In which she has a cold

[zeborah]

I'm now going to whine about a universal human experience as if it were mine, mine alone, and far more important than anything else in the world. Because that's what LiveJournal is for, right? Right.



So the sore throat thing, where the tonsils keep getting in the way of swallowing, that was annoying. The mild fever I didn't mind so much, partly because it makes for truly cracktastic dreams. Alas, I've forgotten them all now but they were cracktastic at the time. Otherwise it's been a fairly boring cold, and I would have gone back to work on Thursday if it weren't for my New Year's Resolution, based on past experiences, to always take off one day more than I think I need. So I would have gone back on Friday if it weren't for a colleague mentioning that they were planning for my absence and for the revelation, when I woke briefly in the night, that if a brief errand to the mall and reading Half a Crown could leave me as exhausted as it had, then probably I wasn't yet as well as I thought.

But, all in all, getting better. Except last night I reached the point where everything starts going downhill again: I got bored of drinking.

The thing is I don't normally drink much liquid. I make an effort when I'm sick: I keep juice in the pantry which I'm only allowed to drink when I'm sick, so that it's an interesting novelty; and then there's soup and so forth. But after three litres of apple juice and a can each of tomato and chicken soup, I'm bored again. Cordial? A glass each of two flavours cold, a glass each of two flavours warm, and I'm bored. Milk? Done that. Water? If I have to. Ginger beer? Not so much a treat as usual. Lemon and honey, hot chocolate? Way too much effort. Bored.

The other thing is that this is the point where the cold has travelled from my throat both south to settle in my chest and north to block up my nose.

Being fully hydrated would mean my nose would be less stuffy. If I could breathe through my nose, I wouldn't be losing so much moisture by breathing through my mouth. I never managed to get through more than a chapter of that "Catch 22" book, but clearly my dilemma is more dramatic than theirs.

No, seriously. Breathing through my mouth means not being able to get to sleep for an hour, and waking up quarter of an hour later. Rinse and repeat all bloody night, with interruptions for:

• Waking up in a blind panic at 2am because my mouth is so dry it's set like concrete, tongue and all, and I can't-- Well, once I'm *fully* awake I'm not sure what it was my half-awake self thought I couldn't do, but it was something as fundamental to human existence as breathing and it was pretty damn scary that I couldn't do it.
• Waking up at 6am exhausted because in my sleep I want to close my mouth but then I can't breathe and it takes my brain a moment to realise I need to open my mouth again, rinse and repeat every few seconds. (Dear immune system: sleep apnoea is not an effective weapon against viruses. I'm just sayin'.)
• Letting myself have a bit of a weep because yes, I'm that tired, and then suddenly thinking, "Oh damn. Weepiness -> mucous production -> not helping with the blocked nose thing."

Also I missed out the parts where:

• I'm also coughing, but that might partly be because oxygen-deprived sleep interferes with the training I've given myself to reach for the asthma inhaler when breathing through my lungs becomes awkward.
• I'm dutifully drinking cordial and necessarily going to the bathroom. Five times in an hour and a half. Shut up, this is LiveJournal, I'm allowed to say things like that.
• I'm having really cranky dreams. (Dear family: You were in several of my dreams last night and I feel you should apologise for the way you treated me in them. Especially the thing with the corn.)

Anyway. So about 6:30am I'm lying in bed thinking that I'd be more rested if I'd never gone to bed in the first place, and pondering alternative treatment methods. Like lots and lots of vodka. Probably wouldn't help the dehydration, but it might clear up the nose and, if not, it might make enduring it a bit more fun. Or that trick where you get a ballpoint pen and do a tracheotomy on yourself. I saw them do it on TV, I could totally do that.

And then about 7am the cat demands to be fed, or possibly to be strangled; she's being a little ambiguous on the point this morning.

And then about 7:30am the sun's coming up right and proper and I feel the need to unleash my petty torment and suffering on the world. Because this is LiveJournal and I can.

Dear world: Quit making me fight for my oxygen. That stuff's mine by rights I tell you.

Comments

[phaetonschariot.livejournal.com]

The corn was completely uncalled for, you're right.

Maybe I stole all of your penchant for liquid sustenance. I love drinking (and it's annoying that that verb implies alcohol without a qualifier).

[julesjones]

Not good for right now, since you're probably too zombified to do anything about it if you don't already have one -- but I have an electric steam inhaler I use for nights like that. I got it a decade ago when I got chronic sinusitis and needed *something* to clear my sinuses long enough to give me half an hour free of pain. It turned out to be very good at unbunging my nose during colds, and this year it also turned out to be good for dealing with with the dry persistent cough that was waking me up every half hour for weeks on end.

[jennygadget.livejournal.com]

:( I hope you feel better soon

[heleninwales.livejournal.com]

I hope you feel better soon. Not being able to breathe and sleep properly really sucks. :(

[zeborah]

I accept your gracious apology!

I have decided I shall crack open my aloe juice. Normally I save it for sore throats, but this time the sore throat passed before I got around to it. Clearly I am owed some aloe juice!

[zeborah]

Problem is this house gets damp enough as it is in winter; there's patches of mildew on window fittings and the bathroom ceiling that I really need to get rid of once my lungs are up to the chlorine. But still, I could definitely try a hot shower right before bed.

[zeborah]

Thanks! I managed to get a long nap this afternoon which was really nice. Then I woke up and the cat was looking at me wanting dinner. She seems to have cleared up that translation problem, because I got no vibes this time that she wanted to be strangled at all, so I gave it to her even though it was an hour early.

Current status: still sick, much less sleep-deprived.

[zeborah]

Oxygen and sleep are totally underrated. I slept for a few hours this afternoon and felt really good afterwards. Right until I got out of bed, anyway; but, fortified by sleep, I feel I can take on anything this petty virus can throw at me, haha! As long as I don't stand up too quickly.

[green-knight.livejournal.com]

I reccommend chili in large quantities. The addition of scotch bonnet peppers to whatever meal you are going to have (just remember that you don't want to handle them more than absolutely necessary and even with a cold you *don't* want to eat then raw) should help with the tonsils and the lack of air. At least, it tends to work for me,

Hope you feel better soon.

[zeborah]

I actually had a date with a friend on Friday night for Korean dinner and a concert; Korean food would have been fantastic, but I decided I really didn't want to spread this bug around so gave the concert ticket to someone else. (Sounds like the concert was fantastic too; ah well.)

Fortunately last night part of my nose cleared partway through the night, and then I slept straight through to 9.30am. And then I thought I'd make hot chocolate, and then while the water was boiling I thought I'd make pasta, and while the pasta was cooking I thought I'd do some dishes and eat a nectarine. I haven't done so much at once for *days*; it makes me hopeful I might be finally getting over this thing.