Posted by Katgirl on April 10, 2010, at 14:20:56
I have been sick with some sort of horrible virus for four weeks now.
I really depend on being able to exercise 4-6 times a week, stay on a sleep schedule and do something socially (however small) at LEAST once on the weekend to build my feelings of well being.
I actually decided to be kind to myself this time when I got sick, and take a full week off of work. (Normally I just try to work through anything because I don't have sick days and I always rationalize that I've worked through much worse so I should just suck it up and go. This, despite the fact that work pretty much exhausts me even when I'm not sick)
Unfortunately, this very sane and self affirming strategy totally back fired on me, because two days into my "staycation" I had new furniture delivered. The furniture smelled of chemicals and was apparently off gassing and making me sicker. (REALLY? Sometimes I think if I didn't have bad luck, I would have no luck at all. I finally decide to spring for real adult furniture after my divorce, and it poisons me).
I got the furniture out of my house, but rationalized that now I was just sick from the chemicals, not the virus. And since I'd already taken a whole week off, I went back to work (even though I felt like I was going to die because I was so exhausted and couldn't get a deep breath into my lungs.) Pretty much, if I wasn't at work I was in bed, ditto for the weekends.
Week three I finally went to the doctor, who gave me some antibiotics for a sinus infection and a steroid spray to open my lungs (which I can't take at the prescribed levels anyway). I kept working because I've pretty much always gotten better on a z-pac. I mentioned at the appointment that I felt so tired I was worried I had mono, but she said I was too old for that.
The antibiotics definitely improved my head congestion, but didn't get rid of it and my lungs are still shot. I have another doctors appoinment next week, but can't conceive of continuing to work like this. I'm losing track of whether this is my fourth or fifth weekend in bed. (And just in case you think I'm being an over reactive whimp, I was sick for four weeks last fall and never went to the doctor, because it just ran its course and I could see every week that I was getting better)
I am just so afraid if I don't start feeling better so that I can exercise and stop isolating I'm going to slide into a serious depression.
What is really distressing, is we have had a really early spring here (it was in the 70's in March, when we usually still have snow), which means I would have been out on my bike everyday if I wasn't sick. I LIVE for getting outside and exercsing in the fresh air, after a long winter of battling seasonal affective disorder.
Sometimes it just feels like I can't catch a break.
How long can a person stay sick?????????
poster:Katgirl
thread:942990
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20100305/msgs/942990.html