scary weekend sickness update
Apr. 3rd, 2008 10:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thereyougothenthis actually frightened me quite a lot. a mild bug caught from one of my kids has knocked me down really quite spectacularly. after sailing through and all that. this was scary, and a bit of a wake up call.
basically, i came down with Nico's tummy bug. i'm sorry to anyone that i said i would be at knitting on sunday. for a moment at about 3am i thought i should try and go downstairs and update LJ or send email, but the thought of probably having to crawl back up stairs put me off. and i didn't think bill would be happy to be woken up and asked to bring my laptop up.
and besides, i'm not sure i could have stayed out of the bathroom long enough to get the message across.
thank goodness we had the en suite installed. i would have had to sleep on the sofa if all we still had was the one downstairs bathroom.
i'm very glad my mum was here, sometimes having your mum as opposed to the au pair is just better, you know?
anyway, i was somewhere around 40 hours in my bed. the only other time that has ever happened in my life was when i ws in hospital after the surgery in october. and actually, i think the nurses probably made me get out of bed before 40 hours...
i did get up for a couple of hours on monday, but was unable to do anything other than lie on the sofa.
i thought the bug was gone, but it was back with a vengeance on monday night, and first thing tuesday Bill called the western for advice. the nurse asked me if anyone else in the house had anything, and i told her i was pretty sure i had caught it from Nico. "ok, so you've got infectious diarrhea" she says (you can practically see and hear the red alert signs, right?) so i was to get down to my GP for blood tests, and she very helpfully recommended that i ask for some Buscopan to help with the stomach cramps.
called the GP, where i'm ashamed to admit i don't even have to identify myself, they know me by my voice, and got an appt within the hour. managed to get dressed, but it took most of the hour. was actually seen by my usual GP and not the one the appt had been made with, which made me curious. turns out the western had phoned my surgery immediately after speaking to me. they are not going to let anyone try and slip through any nets. if i hadn't called the GP the sheriff's posse, or at least Doreen the receptionist would have been on to me pronto.
anyway, GP took many many minutes finding my vein, it's hard enough at the best of times, but i was pretty badly dehydrated. eventually i complained that it felt bruised where she was prodding, and she said it was where there were needle marks, so she took that as a good sign and stabbed me. got it first time. helluva bruise though, i don't think she'd feel proud if she saw it today, but really, she should be, getting blood out of me is hard, seriously dehydrated must have been murder.
was given a prescription for antibiotics and told to wait for the blood results, and also for the buscopan, which i could take straight away.
home to lie on the sofa some more. Bill had taken the whole day off work, so mum and i sat around and he and the boys went out to the library, since the weather was shite.
if i stood upright for more than a couple of minutes i got dizzy and had to lean on the wall. i think that was becasue i was pretty much weak with hunger. but hey, i've got reserves.
the nurse from the western phoned again to check that i had been to the GP and didn't have any other questions. sometimes it's actually quite nice to be followed up.
basically i spent the rest of the day lying around. barabara was collected from the airport, my mum was dropped off at her friends house, bill and the boys scavenged for some leftovers for tea. i had a butter sandwich. (butter sandwiches are N's favourite food in the whole wide world. well, maybe they come second to butter and mayonnaise sandwiches) actually, i should be more specific. i had a buttered morning roll. if you aren't in scotland, you won't know just how perfect a buttered morning roll is when you really really need comfort food. you can't get morning rolls anywhere else. they are the perfect food.
i think i mnaaged to knit a few stitches on my sock, but not many.
and then to bed. and a good night's sleep thanks to one of the dwindling supply of sleeping tablets.
yesterday i was better. i stayed in bed until late, had a good long part of the day to myself as Barbara took the boys to the playground for almost 3 hours, and my mum didn't turn up until about 2.
the doctor phoned to tell me that i didn't need to take the antibiotics. i can't quite remember the details because i forgot to write them down at the time, but my white count was "low" and she either said 2.1 or 2.5, but my neutrophils were fine.
i knit a lot on the sock yesterday. i managed to wedge myself into a mostly lying down but upright-enough-to-knit position on the sofa.
i stumbled around the garden picking all the available sprouting broccoli as my mum hovered nearby in case i toppled over.
i got up off the sofa again to cook dinner. for some people that would be a chore, but for me, if i don't cook for my family, it just feels wrong. it felt awful, on sunday, lying in my bed, not having *any idea* what my family were eating. i think it is control freakery, to be honest.
i also managed to eat the dinner. rather a lot of it. but not pudding.
my mum left at about 9, and that's the last time we see her for a while. she flew out this morning at 9, and i've just had a text saying she's landed at baltimore.
today i have mostly been lying around again. i managed a shower, which was a bonus. that was probably becasue Bill brought me tea and porridge in bed this morning. i wonder how long i can get him to keep that up?
he went to work but promised to come home in the afternoon and take us out. i didn't come downstairs until 11.30, when i got too bored to stay up there any longer. the boys were a little more unruly than the previous few days. barbara kept them occupied mostly so i was left on the sofa to finish my sock. she got their lunch into them. i had to go for an hour's proper lie down in my bed before i had enough energy to make a sandwich for myself. Bill got home just as i finished.
we went out with the boys bikes and a football and a frisbee, and they all played and ran around down near prestonpans. i sat in the car, started the second sock, and listened to more yarn harlot on CD.
i cooked most of dinner again, with some help from barbara, and then retired to the sofa.
i still get very lightheaded if i stay upright for long. i don't know how long that will last, but i can't really drive the car until i get over it. and i can't walk more than the length of the hall without needing to lean against a wall. i am effectively trapped at home for a while then. Bill really does need to spend a whole day at work tomorrow.
anyway, that's the story. i got a bacterial infection on chemo. i'm recovering. i still have almost 2 weeks to get back on form for my *last* chemo on 16 April.
and besides, i'm not sure i could have stayed out of the bathroom long enough to get the message across.
thank goodness we had the en suite installed. i would have had to sleep on the sofa if all we still had was the one downstairs bathroom.
i'm very glad my mum was here, sometimes having your mum as opposed to the au pair is just better, you know?
anyway, i was somewhere around 40 hours in my bed. the only other time that has ever happened in my life was when i ws in hospital after the surgery in october. and actually, i think the nurses probably made me get out of bed before 40 hours...
i did get up for a couple of hours on monday, but was unable to do anything other than lie on the sofa.
i thought the bug was gone, but it was back with a vengeance on monday night, and first thing tuesday Bill called the western for advice. the nurse asked me if anyone else in the house had anything, and i told her i was pretty sure i had caught it from Nico. "ok, so you've got infectious diarrhea" she says (you can practically see and hear the red alert signs, right?) so i was to get down to my GP for blood tests, and she very helpfully recommended that i ask for some Buscopan to help with the stomach cramps.
called the GP, where i'm ashamed to admit i don't even have to identify myself, they know me by my voice, and got an appt within the hour. managed to get dressed, but it took most of the hour. was actually seen by my usual GP and not the one the appt had been made with, which made me curious. turns out the western had phoned my surgery immediately after speaking to me. they are not going to let anyone try and slip through any nets. if i hadn't called the GP the sheriff's posse, or at least Doreen the receptionist would have been on to me pronto.
anyway, GP took many many minutes finding my vein, it's hard enough at the best of times, but i was pretty badly dehydrated. eventually i complained that it felt bruised where she was prodding, and she said it was where there were needle marks, so she took that as a good sign and stabbed me. got it first time. helluva bruise though, i don't think she'd feel proud if she saw it today, but really, she should be, getting blood out of me is hard, seriously dehydrated must have been murder.
was given a prescription for antibiotics and told to wait for the blood results, and also for the buscopan, which i could take straight away.
home to lie on the sofa some more. Bill had taken the whole day off work, so mum and i sat around and he and the boys went out to the library, since the weather was shite.
if i stood upright for more than a couple of minutes i got dizzy and had to lean on the wall. i think that was becasue i was pretty much weak with hunger. but hey, i've got reserves.
the nurse from the western phoned again to check that i had been to the GP and didn't have any other questions. sometimes it's actually quite nice to be followed up.
basically i spent the rest of the day lying around. barabara was collected from the airport, my mum was dropped off at her friends house, bill and the boys scavenged for some leftovers for tea. i had a butter sandwich. (butter sandwiches are N's favourite food in the whole wide world. well, maybe they come second to butter and mayonnaise sandwiches) actually, i should be more specific. i had a buttered morning roll. if you aren't in scotland, you won't know just how perfect a buttered morning roll is when you really really need comfort food. you can't get morning rolls anywhere else. they are the perfect food.
i think i mnaaged to knit a few stitches on my sock, but not many.
and then to bed. and a good night's sleep thanks to one of the dwindling supply of sleeping tablets.
yesterday i was better. i stayed in bed until late, had a good long part of the day to myself as Barbara took the boys to the playground for almost 3 hours, and my mum didn't turn up until about 2.
the doctor phoned to tell me that i didn't need to take the antibiotics. i can't quite remember the details because i forgot to write them down at the time, but my white count was "low" and she either said 2.1 or 2.5, but my neutrophils were fine.
i knit a lot on the sock yesterday. i managed to wedge myself into a mostly lying down but upright-enough-to-knit position on the sofa.
i stumbled around the garden picking all the available sprouting broccoli as my mum hovered nearby in case i toppled over.
i got up off the sofa again to cook dinner. for some people that would be a chore, but for me, if i don't cook for my family, it just feels wrong. it felt awful, on sunday, lying in my bed, not having *any idea* what my family were eating. i think it is control freakery, to be honest.
i also managed to eat the dinner. rather a lot of it. but not pudding.
my mum left at about 9, and that's the last time we see her for a while. she flew out this morning at 9, and i've just had a text saying she's landed at baltimore.
today i have mostly been lying around again. i managed a shower, which was a bonus. that was probably becasue Bill brought me tea and porridge in bed this morning. i wonder how long i can get him to keep that up?
he went to work but promised to come home in the afternoon and take us out. i didn't come downstairs until 11.30, when i got too bored to stay up there any longer. the boys were a little more unruly than the previous few days. barbara kept them occupied mostly so i was left on the sofa to finish my sock. she got their lunch into them. i had to go for an hour's proper lie down in my bed before i had enough energy to make a sandwich for myself. Bill got home just as i finished.
we went out with the boys bikes and a football and a frisbee, and they all played and ran around down near prestonpans. i sat in the car, started the second sock, and listened to more yarn harlot on CD.
i cooked most of dinner again, with some help from barbara, and then retired to the sofa.
i still get very lightheaded if i stay upright for long. i don't know how long that will last, but i can't really drive the car until i get over it. and i can't walk more than the length of the hall without needing to lean against a wall. i am effectively trapped at home for a while then. Bill really does need to spend a whole day at work tomorrow.
anyway, that's the story. i got a bacterial infection on chemo. i'm recovering. i still have almost 2 weeks to get back on form for my *last* chemo on 16 April.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-04-03 11:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-03 11:35 pm (UTC)anyway, i'll be fine, and i've escaped this one without too much damage either, i just seem to have the fates on my side.
it's made me very very grateful for my state of health, if that doesn't sound like a bloody stupid thing to say in my situation, but i think you know what it mean!
no subject
Date: 2008-04-04 05:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-04 09:14 am (UTC)I think we (= those of us who were aware you were planning to come to CK) assumed something had come up. Glad it wasn't THAT bad (relatively speaking).
no subject
Date: 2008-04-04 11:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-04 11:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-04 08:57 pm (UTC)