Tag: cold

Tired of Being Sick, Sick of Being Tired

I’ve been sick for over a week.  Without getting too graphic, I’ve been having sinus trouble that’s been causing me to have a nasty cough.    There are times during the day when I stop coughing for a few hours, and I think that I’m getting better, but it hasn’t lasted.  I’ve tried everything that I can think of to try to cure my problem, or at least bring me relief.  Some things help for a short time, but nothing has been permanent, obviously.

I’m a fan of herbal and home remedies, if you have’t noticed.  I’d rather use something natural or chemical-free to fix my ailments, whenever possible.  So, I’ve been using a plethora of products and methods.   I have some herbal drops that I’ve been using to make tea, things with names like “Sinus & Lung Blaster.”   I also sat the other night with my head hanging over a bowl of boiled water with eucalyptus oil under a mini-tent created by a sarong.   Yes, I’ve been using the neti pot.  And when all else has failed, I’ve even taken Mucinex.   The thing is, unless I’m constantly drinking some beverage or other, sooner or later the stuff from my sinuses that’s ending up in my throat makes me cough.  I’m well hydrated.

The other thing that stops the coughing is being asleep.  I’m not having any trouble with being tired; I’m exhausted from all the coughing and running to the bathroom to return all the water and tea I’ve been drinking.  The problem is balancing my desire for relief from both the coughing and the exhaustion with my previous and well documented insomnia problems.

This evening, I screwed up.  I just couldn’t help it, and I couldn’t take it anymore.  As soon as I got home from work, I went straight to bed.   I really couldn’t help it, though.  And it was delicious.  I slept so good, and I wasn’t coughing.  Even when I woke up, for a little while, I just laid there, and felt better than I’ve felt in over a week.  Mr. Darcy, my cat, even came and laid next to me and purred for a little while I scratched behind his ears.  It was cozy, and nice, and everything good.

The problem is, I only slept for three hours.  And now here it is, 1 a.m. and I’m awake.

Because as an insomniac, the last thing I should ever do is take a nap after work, or nap for longer than 25 minutes ever. And I know this.  And I did it anyway.

I should be going to bed every night at the same time, and getting up in the morning at the same time.  I should follow the same routine every night before bed.  I should never sit on my bed, or do anything on my bed, except for bed stuff.   I should avoid caffeine after three in the afternoon.   I should never drink alcohol.   I know how helpful sleep medication can be, but habit forming, and I know the pitfalls of relying on them.   I know that vanilla, chamomile, and lavender can make you drowsy.  I know to turn off my electronics at least half an hour before I try to go to sleep.

I know all these rules.  I live by these rules.  I know the consequences of not following these rules.  I also know the effects of sleep deprivation all too well.  And I know there’s less of a chance that my immune system will be able to evict whatever is causing this sinus problem without proper sleep.  In short, I know better.

But god damn was that nap worth it!

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go pee for the 500th time today, and then I’m going to try to find something really boring to read.

Just sayin’.

 

Brrrrr!

That was an exceptionally cold night at the ballpark last night. Tim Lincecum on the mound, sadly got his first loss of the season. I’m pretty sure that ump blew that call on the balk, but it’s hard to tell from the center field bleachers, you know. It’s all OK, though, because at least I got to go to the game. Also, I got to yell at some Dodgers’ fans. Seriously, the Giants were playing the Rockies. Where’d the Dodger-blues come from? AB got a kick out of some of my random baseball utterances. “Run you slow slow slow . . . .little man!”

You know what’s really hard? Sending text messages when you hands are frozen solid. But I managed, and I have to say, I’m becoming much more of a fan of text messaging and picture mail. Especially when I get random ones in the middle of the night that make absolutely no sense from what I can only assume are very drunk friends. I hope some day to get one that is actually important, something along the lines of “water broke. baby coming.”

Anyway, by the time the game was over, my feet were completely numb. It’s so weird to walk around like that, and to have to assume that you’re touching the ground. When I got home, I went right into the shower to try to warm up. Went to bed around midnight. Woke up at 1:35 by random text messages. Two within a minute from two different friends. Then continued waking myself up every other hour for no apparent reason all night long.

I’m tired. I’m crabby. My throat is a little sore from the hollering.

Monday I’m going to an A’s game. Crazy.

Gym Motivation

I thought of a new reason to go to the gym today. I’m not cold at the gym. Working out warms me up like it’s summer. Almost like it’s summer in the central valley.

The thing is, I hate winter. I hate chills, shivering, and I absolutely abhor goose bumps. I hate cold that I can’t escape. Lately, there’s no escaping cold.

It’s unusually cold in California this week. I think the high in Oakland was 47. That’s usually the low. I’ve said before that I think 70 is my personal minimum. Maybe 68. I could deal with a day like today every once in a while, but it’s been two days already, and I think tomorrow will be more of the same. Plus rain. The only thing worse than bitterly cold is bitterly cold and wet.

On top of the cold outside, the heat in the office is lame. Someone from my office calls the maintenance dude every day. I sit on my hands. I take off my shoes and sit on my feet. I wear sweaters over my sweaters. I wear my coat. It’s just ridiculous. It’s inhumane. I’m about to call my boss in New York and tell him that if nothing can be done to fix the heat, then I’m going to insist on working from home. It’s that bad.

So, in the midst of the hellish coldness, it occurred to me that if I was on the elliptical, I wouldn’t be cold. So for the rest of the week, the gym is my blanket. My calorie burning, thigh toning blanket.