I Am So Tired Of Being Sick

[Fierce Critter]

So, I came down with a cold the week before Christmas. Ordinarily, colds last about 4 days for me. They're usually pretty severe, due to my legendary massive sinuses. But still, I usually kick them after 4 days, 5 tops.

But I didn't really recover from that cold until the end of last week. Which is unheard of for me. Jon thinks it was some kind of superbug.

And then over the past week, I got an allergy attack that either a) is getting worse or b) has now been joined by yet another cold. Stuffy yet runny nose, scratchy semi-sore throat, sore slightly swollen glands, etc.

I can't figure it out.

I'm sure that the allergy part is due to the fact that I haven't been on my correct allergy meds for over 2 months now. I'm supposed to be taking Singulair together with over-the-counter loratadine (Claratin). But with Jon still on the first 90 days, we won't have prescription or health insurance coverage until either the very end of January or beginning of February. Singulair alone is about $130 for 30 tablets. We've got several other meds we have to keep filling out of our own pockets that total to over $375 a month.

So I've been taking Zyrtec instead, thanks to a great friend who filled her own 'scrip on my behalf. Zyrtec used to work for me. But there was a shift in body chemistry and it stopped working a few years ago, that's when I switched to Singulair. Still, I'm sure it's at least doing something. I have 12 cats, and I am allergic to cats. When I'm on the right meds, they don't affect me at all. With the Zyrtec, I'm at least not having problems with my eyes or itchy body reactions. But the dander and all is certainly the major part of what's giving me the stuffy-yet-runny nose, the sneezing, the overall misery.

Gads, I am so sick of being sick! I've gone through countless boxes of Puffs Plus tissues - usually a major savior of my nose and upper lip which at this point is shredded & red since I've had to switch to toilet paper due to being broke until Thursday.

I can't breathe right, and it's making me weary constantly. I don't get much sleep due to having a major difficulty mouth-breathing at night, and so I'm feeling exhausted. I'm relying on a booster dosage of Benadryl at night, which helps with the allergies a bit, but makes my sleep overly deep and makes me groggy when I wake. And I'm not waking until after 2:00 in the afternoon.

I want to have energy again. I want to get out and see people. I'm tired of missing parties, the club, shit - even just cleaning the goddamned house!.

I know, I know - I don't have any of the major illnesses or diseases so many DGN'ers suffer from like cancer, fibromyalgia, etc. And I don't compare my personal problem with them. Everything is relative, and for me, it is insane to be this chronically ill for so long.

Wheeze. Sneeze. Whine.

[Steven]

garlic like a muthatfukkah.

and chiles.

and lemons.

in soups. lots of all of the above, in soups. builds your resistance, cleans your blood.

[Homicidalheathen]

...You don't smoke and your this sick??

Maybe its the cats I hate to say.

[jadnifer]

I know that this may seem like a weird question...but do you still have your tonsils???

[Fierce Critter]

...You don't smoke and your this sick??

Maybe its the cats I hate to say.

Yeah - I already said above that it's probably really made bad by my cat allergy. But ask me if I'm going to get rid of any of them. No, but I'll be really happy when I can start taking Singulair again.

Jadnifer - had 'em out when I was 7.

Steven - I am so fucking sick of soup. I have been souped to death for going on a month now. I'm still eating homemade chicken soup, but I've really grown tired of it. And ordinarily, I'm a major soup fan. All I freaking want is STEAK!!! lol

[Homicidalheathen]

Have you tried any wholistic remedies for allergies.....I hear the vinegar and honey thing in water once a day works.....it has to be organic and unfiltered. It took a year but it helped me with some other stuff.

[Nienna]

I'm right there with you. I swear I'v ebeen half sick since Thanksgiving.

[Tryp]

I feel you on feeling sick. I feel sick everyday...

Reasons I can't say why though...

[Steven]

Yeah - I already said above that it's probably really made bad by my cat allergy. But ask me if I'm going to get rid of any of them. No, but I'll be really happy when I can start taking Singulair again.

Jadnifer - had 'em out when I was 7.

Steven - I am so fucking sick of soup. I have been souped to death for going on a month now. I'm still eating homemade chicken soup, but I've really grown tired of it. And ordinarily, I'm a major soup fan. All I freaking want is STEAK!!! lol

get a steak.

cut it up.

put in soup.

with chiles

garlic likea muthafukkah

an lemon or lime.

everybody happy now

[sass_in_the_pants]

When I was pregnant, I got sick and I am like never, ever, ever sick.

Ever.

I was sick for nearly a month!

I don't think I was sick for a month in my entire life.

And you know what doctors let you have for illness when you're pregnant?

Tea.

Effing TEA!

What in God's name am I supposed to do with tea? Seriously.

Have you ever considered allergy shots?

Edited to add: Superbug...heh...it's a bird, it's a plane, no it's SUPERBUG!

I'm just picturing a little virus with a litte cape and little superpowers. It makes me giggle.

[Fierce Critter]

From the age of probably 5 through my late teens, I tried allergy shots on and off. I don't mean I got a few, stopped, got one more, stopped. I mean I had them straight for years while a child, got off them, and then in my teens tried again for years. It didn't help.

To give you an idea of just how bad my allergies are... You don't start off your shots with the full doseage of what is basically a soup of all the things you're actually allergic to. The point is to get your body to get used to and stop being allergic to the things in the concoction. So they start you off small. A half a CC or so. And each week, they work you up.

By the time I had had enough of the round I went for in my teens, I was up to 4 shots per visit. My concoction was so complex and my reactions to them so severe, they had to split it up into 4 shots - 2 per arm. The reactions consisted of my arms swelling up, itching, and putting out "fingers" of swollen branches at the injection site.

This would have been the late 80's. Around then is when they started pushing pills rather than the injections. I started off with Seldane, which worked great. Then Seldane was taken off the market because the -D version of it interacted badly with something else. I went with Allegra, which didn't work as well. Then in the mid 90's, I got on Zyrtec, which was like a miracle. Like I said, I am allergic to cats. Prior to Zyrtec, if around a cat, my face would "explode" into itchy, teary eyes, sneezes, stuffy nose, and scratches would swell and itch and redden. On Zyrtec, I started accumulating my personal cat Pride, and things were great.

Long story short, my body chemistry took a shift and Zyrtec didn't work as well. Singulair ended up working great, though. And it's the Singulair I need to get back on.

Long, boring story, I know. But it's unfortunately one of the things that defines me. This is why I don't wear perfume, have a lot of difficulty around people who do wear perfume, smokers, etc. Whether or not I can deal with the reaction I'll have after a night at CC is sometimes a true determiner if I can/will go or not. (They say you aren't allergic to cigarette smoke, but can be "sensitive" to it. Well, I'm about as "sensitive" as you can get.)

[Rayne]

Long, boring story, I know. But it's unfortunately one of the things that defines me. This is why I don't wear perfume, have a lot of difficulty around people who do wear perfume, smokers, etc. Whether or not I can deal with the reaction I'll have after a night at CC is sometimes a true determiner if I can/will go or not. (They say you aren't allergic to cigarette smoke, but can be "sensitive" to it. Well, I'm about as "sensitive" as you can get.)

I'm the same way. I grew up with allergies, was on shots for most of my childhood, then back on them as a teen. Then off and on meds. Now I've pretty much given up on them. Anything sets me off a lot. Smoke, stuff in the air, cats, dust, even rain. I sneeze so much I start sneezing blood from my throat bleeding. I'm not kidding, I can sneeze for 20 minutes straight ... I reserve my Zyrtec for when I'm having a bad day or I know I'm going to come in contact with an allergen (I use it mostly on Sunday's when I'm at my parents - they both smoke - and come home to cat in my house from Phee's daughter). I keep Children's Benedryl Fast Melts (yes, Children's because those fast melt things work 10 times faster than the regular pills and it has dosing for adults) in my car for allergy attacks. I carry many inhalers ... (I have asthma on top of the allergies, so an allergy attack will often spiral into an asthma attack).

It sucks. The Zyrtec doesn't cure it, it doesn't make it go away ... but it does help. Since the new insurance doesn't cover the Zyrtec anymore, I have an appointment with my doctor next month I'm going to ask to be switched to Singular. My youngest son (who has both allergies and asthma like me) is doing wonderful on it.