Tuesday 9 February 2016

Getting Ill When You're Chronically Ill


Last week I caught a cold. I hadn't had a cold since September and even then it was really only a sniffle exacerbated by flying with it which blocked my ears up for a week. Before that, I genuinely can't remember the last time I had a cold. Probably in 2014. 

Being chronically ill and picking up a bug is, like pretty much everything else, worse than if you aren't chronically ill. On top of your usual aches and pains and fatigue you now have bug aches and pains and fatigue which, believe it or not, feel different. 

I have Asthma and this cold ended up on my chest. I had a well-timed appointment with the Asthma nurse for my review scheduled, and she listened to my cough and my chest ("well you aren't wheezing" "I don't wheeze. I never have. I'm not a wheezer") looked me over and said "you seem sensible, I am going to give you a prescription for steroids and you can fill it if you think you need it""I don't need steroids" I scoffed (inwardly, because her assessment of my ability to make my own medical decisions was flattering) but I took the prescription anyway and, 9 hours, 2 naps and much coughing later, I caved and it was filled (not by me because I was too ill at that point to go to the pharmacy).

Coughing when you hurt means you hurt more. My shoulders hurt from Aqua Zumba (you'll hear about that at some point) the day before, but now the coughing made them hurt more. Part of my condition is struggling with sleep, and I struggled more. Most nights last week I averaged two hours a night sometime between 6.00 - 9.00am. I spent most of one day in bed and ended up with horrific leg aches from all the lying in one position. I struggle to concentrate when I'm tired and in pain, and adding a chest infection in there meant I struggled with that even more and spent a lot of time doing literally nothing (or trying to beat Level 65 on Two Dots - I still haven't managed it). 
I ended up back at the GP on Friday for more steroids and some antibiotics because this thing was apparently not shifting. 

I am a strong believer in treats when times are shit. I had choc chip pancakes with double cream (I know) for breakfast. I didn't go swimming because I was just Too Ill. I had one full-fat Coke instead of Diet and, for my aching legs, I had a hot bath with Lush stuff in it. I dragged myself, somewhat unwisely, into town and spent giftcards (thank you giftcard givers) on a ridiculously extravagant array of treats. I was still ill, I was still coughing in a way that made people check I wasn't dead afterwards and I was still taking Prednisolone for the first time since being a Fresher & going to the uni doctor with what turned out to be a chest infection I'd had for nearly a month. But I was ill with treats. And that's always better. Thankfully, I still have a National Book Token and a decent amount of Waterstones Loyalty points waiting to be cashed in next time I need such a treat. 



1 comment:

  1. I really hope you're feeling better now! It takes it out of you when you catch something, I have a infection at the moment and it's knocked me sideways!

    Hana | www.hanarosella.blogspot.co.uk ♥

    ReplyDelete