On The Mend...

I can finally say that I am starting to feel like myself. This past week I shivered, trembled, puked, coughed, gagged, sweat, sneezed, cried and just plain felt like crap. With a capital C that is.

I have allergies to dust and cat dander. Which is why I should NOT have FOUR cats nor put off dusting for more than a week. Summer isn't that bad, as the windows are open and the fresh air comes in. Winters can be brutal, with my forced hot air heat ducts blowing dust, fur, dander and Lord knows what else up into the house. The air is dry, and nosebleeds are common. A new humidifier is on the wish list-but until then, I deal with the scratchy throat, dry eyes and general miserable feeling daily.

Tuesday began like any other day, I blew my nose a few times, sneezed and got up and got ready for work. Usually for the first few hours my sinuses have to adjust to getting up and being in a different environment, so I will sneeze and sniffle and blow my nose for the first few hours until my nose gets it. Then I am fine for the rest of the day.

Tuesday I went home for lunch, and started to get the sniffles. Well, I really didn't think much of it, and continued back to work. During the afternoon the sniffles became postnasal drip, and a sore throat accompanied by a general feeling of feeling like shit. I knew I was in for something good-because by the end of the day I had every possible muscle aching (even ones I didn't know I had!) and just wanted to curl up in a ball and lie down.

Once I got home, I did exactly just that. But I couldn't sleep, the drip, the aches and the headache and fever kept me awake and miserable. I began to curse not so silently as I lie there, pissed because there would be no turkey dinner and no Black Friday shopping. I knew I was down and out for the count... and not bouncing back anytime soon.

Around 4 am I called my supervisor and left a message, saying I wouldn't be in. Thankfully, a few hours later I finally fell asleep-which is around the time that I normally get up to go to work. I took my temperature several times during the day, and got regular readings of 101-102. My mother wanted me to go to the ER, that was the LAST place I wanted to go if my immune system was already weakened.

Turkey Day came and went, as did Black Friday. Both days I spent huddled in my bed, with a wet facecloth over my eyes, trying to get some sleep. I did get up from time to time, when I couldn't breathe, and managed to read some blogs and enter some giveaways. But I just wasn't feeling it... and probably made tons of entry errors as I halfheartedly tried to get back to normal. Hubby, bless his heart, braved the BF crowds and went to Walmart to get me the $18 microwave. I always like to have a spare, so this will wait in a closet someplace until my present one dies.

Today I feel better-at least I can function although I still feel lazy and wiped out. The fever has gone away, and I am left with a bit of a dry, hacking cough. But I can live with that. I am not sure what I had--a virus, the seasonal flu or even H1N1. I can tell you it was much worse than the common cold, due to the fever and tremendous body aches. And I will probably feel wiped out for another week or so as my body begins its recovery.

I can only hope your holiday was better than mine... so far no one else has gotten ill, although my son did have a 24 hr virus which was quite a bit different from what I felt. (and knowing him, was probably more focused on his eating 3 different holiday meals with obscene amounts of hot sauce...I think his stomach said "Enough!" and refused to cooperate until he rid himself of some of that food, lol) In the meantime, the turkey is waiting until NEXT weekend, when we'll be celebrating Deja's birthday!