The plague?

If it was, then be aware it “kinda lingers”

On Monday my sinuses felt swollen, crashing headache, ached all over, tired as hell. No appetite. Made a quiche, ate about three forkfuls and just turned over and went to sleep. Still dressed, light on, somehow didn’t end up with a careful of quiche.

[Note: I have a persistent cough, have had for years, a combination of post nasal drip (I think that’s what mom called it) and a decade of working with chemicals; and I also sleep badly waking up several times because my bloody brain just won’t switch itself off (it’s been like this most of my life).

Now, I didn’t think much of this because:

• I’m allergic to bloody everything. In the spring it is pollen. In the summer, different pollen. Late summer little bugs (flour mites?) hatch, wander around for a few days, them all die off (a spectacularly pointless existence if you ask me) and they shower microscopic hairs into the air, and in the autumn it’s mould spores and mushrooms. In the winter? I probably have a cold. So, yeah, my sinuses are always a mess. Luckily I’m not allergic to cat. But, my god, it’s hard to be in a room that a field mouse has been in recently, which is why cat…

• Headache? See above.

• On that Saturday I worked in the industrial washing up area, so having a whole different set of muscle pains wasn’t really a surprise.

• Tired? Been like that for a few weeks. About since the extra half hour and change to winter time (which happened more or less together).

The only anomaly there was the lack of appetite, but I put it down to just feeling like crap and wanting to go to sleep.

Tuesday, I felt a little better.
Wednesday, mostly okay.

I didn’t consider Covid because I had no fever, no new cough, my smell was impacted only in as much as my sinuses were acting up, and I could taste. In other words, none of the typical symptoms (as described on the British radio earlier during an advert break (hands…face…space… what is that, aimed at toddlers?).

On Friday, I learn that one of the guys was off having tested positive as an asymptomatic. And that got me thinking.

I’m not going to get tested (as far as I know, nobody else has) and given that I don’t rate my lungs (look how hard the flu last winter wiped me out), I have no intention of going anywhere near a place full of people who think they have this godforsaken illness.

However, I would be insanely happy if that was the virus and it just knocked me down for a few days.
But they’re not dropping like flies at work, so I’m guessing my work at disinfecting stuff was good and we didn’t all catch it. And what I suffered was just a gambit pileup.

But, still, makes a person wonder, doesn’t it?

I didn’t consider Covid because I had no fever, no new cough, my smell was impacted only in as much as my sinuses were acting up, and I could taste. In other words, none of the typical symptoms

Had a cough since sometime last year, went away with Covid
Tired, lethargic (like flu)
Fever (just like flu)
Hallucinations (I had this laptop screen that I couldn’t rid of, so I turned it off by pressing the hallucinatory off switch – pure logic there)
No sense of smell or taste (chilli – bland tasteless)
Muscle pains (pains in muscles I didn’t know I had, lasted for weeks)
Joint pains
Sudden onset of cataract in left, worsening of right – a good semi photographic memory and a habit of counting strange things helps you navigate.

what is that, aimed at toddlers?).

Boris fans, much the same mental age (might have over-estimated)

I’m not going to get tested

A properly done nasal swab feels like they are trying for a braincell sample but it clears your sinuses an absolute treat. Much rather do the blood sample, and I have needle phobia.
The other bit, throat swab, when properly done is so deep throat you’re lucky to not lose your lunch (I went before lunch)

And fun to come: vaccine. More needles.

Keep well, and use mouthwash because, guess what…

@ Rick

keep well and please keep an eye on your temperature, if you have fever for few days you should definitely contact your doctor at least!

Thanks. No fever, no loss of taste.

Had a very upset stomach last night, having eaten a quiche. It could be something as dumb as they changed the supplier of the flour in the base and that has a different pesticide in it.

So, yeah, twice I’ve been ill from the quiche, so it gets added to the list of stuff I cannot eat (along with orange juice, piémontaise salad, most ice cream, all alcohol, and a few dozen other things).

The common link? I’m guessing some sort of chemical. As I said, maybe a pesticide? I don’t know and it’s easier to stop eating stuff than engage in ghost hunts.

[suffice to say, this happening is sadly not unusual; I just wish it would stop happening at 2am as it’s been yet another night without sleep ¹ ]

¹ My boss noticed that I made my request for winter holiday days at 4am…

a good semi photographic memory and a habit of counting strange things helps you navigate.

You too? I have a habit of walking around at home with my eyes closed. Just so I know that I wouldn’t be totally lost if something happened. Well, would make Netflix a bit pointless I guess.

I’ve done it for years as my eyes are fairly photosensitive, so it’s no problem taking the furry for a little walk when I got home and have had a tea and at this time of year the sun has already set. I know she can see in the dark, and I’m not bad. Sometimes a take a torch though, as cat has yet to learn that cat and human cannot occupy the same spot at the same time.

chilli – bland tasteless

Whoa. You could have done a brilliant Danny Trejo impression and sat there gnawing on a jalapeño like it was no big deal (‘cos that’s just how badass you are…).

Much rather do the blood sample, and I have needle phobia.

Me too, the phobia that is ¹, but thanks for the tip. If a needle phobic would rather have a needle, the alternative doesn’t bear thinking about.

Keep well, and use mouthwash because, guess what…

Yeah, about that. There are two types of mouthwash. Ones with alcohol, and ones with hexocholorodine (or however you spell it). Guess which part of my anatomy tolerates neither ? 😪

¹ The main reason I avoid going to the dentist even though I really ought to – I’d rather live with toothaches than have pointy things stuck in me.

I’d rather live with toothaches than have pointy things stuck in me.

I’m needle phobic enough that I tolerate teeth being drilled in preference to having a needle in my face. I can just about manage needles in my arm, if I don’t look and the wielder of needles keeps up a distracting conversation. I don’t usually faint too badly.

When they put a cannula in my arm in preparation for putting my heart monitor in under general anesthetic, I congratulated the nurse on having put it in so gently that I’d barely noticed – and then went into vaso-vagal collapse… 60/35 BP and 36 pulse…

Compared to that, DavidS, yes, I do feel lucky. Vaso-vagal collapses are not funny, but so far I’ve always recovered from them and between them I’m pretty fit for my age (71). They only happen occasionally – sometimes just odd ones with years between them, sometimes three in a fortnight. Recovery enough to feel human again and out of danger usually takes between 15 and 40 minutes; recovery to feeling normal usually takes a day or two.

Don’t worry, DavidS. I mean it when I say I feel lucky compared to you. Being paraplegic is a different kettle of fish altogether, and strokes are likely to have long term consequences, whereas my episodes don’t – as long as I survive them! I’m absolutely fine 99% of the time, much fitter than most folks my age. Sooner or later I’ll die, obviously, possibly because of one of these episodes, but quite likely not. Cardiologist says a pacemaker would probably reduce the symptoms, but make little or no difference to my expectation of life – and I don’t fancy open chest surgery to put the wires into the heart, if it’s not actually a matter of life and death.

and I don’t fancy open chest surgery to put the wires into the heart, if it’s not actually a matter of life and death.

Its not open heart surgery. I actually have TWO pacemakers in me, one turned off, the other is the main active one. Thats a Long story. Its all done in about 30 mins while you are awake normally, under a local. You are normally in and out the same day.

The common link? I’m guessing some sort of chemical.

MSG ? Food colourant(s) – I was fine with Tartrazine, the “safe” replacement stuff gives me migraines

Whoa. You could have done a brilliant Danny Trejo impression and sat there gnawing on a jalapeño like it was no big deal

Ah, about that. The chilli was made with a few genuine items – could have been porridge oats for all I knew (well the textures different but) Besides, the jallies aren’t any great strength – they’re more about flavour, my rasta colleague has a nice source of good scotch bonnet peppers, again flavour but with real heat…

with hexocholorodine (or however you spell it)

Chlorhexidine would be the usable one, I believe hexachlorophene was given the heave-ho over a decade ago. Some nasty effects on the staff using it.

Its not open heart surgery.

I didn’t say it was. What it is is open chest surgery. They gave me a general anaesthetic to put in a heart monitor, for heaven’s sake, and that’s subcutaneous. The pacemaker is also subcutaneous, of course, but the wires go deeper than the monitor ones.

The reason they gave me a general anaesthetic is because they know that the thought of what they’re doing can be a problem, and while they could delay my op from the front of the morning’s queue to the back of the morning’s queue because putting the cannula in triggered an episode, they can’t do that if I start an episode in mid op. The reason they do it under local is because generals are risky – but not as risky as a vaso-vagal episode in mid op, especially in someone who’s had a few generals without problems before.