home sick

[dragonlady7]

Home sick from work today. Had a rough day yesterday-- around noon my skin started to hurt, my joints started to ache, I was twitchy and uncomfortable and kept shivering, and my throat was slightly sore-- the lymph nodes in my neck were swelling. I started having trouble breathing, but in the way I do, not my trachea tightening like most asthmatics, but the tiny airways in my lungs shutting down. I can breathe in and out as much as I want, can move a great volume of air in, but it doesn't go all the way in, and most of the gas exchange seems not to happen. I don't know if that's scientific, that's just what it feels like happens to me, and the doctor sort of confirmed it when I took my pulmonary function test-- she said my "little airways" were crap.

But every medicine she's prescribed me (we're on number three now) has been not covered by my insurance, and my samples ran out last week, so I spent yesterday afternoon panting, literally, for breath as I ran around at work. If I was still it wasn't so bad; I breathed fast, but not with any strain. But I was alone and it was busy-- one coworker took a 55-minute ("half hour") lunch, the other was 45 minutes late-- so I huffed and puffed and tried to be cheerful with customers and left work ten minutes late.

I had to sit quietly on the couch for a couple of hours when I got home, but I was so twitchy and uncomfortable, as if a fever were coming on (as it happened, it was) that I had to do something. So I set myself up and cut out a couple of pieces of canvas and painted canvas banners. I drew and filled in a unicorn puking rainbows, which is a design I've wanted to do for at least a year, and it came out pretty majestically, if I do say so myself. The paint dried overnight, and now I'm going to fill in some of the rainbow puke with embroidery, to make it "chunky" and extra fabulous. I also plan on beading it slightly, with some Swarovski crystals. This was all in my original plan. I promise, it's incredibly majestic.
I should sell these on Etsy.
I also started one of brass knuckles, which I'll try to finish today. It may need crystals too. I just need red paint. I woke last night at 2 am, and lay in bed until 4, whereupon I got up and painted a layer on the brass knuckles, then started embroidering the unicorn puke. I went back to bed at 7, waking Z up (that's about when he wakes up anyway); we were lying quietly in bed when the cat started puking on the floor at the bed's foot.
As we sat up to see what a mess she'd made, we noticed that next to the bed was the neatly-displayed corpse of a mouse. There'd been one in the house two days ago, and we didn't know if the cat had killed it-- she'd been hunting it, but she plays with her prey too much and often lets it escape. But this one was dead-- nary a mark on it, but little paws curled up in the air.
Chita didn't want to eat it, but that was just as well. While wild-caught prey has good nutrients in it, it also has gross parasites, so, we'll keep feeding her canned stuff, that's fine.

I am feeling much better; I slept from seven to 10, and called into work-- I'd already texted the boss and told him I was feeling really ill yesterday, so he expected it. I took ibuprofen around 5am and feel much better, much less achy and the swelling has gone down in my lymph nodes somewhat. (Still swollen. But not painfully so. If I can't turn my head easily I think that's a problem. I can turn my head now.)

I might venture out into the big world and buy red acrylic paint, which I don't have, and some more Swarovski crystals. I have a Michael's coupon. I can't be stopped. Unless I can. We'll see.

Comments

[kkatowll.livejournal.com]

I bow to your greatness to get so much creative stuff done while terribly ill. Maybe this is what your body has been saying to you all along: stop what you're doing and make something, or we'll hold you hostage til you do! :)

[dragonlady7.livejournal.com]

That'd be a great theory except I've been making stuff pretty much nonstop all summer. :/ I don't need my body to kick me in the pants!

[greenworldgirl.livejournal.com]

Hmmmm. Well, I don't know if you're aware or not, but there actually is a link (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090518213939.htm) between eczema and asthma, I don't know if your doctor mentioned that at all. The joint pain/fever may be also be related, it's not really clear how the immune system plays into this but doctors think there is a link. And incidentally, with hay fever as well. I know it's really hard to navigate what stuff is helpful and what stuff is bunk with natural remedies/diets type stuff, but you might want to try changing your diet by eliminating certain foods. I won't lie, it's pretty suck ass, but I've tried using diet to help control my rheumatoid arthritis and I have found it to be helpful. It's an enormous PITA to get started, is a time sink in terms of investigation, but in the end is cheaper than medication and addresses the underlying cause instead of masking symptoms. Just something to consider and I hope you feel better soon! I hate coming off sounding all...bossy, but I know from experience that I haven't received very useful or thorough information or really much information at all from doctors in the past, so I try to pass stuff along in case it is useful.

[dragonlady7.livejournal.com]

Doctors have mentioned a link between asthma and eczema-- whenever they take my medical history they always nod and hmm at that point. Never have said much useful about it, so I always appreciate the info, but at least acknowledged the link.
It turns out the current unpleasantness was indeed an allergy-- but it was an allergy to sulfa antibiotics, and I've since broken out in face-to-feet hives and been put on eighty different steroids and antihistamines.

Well, at least it was something straightforward.

[greenworldgirl.livejournal.com]

HOLY. SHIT. I hope you feel better, and never have to go through that one again.