seems swollen and prickly. I don't think my yeasts want to leave.
And here's the larger point: How many things that make us sick come to rest within our bodies in such a way that they can keep feeding off of us indefinitely? And we unwittingly play into the codependence? (Someone help me here. What's the word for when one animal assists another? Like little sucker fish on whales? My brain really isn't working.) Further, how long does it take for micro-organisms to figure out this little game of living off their hosts without killing them?
Addendum (July 2, 2007): I've got it! Symbiotic relationship! That's the term I was trying to come up with.
I started taking fluconazole Friday night. Fluconazole is an anti-fungal medication. I've been suffering from yeast infections for, good heavens, probably twenty years. I'm sure it started with a few rounds of antibiotics taken in my late teens and early twenties and was compounded by the fact that doctors used to know squat about the effects of too much antibiotic use and how a person on antibiotics should take acidophilus and other good bacteria in order to replace the friendly bacteria wiped out of the body by the antibiotics. This friendly bacteria keeps yeast in check. Well, let me tell you, my yeasts have been having a party. Every once in a while, they flare up and make themselves known in an itchy, annoying sort of way. I will spare you the lurid details, but suffice it to say, I'm pretty sure they've gone systemic.
At my physical last Monday, I talked to my doctor about this because I've decided to evict the little buggers for good. They've been freeloading long enough. My doctor said he could give me an antibiotic for the yeast infection. Read that last sentence again carefully. Yes, he said he could give me an antibiotic for the yeast infection! I said, "What? An antibiotic? Won't that make it worse?" He said the name of the medicine (diflucan) and said that it was an antibiotic for yeast. Thankfully I've done quite a lot of reading on yeast infection treatment and recognized that diflucan is an anti-fungal. The doc was mis-speaking, but gave me the proper prescription.
I read the drug info sheet and noted the side effects of the medication. Well, I'm pretty sure that most of the side effects are not really due to the medication, but are caused by yeast die-off. Toxins from the yeast can cause headaches, bowel problems, joint pain, foggy thinking, and a host of other symptoms. Funny thing is I've had most of these problems over the past twenty years, but intermittently. It's as though my yeasts and I have become sympatico, buddies, if you will. As long as I keep feeding them, they stay under wraps, making an obvious appearance only occasionally.
Since starting the eviction process, I've had a rumbly tummy, I can't think straight, and I had the monster of all headaches yesterday. Light hurt. Moving hurt. Pound, pound, pound. This is your brain on fluconazole. Most of the headache is now gone, but my head is still foggy, my ears feel full and my tongue seems swollen and prickly. I don't think my yeasts want to leave.
And here's the larger point: How many things that make us sick come to rest within our bodies in such a way that they can keep feeding off of us indefinitely? And we unwittingly play into the codependence? (Someone help me here. What's the word for when one animal assists another? Like little sucker fish on whales? My brain really isn't working.) Further, how long does it take for micro-organisms to figure out this little game of living off their hosts without killing them?
Addendum (July 2, 2007): I've got it! Symbiotic relationship! That's the term I was trying to come up with.
Labels: doctor, eviction notice, grandpa, illness, yeast
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Appendicitis
Friday night we got word that my niece was having surgery, pretty much with no advance warning. Her brother sent an instant message to our daughter saying that she was having her appendix removed. The previous weekend our niece had returned from her father's with a giant stomachache. She was in tears and couldn't get comfortable. Her mom said she hadn't been feeling well the previous week, but had perked up some toward the end of the week. We were all thinking that she had a stomach bug that was exacerbated by the anticipation our niece felt over taking her written driving test. She took the test and passed, which is quite the achievement considering what we now know about the situation. She had her surgery Friday night and we got word Saturday morning that she was doing fine. We are immensely relieved and wish her a speedy return to good health.
Her situation reminds me of my brother, who is the only other person I know who's had an appendectomy. He, too, had been feeling ill, but no one thought much of it. During his illness, we went sledding and he hit a tree with his back. Within a few days he was having surgery. When the doctor opened him up, he found that his appendix had burst and abscessed, probably as a result of hitting that tree. Normally, the appendix is only as big as the tip of a pinky, but his was the size of a breakfast sausage. If the abscess would have burst, he would not have survived. Scary how something so serious can be so easily missed, or brushed off. Happy, in both situations, that it was caught in time.
Her situation reminds me of my brother, who is the only other person I know who's had an appendectomy. He, too, had been feeling ill, but no one thought much of it. During his illness, we went sledding and he hit a tree with his back. Within a few days he was having surgery. When the doctor opened him up, he found that his appendix had burst and abscessed, probably as a result of hitting that tree. Normally, the appendix is only as big as the tip of a pinky, but his was the size of a breakfast sausage. If the abscess would have burst, he would not have survived. Scary how something so serious can be so easily missed, or brushed off. Happy, in both situations, that it was caught in time.
Labels: appendix, brother, daughter, drivers test, illness, nephew, niece, sledding, surgery
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Say hello to Mrs. Grass
I'm going to try not to breathe on anyone here. Illness has descended upon the household. Some cold-y, flu-y thing. Cough, cough, we've got the consumption - argh! Hubby and Young Son #2 caught it first. Now it's my turn. We're drowning ourselves in tea - Yogi Tea, Cold Season is the favorite, along with ginger ale, and we're taking Vitamin C. We've become best friends with Mrs. Grass soup. Mmm, mmm. Gotta love that Mrs. Grass. Not sure where the name comes from, but the little, straight noodles could, if you peer cross-eyed at them, look like yellow grass. Oh, and there's the Golden Nugget, which I think is no more than a globette of fat fancied up. When I open a box of Mrs. Grass and see the Golden Nugget, I want to run around shouting, "I found the Golden Nugget!" much like Charlie and friends do with the Golden Ticket in Willie Wonka.
I stayed home from work today and lounged around in bed, alternating between reading Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys (woohoo! magical thinking!) and napping. The day simply flew by in our convalescence. I'm hoping this doesn't last long.
What sorts of things make you feel better when you're suffering from illness?
I stayed home from work today and lounged around in bed, alternating between reading Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys (woohoo! magical thinking!) and napping. The day simply flew by in our convalescence. I'm hoping this doesn't last long.
What sorts of things make you feel better when you're suffering from illness?
Labels: husband, illness, magical thinking, mrs. grass, neil gaiman, son, soup, tea, willie wonka
