Ever since I got back from Fencon I’ve come down with a really horrid crud…it started out with respiratory nastiness that hung on and on—this was late September, and I’m still coughing in the tail end of November. Then the eye trouble, first a general infection, which meds from the optometrist helped, then the iritis, which CAN apparently be due to an infection…and which has disrupted my work because I can’t see the screen clearly…
Well, ONE of the causes they give for iritis is infection…and I’m winding down on the last (pricey) med that they’ve given me, and have another appointment Monday…
And I start getting nasty headaches—hard to tell exactly where, but I’m beginning to suspect sinus headaches, which became more likely when you consider I haven’t been able to breathe out of one side of my nose for several weeks, and yesterday, being too sick even to get out of bed, because I was just out of it, well, ugh, got a small discharge that clearly says sinus infection, and maybe impacted sinuses. Oh joy. I’m so thrilled. OTOH, it may be what’s going on with the eye troubles. I’m having another really crappy day when writing is just not happening… Note to self: take the flu shot BEFORE going to fall conventions. I don’t know what I caught, but my smoke allergy, the long drive to and from Texas in the smoke, and then the respiratory crud and now the ongoing sinus issue, are all one neat package, in causality, I think. A combo of decongestant, saline, and Mucinex are giving some relief, but this is just not how I wanted to spend the fall, thank you very kindly.
And Jane, who has spent 4 weeks of constant work, 18 hour days, getting the files ready for a massive redownload, has discovered that even on a new server for these files, the program still won’t work. She is indescribably bummed.
Maybe you both need to step back some and make yourselves rest and recuperate? I know it’s probably not what you want to hear. You want to get things done, and budget and income say, do it now. But if both of you keep wearing yourselves out, you’re not going to get well any time soon. So it’s the holidays. Rest and give yourself time to heal up, at least for a few days, huh?
I have been frazzled, beside myself, for a long time now. I reached total flummoxed-out, impasse, on a couple of things that, really, I think I should be able to solve. And on the whole, my productivity is shot. I still am not sleeping consistently more than about four hours at a time, sometimes six if I’m lucky. Well, I got so frustrated and tired, I said, the heck with it. It’s Thanksgiving. At least from then until past this weekend, relax. Sleep extra, make yourself rest. Read, watch some video. Let your soul catch up with your body.
I did not realize how completely stressed out I still was, until I let myself or made myself sleep extra. Muscle tension, headaches, eye strain, severe fatigue, I thought were just my situation, still getting over things too. I thought it was depression, grieving, still not done. Well, not entirely, it turns out. It seems I was pushing myself, stressing, without even knowing it. I’d gotten so damn used to stress and pushing, that even if I was just spinning my wheels, I was still going to push and drive myself nuts with it all.
So when I started making myself rest, the day before Thanksgiving and to now, it’s making a difference. I’m feeling a little better, a little more like myself. So…I am going to have to make some permanent adjustments for a good while, to get back to optimal level. Not sure yet what I will change or to what degree, but…some things clearly have to give. I’m tired of being tired and frustrated, feeling bad, and not being productive. (Stasis or round robin with too little done on any one task, often.) If I have to let go of some things for a while and focus on others, then pick back up on the others later, well, so be it. ‘Cause something’s gotta give. This feels better and things before sure haven’t been working, it’s been…not like me, or not like the me I used to be. (But it’s been so long since that old me, well, I’ve gotta find a whole new me.)
Not saying that’s what’s going on with you or Jane, quite, but I think you both are putting so much on yourselves that you’re not taking the time you need to feel good, get better, and recharge your creative energy, or maybe even your basic selves.
Case in point: Jane has been enjoying the heck out of Wiishu and all. A little chance to play, wind down, and let off steam, and it’s clear she feels some better. Yet she’s still working herself silly. (I get the impression that’s Jane’s default mode, that somebody has to practically tie her down to get her to take it easy.) Quite possibly a certain other writer in residence is not as hyper, but is in her own way, also in need of someone there to tie her (you!) down and make you take it easy on yourself?
OSG or some other local friend could practice their knot-tying skills…. LOL. Pirate theme day?
OK, surely not literally, but she or others of your friends might be tempted. 🙂
Please take care of yourselves. — I get it, the sense you both have that you *must* get it all done to keep the boat going. (Oh, do I get it.) But… in my case, I haven’t been really accomplishing things like I want or need, and I have been a nervous wreck and hadn’t really understood why. I think, for me, it’s just beginning to dawn on me what to do to ease that some. (Note how back-and-forth and disjointed this is; symptomatic.)
So maybe you and Jane have something a little like that going on too? You feel so anxious to make things happen so you keep on schedule and make a living — that you’re making yourselves frantic and not feeling good, even to affecting your health, not only your creativity? For goodness sakes, take a break more often. Let yourselves rest and heal up. (Truth be told, you’re probably doing better at it than I am, but hey, it seems you two need some good advice from friends, so, well, I’ve opened my big mouth (keyboard).)
Anyway, here’s hoping you get to feeling better soon, CJ and Jane, so you can both enjoy the rest of the holiday season. :: hugs ::
(Yes, I have a mother hen mode, despite being a guy. 😉 )
Hey, guys can nurture! There’s no law says they can’t. In fact, the world would likely be a better, kinder place if more of ’em did.
Don’t know if it helps in any way, but just a quick shout-out about a (really)short review of ‘NetWalkers on my blig : http://readingandraytracing.blogspot.fr/2012/11/short-review-netwalkers-by-jane-fancher.html
Best wishes for a quick recovery, and maybe some rest. God knows “abused” metabolism is much less efficient, against diseases and productivity 😉
Thank you! And I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
Sounds like a more extreme version of my fall….
I was coughing for a month, and then came down with a ‘razors in the throat’ symptom, about which I Did Something ™. The pharmacist I spoke to mentioned that there was a ’40 Day Cough’ going around. Methinks I’d caught it, and hadn’t thought to do anything about because I ALWAYS cough for a month after a mild cold. Then I caught something else (the razors thing) and that woke my immune system up and it kicked both cruds out.
Maybe you caught the 40 Day Cough, and then got the other stuff dogpiling you because your immune system was already compromised. A sub-critical viral infection could explain away a lot of blah.
Oh, yeah. What BCS said about sleeping extra, too. Very nice. I recommend two days (in a row!) of forcing extra sleep, at least. Three by preference, to be sure you’re all caught up on any possible sleep debt!
Well, CJ, not to be redundant, but give goldenseal root a shot (make sure to take it with a hot beverage, like tea) and then, when you’re rid of the crud, dose up with friendly bacteria (which is killed by any antibiotic, goldenseal root included) in the form of a live culture yogurt or acidophilus, but try to get one with as many strains as possible. Last I heard they’d found more than 35 different kinds of friendly bacteria, so replacing as many of them as possible is optimal.
Like I said, you can muscle test ahead of taking any herb to see if you’re allergic or if it’s not good for you. Try it out on stuff you know first though, like try testing while holding an apple or some other healthy thing and then test while holding a package of artificial sweetener, or another substance you know your body can’t tolerate. You’ll see that your body will respond appropriately. Heck, to demonstrate even more convincingly, have Jane put something she knows you can or can’t tolerate in a box or envelope so you can’t see what it is, and then hold it and test that way. It’ll still be accurate.
When I do proxy muscle testing for you, I get that you can tolerate goldenseal root without any problem, but Jane should only use it if she is sick. Of course, it’s better to only use goldenseal root when needed anyway, since the effectiveness wanes after a couple weeks of ongoing usage. Since part of why it is so effective is that it triggers the body’s immune response, the body gets desensitized after a while and you need to take a break from it.
Oh, in fact, my sweetie had a sinus infection going on but didn’t mention it to me until I noticed he was getting headaches that lasted all day versus him getting a headache because he didn’t get enough caffeine. I’ve found that he doesn’t really ‘live’ in his body so it takes some effort on his part to notice physical symptoms whereas I notice things right away… it’s kinda funny really. I’ll ask him if his head still hurts, and he has to stop and think about it before he can answer.
Anyway, I had him do 3 or 4 doses of 2 capsules for the last day or two, and it’s gone completely now. I’ve had him take doses today to make sure to get any left over bacteria that might be lurking around, but he’s back to being headache and sinus draining free.
Since yours might be more embedded, you might want to take at least 3 caps 4 times a day until a day after your symptoms subside, and then make sure to do acidophilus, or you’ll probably just get sick again. I’ve read that it takes a year for your friendly bacteria to recover after a round of antibiotics if you don’t supplement them.
If any of the household are on antibiotics (human or feline) we always have plain no-fat yogurt with active cultures on hand and have a little (very little for the kitties) spaced between the antibiotics. It helps that a couple of them will lick it off a spoon but we have to stuff it in a couple of mouths as well.
Boy, can I sympathize! Just discovered that the junipers here in central Arizona are starting to wake up and polinate about 4 months early. Several years ago I figured out that decongestants don’t really do much for me — my sinuses swell like mad, which gives me screaming headaches, lots of pain and can cause impaction. Antihistamines help a lot (chlorotrimeton only) but decongestants don’t do diddly. Saline spray is your friend and so are those breath right strips! Mucinex is also a great choice. And when all else fails toss some brandy into your tea. You could be on to something with the eye infection being the cause of the sinus issues — had the reverse happen once; things do link up after all. So hope you feel better soon. And yeah you both need a few days to completely relax, destress and recharge.
Junipers, cedar, sage, Johnson grass, any grass, especially Pampas grass or anything with a plume or stalk, corn and wheat smut (mold that grows on the straw], oaks, elms, Korean spruce, most trees [oak is so bad I can’t even touch the raw wood], most large-bloom flowers, particularly lilies, molds, anything that CAN mold, ragweed and all its relatives, pigweed, chrysanthemums and all the aster family, gladioli, and most anything that produces pollen—are all on the list of things I don’t get along with. It’s a real pain. The only flowers I can bring inside are peonies (I get a free pass on those, so far) and roses. Which is a good thing. I like roses. It seems to go by families, ie, if I’m ok with one of a family, ok with the others, if not ok with one, not ok with the others. When I went through all that smoke, which would have involved trees, brush, sagebrush, ie, the whole landscape going up in flames, and days of it, I think it put the kibosh on my sinuses first and then it got to the eyes.
I see. Perhaps a nice cottage on Spitzbergen? 😉
I have occasionally thought that an ice floe might be lovely. I’m at least less allergic to pines, except when pollinating, and I’m pretty good up here in Spokane. Oklahoma was the worst place in the US for me, in terms of allergies, because all my worst ones cluster there…possibly what I was exposed to and sensitized to, but Oklahoma and all the Great Plains are pretty bad for grass-based allergies, and the constant 20 mph wind makes sure you get whatever’s in bloom. I wasn’t able to be outdoors much in Oklahoma: I spent whole seasons mostly under hepa-filtered air. Here, we spend a lot of time with the koi pond in the back yard.
A quick suggestion for your traveling woes. Have you ever considered taking an air purifier and running it from an inverter as you drive? It might cover a multitude of sins so to speak. Not to mention the salubrious effect a purifier might have on the infinite variety of institutional odors of dubious provenance which one encounters as a patron of the “hospitality” industry.
I hear you on the oak. A bank building I worked in was doing some remodeling in the lobby, part of which involved oak paneling — all those minute particles of sawdust in the air — I got the goo eye something fierce. And the mold — I suspect that’s why I react to penicillin and a couple other antibiotics. There has been a strain of pertussis (whooping cough) going around that apparently the DPT vaccine doesn’t cover — that’s what the “forty day cough” is. Good idea on the Mucinex. Mucus can become inspissated and really block things up. The secret to Mucinex is in drinking plenty of fluids with it, otherwise it can dehydrate you bigtime. Have you tried a Neti pot? Even an ear syringe filled with warm salt water not only helps sluice things out, but actually “toughens” the mucus membranes (that’s a large part of what the deal was with Victorian doctors prescribing their patients to go to the seashore to take the “sea air” as a medical treatment). Does inhaling steam help? If you can remember to breath in through the mouth and out through the nose, that would help too, the idea being to keep the crud and mucus going in one direction — down and out. And yes, your eyes use the same drainage system as the rest of your face — they drain into your sinuses. One of the functions of tears is to wash your eyes, and then go “down the drain.” This washes germs and such down into your sinuses, so it’s quite possible that’s where your sinus infection came from, or you could have had a smoldering infection all along and breathing the smoke and such caused it to flare up. Can you sleep propped up on pillows — that will help things drain too.
When was the last time the two of you hit the ice? Seems to me the last time I read anything about either of you skating was at least a double-hand of months ago. Heck, go to a batting cage and swing at the ball for a change, or go to a driving range and hit a bucket or 3, or anything to get the stress lifted, recharge the batteries, and distract the forebrain long enough to get the hindbrain back into synch.
Well, our coach retired, most of the gang quit the ice, and we’ve been either too stove in or too busy to go back. We went and paid our club membership for the year, and our locker fees, but we’re just not as active as we were. We wish, on one level, and we’re kind of iffy about going out there right now, because we’re out of shape—too much concentrated work on the e-site. But—we’re starting Atkins again: we physically feel better on it, Jane’s cholesterol is better on it, we’re never cold, we catch fewer things, and we lose weight on it. Whatever the wailing and moaning of certain folk who don’t like it or whose universe it upsets, there’s one lead-pipe cinch: extra weight, especially weight that keeps you from other activities, is far worse for your health than a few months of eating Atkins-style, given no unusual contraindications.
We just need to feel good about ourselves again. And the weight has got to come off. Period.
Definitely a believer in yoghurt.
I’m with Ben, rest. You have to just say chuck it and rest. Why? Because if you don’t your bodies will do it for you. Sounds like they’re already trying to do that and you’re not listening.
Darn tootin’. And for anyone who didn’t know, yes, I’m Ben. No secret, just that some probably only know me by BlueCatShip or BCS. 🙂
Doctor’s appointment noon tomorrow, and Lynn is taking over the database problem from Jane. We both look to sleep tonight. I don’t even have sheets on my bed tonight, they’re in the dryer, and I don’t have what it takes to recover them. My nightrobe and the comforter will be enough.
Me too. Well, not tomorrow, but as soon as I can schedule to once again aspirate a cyst at L4-L5 that’s pressing on a nerve root, causing hip/leg pain. Etodolac has been keeping the pain down, but I can’t stay on that.
Ugh. That sounds really painful: sooner the better, for relief! Go for it.
CJ, Jane, and Lynn, best of wishes to all three of you. Good, if Lynn can jump on the DB issue. I will be doing some (ugh) bill paying and such tomorrow, a couple of errands this week, but otherwise, I should be around home and online about like usual, though my hours are not regular or, uh, normal. 🙂 They’re normally abnormal. Or abnormally at my normal. Or, well, you get the idea.
One task will be to decide for sure this week if my audio issues with this laptop are resolvable, or if I’ll need to find another solution. This was one of the things that got me beyond frustrated, because it’s something I really want to do, whatever I do or don’t get upcoming. I want to do audio. It’s something I can do. So, sticking to it. I may be able to solve it with the new parts I got. But it may be that this laptop (or Windows 7 generally) and I just don’t get along for audio. I may end up switching to a Mac sooner than expected and despite that it really doesn’t fit in my budget. Why? Because I dang well want this, with or without any income from it yet. I’ve liked doing it and a few people have claimed I might be good at it, so…well, giving it that ole college try.
—–
My mom was an artist. If she wasn’t painting or doing something creative, she was *not* happy and right with the world. My grandmother was the kind who had artistic talent and didn’t think so. Hers went into cooking, decorating, all the skills of a homemaker, wife, mom, grandmother — and she was very independent and liberated, especially for her generation, despite also being a very traditional woman. My dad was a natural engineer. He could solve real-world problems, see those things in his head and make them a reality. Dang, I wish I had that kind of talent. He was creative too. Also, he loved a few things more in the “liberal arts” area, like history. Myself, if I don’t do something creative, draw or write or other things, I get to be hard to live with…even for myself. I get the drive to do, to make, to keep the household going. (I went into serious overdrive and have been stalled out for a good while, but yet frantic and going at things in spurts.)
So though my situation’s very different, I can empathize with how you and Jane feel. — But I also know, if you don’t ease up on yourselves, you’ll get so discombobulated, you’ll either be a mess creatively or get sick (or sicker than at present).
Relax. Sleep, though it goes against your urge to get everything done right this instant or your worries about making a living. You need to rest and relax some, for bodily health and spiritual and creative health. Do some things to have fun. That sense of play gives your creative juices room to run around and try new things, to get excited and able to really go at it again. And…you’re bound to know that, you’ve been at this a while. So listen to yourselves, your bodies and minds and spirits, and hey, take enough time out of your day that you get that vital time to rebuild. Then when you’re feeling better, and are well, you can really go at it with the keyboards. And yes, keep a notebook and audio recorder handy for notes when inspiration strikes, of course.
OK, I’ve given the standard lecture a couple of times, I’d better hush before it gets tiresome. (Too late, huh?) 😉
I sure hope you get to feeling better. I won’t be surprised if the doc or if OSG give you a similar lecture. They *know* you and live right around there.
:: hugs ::
Oh — I haven’t forgotten the surprise post I mentioned around Thanksgiving, but discussions here and on Jane’s blog have been going strong, so I didn’t want to go tangent with that. Tomorrow or the next day though. I think you may get a charge out of it. (Inspired by an item in an anime.)
brennan, not a bad idea: we have some good ones, but I’d worry about the power draw: they’re Truman cells. I’ll research them for autos.
With such a limited volume to purify, you may be able to get by with a very small or less capable one, especially if you can limit the outside air exchange rate.
also, if the Forester has a built-in cabin filter, check to see if it’s getting to the point where it needs to be changed. I looked in the repair manual for my car to see where that thing was located….sheesh, you have to take out the glove compartment and get behind it to access the filter. But, it might make a difference if yours needs to be changed.
I can sympathize with all of you who have allergies, but not empathize. I have no idea what it’s like to have allergies, since I have none known. I have drug intolerances, as well as some food intolerances, but those aren’t the same thing. I don’t break out in hives, or swell up like a balloon. I do have a couple of epipens, though, for working around the beehives. When I was stationed in San Diego, my ex- discovered that she was allergic to eucalyptus. What do you suppose grows all around San Diego, especially at Balboa Park and the zoo? Uh-huh!
It’s a good point, Joe: our beloved ‘Tivo (named after the horse in El Dorado, not the TV recorder) is at about 120,000 miles and has been through some Events. Eucalyptus—yep. I could not live in Australia near them, nor in California. If a bouquet has eucalyptus in it—it’s gotta go or somebody else has got to figure how to remove it. I can tolerate even chrysanthemums for an hour or so—but eucalyptus is nearly an instant reaction. A garden is a great pleasure—because I can admire things I can’t bring inside—but eucalyptus thank goodness will not grow here! That and Russian Olive!
I’ve lots of allergies which show up on at least 2 continents. But not the eucalypts or the acacias. That would have been just fun rowing up in Australia.