Friday, August 22, 2014

Under the weather

I've been fighting some cold symptoms this week.

Things started turning sour on Sunday. It was unseasonably cold that day and my throat began feeling a little raw. I knew it was a bad sign. I usually avoid taking medication at all costs, but I have heard that if you feel a cold coming on it's best to try to attack it early. Reluctantly I choked down some Alka Seltzer Plus Night Cold Formula (yuck).

"Plop, plop, fizz, fizz..."

The "night" part worked right away. Within minutes I was having trouble keeping my eyes open. I went to bed, hoping that I'd be back to normal the next morning.

When I woke up, I most certainly did NOT feel better. My throat was aching and it hurt to swallow or to talk. I also felt lethargic all around. I considered calling in to work and trying to work from home. It was a 50/50 proposition for me.

I didn't really want to call in. In general I try to save that for the days when I am really, REALLY sick. Adam suggested having something to eat and taking a hot shower. I did both and felt better, so I decided to suck it up and go in.

It wasn't the best day, though, of course. And it hasn't been the best week.

Wah! Wah! Wah!

I very rarely get sick so I'm not used to this. It's been frustrating trying to go about my days despite a stuffy nose, sore throat, periodic headache, occasional loss of appetite (VERY unusual for me), and just feeling blugh all around.

On a half-joking note, ice cream has never been so appealing. I had a bowl of chocolate ice cream last night to help calm my sore throat. It was all I could do to stop myself from turning the ice cream into dinner.


From the exercise front, I've heard many times that you can still work out if your symptoms are neck-level or above. Here is how things went for me this week:

  • Monday - I stubbornly dragged myself to my favorite yoga sculpt class. It ended up being taught by a substitute teacher that day who completely changed things up. I was craving familiarity so I wasn't thrilled. Bad timing.
  • Tuesday - I had signed up to take an introductory boxing class. I did enjoy the session, but afterwards my arms and back were KILLER sore. Again, bad timing when under the weather. Even today I am still feeling some lingering soreness. As the name implies, the class involved lots of punching, bobbing, and weaving. It also involved a lot of jump-rope drills. Flashback to my childhood days on the playground. It's been easily 20 years since I've jumped rope so it was awkwardly challenging to lope around.

  • Wednesday - I was signed up for a bikram yoga class and debated all day long whether or not to go. Ultimately, the thought of 90 minutes of yoga in 104 degrees Fahrenheit/40% humidity was too much and I ended up cancelling. Instead, after work I Divvy'd around to do some errands (by the way, big thumbs up on the Divvy bike share program!) I felt okay while riding around, and was actually enjoying the fresh evening air. When I got home, though, my throat let me know otherwise.
  • Thursday - I did 3 very slow miles on the treadmill. After not running for four days, it actually felt pretty good. But afterwards, I regressed. Time for round two of the Alka Seltzer. (This time I tried to drink it quickly so as to minimize actually tasting it. While that did work, the accompanying quick intake of carbonation ended up being unsettling to my stomach. Blech.)
  • Today - My original plan was to run 10 miles after work. I am running the Disneyland Half Marathon next weekend, and the last time I did a double-digit run was the weekend of August 8. I'll be in Michigan tomorrow and Sunday, and I don't anticipate having much time this weekend to get in a long run. Therefore, today was supposed to be the day. But between still not feeling 100% right now, and the weather forecast being unfriendly (thunderstorms), I'd say my long run odds are exactly zero.

I read up on how long it usually takes for the common cold to dissipate. Most reports say between 7-14 days. When I first saw that, I was incredulous. One to two WEEKS? Sadly it seems like my body is moving right in tandem with that timeframe. The recovery can't happen fast enough, but apparently I have at least another few days to get through.



Thou shalt never take thy health for granted ever again.

23 comments:

  1. Hey, twinzies! I've been sick all week, too! Started with that tell-tale scratch in the back of my throat last Thursday and quickly devolved into a cough by Sunday (so I, unlike you, was not allowed to run this week. Hooray for accidental SUPER DUPER cutback weeks. Haha.). I get colds usually a couple times per year, and I was just coming off being STRESSED. OUT. due to my move, so it wasn't surprising, but the timing sure was inconvenient. As if there's ever a convenient time to be sick! I do wish colds wouldn't last so long, though. I prefer a cold to the stomach flu because colds, in general, don't make me feel quite as overall miserable/close to death, but the one thing I will give the stomach flu is that it least it's usually completely gone in 48 hours or so, whereas I'm still sniffling over here (but have improved substantially!).

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    1. Bethany, nooooo! Not you too!! I really do think that something has been going around. A ton of my coworkers have also been dealing with cold symptoms and they've all said that medication hasn't really helped them, either. And oh gosh, for you to be feeling under the weather while you were trying to move? TERRIBLE timing. Thank god again for movers!

      YES on colds lasting so agonizingly long. It's basically a long, slow death process for those cold viruses, apparently. And I've had a couple bouts of stomach flu and while they are AWFUL, at least they don't give you any gray area on whether or not to go into the office, right?

      I wish you a speedy recovery and I hope that you are settling in well to your new place!

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    2. Same thing here ladies! I've retreated to my couch this weekend and am hoping extra sleep/veggies/soup will help me feel better for Monday!

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    3. Katie! NOOOO! It really does sound like the bug is going all around. =( I wish you a speedy recovery and I hope the extra sleep, veggies, and soup have you back to 100% today!!!

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  2. Ugh! I had the flu (or something) just over two weeks ago now. What's up with getting sick PRIOR to cold and flu season?! BLECH! My only hope is that we're now immune and wont' get sick once the really bad stuff starts circulating... *knocks on wood*

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    1. Natalie! That sucks that you got hit, too. =( I am glad that you are now recovered. When does cold and flu season technically begin? I have never gotten a flu shot but I know that they'll be hawking them soon enough. Fingers crossed that we got ours over and done with early, too!!! *Not just knocking, but POUNDING on wood*!!!

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  3. Sorry to hear about your cold/flu! Yes, sadly it does take me 10 to 14 days until I am feeling closer to 100%, and sadly there is not a lot I can do to speed up the recovery time. Anyway, glad that Divvy is working out for you and good luck with your half marathon training!

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    1. Appreciate the sympathy, Pete! 10-14 days seems like an eternity when we've got training schedules to adhere to, doesn't it? I hope your Chicago training is going better this week now that you have ended last week's cutback!!!

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  4. Feel better soon!! Yes unfortunately is does take that long to fight it off (sometimes longer) since you just have to let it run its course. Get lots of rest and fluids! Cold and flu season I would say usually starts around Nov but generally hits really hard December/ January. Of course there are no official dates but thats when we see the most antibiotics/tamiflu prescriptions. and yes flu shots are already out and people are starting to get them :) See you in a week!

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    1. Thanks, Kayla! I appreciate your pharmacist expertise since you probably deal with thousands of common cold cases! For some reason I thought cold/flu season started a bit earlier (maybe because I've been dealing with it now), but it certainly makes sense that it would hit the hardest during the coldest winter months. But let's not think that far ahead. =)

      See you in Anaheim this weekend!!!

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    2. It definitely does start hitting earlier than what I mentioned but that's generally when its at its worst. I know there a lot of stuff going right now in my neck of the woods so you're definitely not alone!

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    3. It must be a challenge for pharmacists to stay healthy when so many of your customers are dealing with ailments during your consultations!

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  5. Have you tried the Emergen-C drink mix? That seems to really work for me. And my fiance swears by taking extra vitamin C tablets every morning, and he hasn't been sick in years. Either way, feel better soon!

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    1. Thanks for the well wishes, Mo, and ooooh, thanks for the tip on the Emergen-C! One of my coworkers has mentioned it in passing (I think she carries them around in her purse with her) and I am a huge believer in Vitamin C, in general. Orange juice is great but when fighting a cold, something stronger is definitely in order!

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  6. Colds are the worst! I remember as a kid thinking it'd be so fun to be sick and stay at home all day. But when you are legit sick? It just sucks. I hope you're well on the mend by now!

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    1. Thanks, Amy! Yes - as a child, it sounded nice to stay home and have mom take care of you all day long. But as an adult, when you've got other things to tend to, it's not always in the cards to stay home. =( And being really sick is the WORST!

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  7. Booo sorry to hear you're feeling this way! Colds/flu always seem to linger for weeks, at least that's the case with me. I'm gonna sound like a holistic hipster but drinking potent green juices (i.e. from a juice maker not a blender) with ginger and lemon mixed in seemed to help mellow out my symptoms last time I struggled with a cold. Feel better dear!

    -Irina

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    1. Appreciate the sympathy, Irina! Yes, I generally get to about 99.9% healthy, but then have the tiniest nagging symptoms that last for weeks afterwards. I am all about holistic remedies (I hate taking medication because I don't like all those chemicals) so drinking green juices with ginger and lemon sound like a great remedy! I need to get a real juice maker...!

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  8. I swear by Emergen-C. I take that as soon as I feel the slight sign of a cold. I have some at home and at school. :-)

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    1. Thanks Zenaida! Lots of votes for Emergen-C, I'll definitely have to go pick some up and carry it around with me. I can imagine that you must deal with a lot of exposure since you are a teacher, too!

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  9. Get well soon! It must be frustrating for you to be immobile while you're sick. You seem to be trying out different exercise routines for the past week. Hopefully that doesn't strain you too much if you're still recovering. As a boxing person, that feeling of soreness means you've accomplished a lot. I hope you can try it out after you're well. Take care!

    Barbara Cales @ Legends Boxing Gym

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    1. Thanks Barbara! Being immobile is the WORST. It's always a battle between trying to stay active enough to feel better versus being so active that you make recovery even tougher, you know? And I am definitely looking forward to doing more boxing workouts in the future. I have a lot more respect now for championship boxers because I had no idea that boxing was so strenuous! They make it look easy on TV. =D

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