Sick Day

Today I called out sick from my new job for the first time.  While I know my colleagues want me to be well and encouraged me to stay home and rest, I feel guilty.  There is a funeral today, for a parent of one of my students and I should go... but feel like my time outside of my house should be limited... I don't want to get others sick and also feel that if I stayed home from work, making an appearance at a funeral is probably bad form...

I started feeling bad on Sunday... worrying that I was getting bronchitis.  The cold air burned my lungs and my cough left my chest on fire for minutes after... then it began to become more of a sinus issue... and I knew I was done for.  The sinus infection I had this fall never really went away.  After the antibiotics I still felt stuffy and on many days have taken sinus medication ... I had called my doctor at one point and asked for another round of antibiotics and was told I hadn't given it enough time to really work through my system...

Yesterday I returned to the doctor and she agreed with me that the first sinus infection never went away completely and that this time, as I got sick, my sinuses were already vulnerable and got attacked... quickly... so she diagnosed me with another sinus infection... or sinus infection part 2.  This round there was more pain... and my eyes were watering... She prescribed a different antibiotic...and because I am allergic to penicillin the choices are limited... there is a chance that I may be developing a tolerance to the antibiotic she usually prescribes... and since it didn't work last time she felt she should try something else... she gave me the choice between two drugs, one of which can cause weak tendons in some cases people have ruptured their Achilles ... and I forget the side effects of the other, which sounded worse... so I opted for the tendon weakening medicine... she told me to be careful when doing mundane tasks... telling me that one of her patients sprained a finger putting his wallet back into his pocket... So I asked her about exercise and she told me that sticking to cardio for the next few weeks is probably smart, that if I do weight training to do minimal weight and reps... I asked her about snowshoeing and she said I should be fine if I don't do any jarring movements... hmm... me... jarring movements? That means that she would expect that there is some grace associated with my athletic ability.  So I guess we'll see what happens...

I came home after my doctor's appointment and took the first pill and then laid down to rest... and fell asleep for about 4-5 hours... when I woke up my sinuses were very full and I tried to rest more... and later, close to midnight I guess... my sinuses hurt, not just the pressure I have felt in other sinus infections, but pain... and my eyes were watering like crazy... not sure I have experienced that before, where my eyes watered from full sinuses... seeking relief I got up, cursing the fact that there was nobody here to do it for me, and made myself some chicken soup... well ok so it was chicken ramen noodles... the closest thing to chicken soup I had here... hoping that the heat would help clear the sinuses... and  it helped a little, but the pain kept me awake for a while... but when I did go to sleep, I guess around 3 a.m. I slept and slept well, until about 10:00 this morning... I woke up being able to breathe through my nose more easily than I have in days... and part of me wonders if this was just a bad cold, something that rest would take care of or if it is something that requires medication... I will continue taking the medicine because I do not want to feel like I felt last night again...

I hate being sick.. I am a lousy patient... It's one of the few times I dislike being single and living alone...Because I have felt so crappy this week, my place is a disaster... and definitely don't have the energy today to clean... I do think, however, that I have the energy to go buy a humidifier... which I think will help me get through the rest of the winter...

The silver lining, if there is one... the cats are happy to have had me home so much this week... and I have managed to keep moving.. to keep up with the 100 day challenge... though the last couple of days has been miserable and has involved short periods of pacing after getting up to get a drink or do something else... and don't tell, but I miss it... miss walking around my neighborhood and the gym...

Oh... I ordered a couple of t shirts too... One says, "World's Tallest Leprechaun" and the other says, "Does this make me look short?"

Off to get a humidifier and some sinus meds (doc said keep taking the sinus OTC meds too...)
... unless I decide to take a nap first...