I know with all that's going on in Haiti right now, this title seems a little ridiculous (since this post isn't about Haiti). But, you know, hell comes in different flavors, and this particular one is rather mundane and locally grown.
At first it snuck up on me as a tickle in my throat. I didn't think anything of it until the tickle turned into gravelly pain the next day, and then became a full-on voice-changing frog.
But even that was okay. So I lost my voice again (I had just recovered from the same thing not 3 days ago). It sucked, but at least it seemed isolated to my throat area.
But I couldn't be more wrong. As my throat recovered, an ungodly fever began to boil within me and severe inflammation of my sinuses caused my entire head to feel like a pressure cooker. I felt exactly like the descriptions on the Nyquil ads "sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, fever."
What I would've given for some Nyquil.
Or any other OTC cold/flu medicine.
But alas, I have a certain, let's just say, "condition" that only allowed me to take some plain old tylenol, which did NOTHING for my sniffling, sneezing, coughing, and aching.
And brother, did I ever see the light. There is NO WAY you can sleep or even feel sane with a full-blown flu without some kind of nasal-decongestant. As they say in Jersey, fuhgettaboutit!
For about 48 hours as the flu raged on, I felt like road-kill. Left for dead on the freeway. Mouth-breathing my way through sleepless attempts at resting. Shifting my head from side to side to drain the stuffiness from one nostril to the other, only to find that once the nostril was clear, it was like breathing hellfire through the newly cleared nostril--you know what I mean? That hot, sharp, stinging air that makes you go right back to mouth-breathing.
I must have wiped my dripping nose at least 500 times in those 48-hours. And I discovered that Burt's Bees is just as good for chapped nostril skin as chapped lips!
Anyway, throw in some can't-touch-anything body-aches and vomiting and that about sums it up.
Let's just say I have a new found appreciation for modern cold medicine.
7 comments:
Hmmmm... wonder what that "condition" could be??? I can only think of one thing that would make me suffer through 2 days of hell with only Tylenol... (And I've actually DONE THAT!)
But I will hold off until official word comes through...
Hee hee, so you know of what I speak of! (in more ways than one) ;-)
You poor thing! I just had a sinus infection for 2-3 weeks, and when I had salmon colored mucous, I figured it was time to call my special doctor. She prescribed me a z-pak and all was well!
-Mandi
Wow, I didn't know muccous could be salmon colored! That's terrifying. What's a z-pak?
Awww, the sacrifices a woman makes...I'm sorry you had to go through what sounds like hell and I'm really glad you're feeling better.
Also, for what it's worth, I hate how other people having it worse obligates us to feel bad for feeling bad. Can't we just feel crappy without having guilt piled on top of it? The hardship of others doesn't make my life any better! I'm pretty darned sure it didn't make you any less nauseous or feverish either! Hmph.
I've been told Robitussin is allowed... in case you still have some symptoms! I had a flu thing too and I would take a hot steamy shower before bed to clear up the sinuses. I just had to make sure I fell asleep before the nose got plugged up again!
Oh! I JUST understood after reading Portia's comment!!! Ohhhh C, :( !!!!
But ... as all mommys say: worth it in the end! I can't wait to be an aunt!
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