Category Archives: Health

Feeling Sick Just Isn’t Fun (or I Was Already Doing Nothing)

Posted on May 21, 2020 | Comments Off on Feeling Sick Just Isn’t Fun (or I Was Already Doing Nothing)

When I was put on antibiotics after my visit to urgent care, I was very grateful because I did want my leg to feel better. And I’m glad to say that now, I’m almost totally better. I knew it wouldn’t be completely fixed by the antibiotics because I do still have an autoimmune disease and the flare is brought on by that. But now, it’s what a normal flare is like for me and not something that is causing me intense pain or issues trying to walk.

This was only the second time I went on antibiotics for my autoimmune disease. I know that it can almost seem like a miracle cure because it does help a lot. The other time I was on antibiotics, I wasn’t having a bad flare. But my old dermatologist wanted to see what would happen. I went along with it, but I knew that it probably wasn’t going to do much. I knew it would temporarily fix it, but that it doesn’t cure the disease. It’s a temporary fix until another flare happened. But I did it and it was great to be without any flares for a few weeks.

But when I was on antibiotics that time, I also got very sick. Because it’s a very powerful broad-spectrum antibiotic, it doesn’t just kill one type of bacteria. It can kill lots of bacteria in your body. When I was on the antibiotics back then, I didn’t really think about that happening so I was surprised when I got so sick. And there are a lot of things you can’t take when on antibiotics because of how it interacts in your body. The good thing was that I did feel better pretty soon after stopping the antibiotics. But the time that I was sick was just not fun. All I wanted to do while I was sick was sit at home on the couch or in bed and do nothing.

And sitting at home doing nothing is already pretty much what I have been doing. So when I was put on antibiotics last week, I knew that not much would necessarily change in my life except I might feel pretty cruddy. I was lucky this time and I didn’t start feeling sick until day 3 or 4 of the antibiotics. It mainly felt like a stomach bug. Unfortunately, most things you take when you have a stomach bug aren’t things you can take on antibiotics (basically, you can’t do anything that might change how your body absorbs medication through your stomach). I was a bit more proactive this time and asked the doctor at urgent care what I could be prescribed ahead of time since I was anticipating feeling sick. And I did get some stuff that helped me and I was so glad I didn’t have to go back to the hospital to pick up anything. I was able to stay home and not leave my house. Which again, isn’t much different from what I’ve been doing already.

Normally, being home and doing nothing is a break from regular life. This time, it was just more of the same. I think because it was what I was already doing, it did take a bit more of a toll on my mental health. I wasn’t depressed, but I was very moody and easily upset because I was feeling so sick. Doing nothing and resting has lost its novelty because I’ve been doing that for so long already. But I didn’t have an option to do anything different so I just had to suck it up and get through it.

I’ve been off the antibiotics for a few days now, and I’m finally feeling better from them. I still have a bit of an uneasy stomach, so I’m trying to eat things that I know have good bacteria in them to rebalance my body. And I know I will be fine soon. The difference between the last day of taking the antibiotics and now is huge. I’m probably 80% back to feeling normal. And the last bit will just take some time and before I know it, this will all just be a memory.

As upset and annoyed as I was by being sick this last time, I guess I can be a bit grateful that there was nothing on my schedule that I had to miss. I didn’t have to skip a party or an event I was looking forward to. I only had plans to do nothing. So that was one thing I didn’t have to worry about or feel distressed about. But I still don’t want to be sick again during quarantine (outside of routine nausea I have to deal with). I’m already feeling a bit bored with not having anything to do. Being bored with nothing to do and feeling sick is even worse. At least it’s done now.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailBack To Back Medical Issues (or I Guess My Body Gave Me A Sign) Default ThumbnailMy Cold Caught Up With Me (or I Guess I Was Due To Get Sick) Default ThumbnailYup, I’m Sick (or Trying To Take Care Of Me) Default ThumbnailBeing Sick (or Feeling Off) Default ThumbnailAnother Attempt At A Reset (or Feeling Sick Got Me Into A Bad Routine) Default ThumbnailAnother Week Of Pushing Through (or Feeling Strong Before Feeling Sick)

Comments Off on Feeling Sick Just Isn’t Fun (or I Was Already Doing Nothing)

Posted in Health

Tagged , ,

Back To Back Doctor Days (or At Least This Was A Virtual Appointment)

Posted on May 19, 2020 | Comments Off on Back To Back Doctor Days (or At Least This Was A Virtual Appointment)

Last week, I was at urgent care on Monday. I hadn’t planned on being at the hospital for any doctor’s appointments any time soon, so that was something that broke up my routine a bit. But the next day, I had a scheduled appointment. This time, it was another appointment with my therapist. But it had already been planned to be a virtual one, so I knew I would be able to stay home for it.

When I scheduled the appointment, I was still working my normal hours. So I had a lot of free time before my appointment. Also, this appointment was originally about the new medication that I was put on, but I had already stopped that medication (after emailing with my therapist). So I had a lot of time to think about what we would discuss.

I was still in a lot of pain and discomfort from the cellulitis, but I knew that wasn’t something I necessarily had to discuss in my appointment. But it still made me laugh a bit when my therapist opened our appointment by asking how I was doing. My only response was that was a loaded question. I explained that mentally I was doing the best that could be expected and if I was not stressed or worried that maybe that would be concerning. Fortunately, she understood exactly what I meant. Her main concern was that I wasn’t having any symptoms that were concerning me or that I was doing significantly worse than before.

We did discuss the medication I was briefly on and I explained that the reaction I was having could have something to do with the state of the world, but I wasn’t sure. And I wasn’t willing to risk trying it because the symptoms were concerning (I was having some panic attacks and I felt my OCD getting worse). And I think she agreed with me that it would be very difficult to know if a new medication is helping me. And if I tried something new and it did help, maybe it only helped because of how crazy everything is and in normal circumstances, it wouldn’t be helping. It’s weird to feel like I’m putting things on hold, but that’s the best case right now. I want to try some other medications to see if they help, but I don’t feel ok doing it right now.

I’m glad that my therapist understood how I felt and didn’t think I needed to worry about trying anything new right now. She agrees that my focus should just be on being ok and feeling safe with how things are. And when things start to normalize a bit, then I can start working on seeing if another medication can benefit me or not. I have another virtual appointment in a few months, and maybe by then, we will be in a new phase of reopening. I’m guessing the appointment will stay virtual, which is fine with me because I do prefer those. But it would be nice to get to a point where I can start working on bettering myself and not just getting through this.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailSome More Virtual Therapy (or Trying Another Medication) Default ThumbnailAnother Isolated Therapy Session (or My Anxiety Is Normal) Default ThumbnailAnother Virtual Doctor Appointment (or Planning Some Next Steps) Default ThumbnailFollowing My Doctor’s Instructions (or Days Off From Vyvanse) Default ThumbnailHaving A Lot Of Repeat Days (or More Organizing and More Virtual Hangouts) Default ThumbnailA Super Easy Therapy Appointment (or Just Doing A Check-In)

Comments Off on Back To Back Doctor Days (or At Least This Was A Virtual Appointment)

Posted in Health

Tagged , ,

I Guess This Made My Life A Bit Interesting (or An Outing To Urgent Care)

Posted on May 13, 2020 | Comments Off on I Guess This Made My Life A Bit Interesting (or An Outing To Urgent Care)

Of course, right after a post where I said I have a lot of repeating days, I have something that changes things up for me. This wasn’t necessarily a good thing, but I guess any variety helps me from boredom.

I’ve had a few different autoimmune diseases for the majority of my life. I’ve been very lucky because I have never had really severe cases. One of my autoimmune diseases is about hair loss. And while I have lost a lot of hair from time to time, and even had significant bald spots, it has never been as bad as I know it could get. And while hair loss is upsetting, it’s not the worse thing I could deal with and I’m lucky that there are ways to cover it up if I did lose more of my hair.

My other autoimmune disease isn’t as simple. It causes flares and bumps on my skin (for me, it’s mainly on my upper legs). Most of the time these flares are just annoying, but sometimes they can get painful. But they tend to be pretty small so even if they hurt, they aren’t affecting too much of my body. There are a few treatment options I can try to reduce the frequency or size of these flares, but I have never been so severe that I considered doing them. Although I will say that I am considering it more now.

I had a flare appear over the weekend. I’m assuming that a lot of the flares I’m getting are due to stress right now. I’ve noticed that I’m also losing more hair than normal, so I just figured that all my autoimmune issues are reacting to the stress. But this new flare wasn’t like the ones that I’m used to. It was very deep in my skin (compared to being closer to the skin) and it was super painful. I assumed that it would get better as that is what normally happens. But on Monday, it was much worse. I felt a lump under my skin that was the size of a softball and I had a lot of redness and swelling. I have always known that my flares could cause cellulitis because I had experienced a minor case of that, but this was much worse than anything I had ever dealt with.

I really don’t want to go to the hospital for any reason right now, but after trying some of the remedies I know to try at home I knew that I had to. The size of the painful area on my leg was just increasing without stopping and I didn’t want it to turn into something much worse. I did try to do telemedicine first because I thought maybe they could just prescribe me antibiotics, but I had to be seen by a doctor. So I went off to urgent care since I couldn’t get an actual doctor’s appointment any time soon.

Fortunately, it seems like most people feel the same that I do and were avoiding the hospital. There were only 3 other people at urgent care (all suspected COVID cases go to a special section of the ER and were not near urgent care). There was still a bit of a wait because they were limiting how many people were inside urgent care and they wanted everything to be ready and clean before a new patient went in. But there was a waiting area outside in the shade so I waited out there.

Once I got inside, things were really quick for me. I was very lucky that the doctor that saw me was familiar with my autoimmune disease (I’ve encountered a lot who didn’t know anything about it) and she was able to confirm that I did have cellulitis immediately after seeing me. And as expected, she wanted me on a course of antibiotics to resolve it. She said that coming in was the right choice because this wasn’t likely to resolve on its own. It was pretty large, and if left untreated, could need IV antibiotics. I’m glad that I just have to take some pills for a week to hopefully make it go away.

I did giggle a bit when she was saying that this was very large as she measured the site being 8cm by 7cm. All that made me think is that while this did look big on my skin, the tumor in my liver was bigger! I know it’s not a perfect comparison, but it still was what my mind went to.

I was able to get my antibiotics at the hospital and started taking them on Monday evening. The doctor said I should notice a difference in a few days and I’m optimistic that it will start getting better by then. I have already noticed a small reduction in the swelling, but the pain is just as bad as it was before. But I feel better even with the same pain knowing that I got checked out and didn’t just try to wait it out and see.

Even though I was worried about going to urgent care, I will say that everyone at the hospital worked hard to make me feel safe about being there. And they were working hard to make sure all the patients were getting seen as quickly as possible. I was grateful for that because I was nervous about having to go in. But they made it as easy as possible for me. And while it wasn’t a fun adventure to my week, at least it changed things up a bit for me.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailBlogging Led To A Breakthrough (or I Need To Believe I’m Worthy) Default ThumbnailAvoiding Something I Should Be Doing (or Scared Of What I’ll Find Out) Default ThumbnailAn Evening At Urgent Care (or Why Being Polite Is Always Best) Default ThumbnailBeing A Bit Paranoid (or Trying To Believe I’m Not Having More Health Issues) Default ThumbnailI Guess I’ve Been Very Lazy (or I’m Sorry This Isn’t That Interesting) Default ThumbnailTaking Care of Me (or Making Sure I’m First in My Life)

Comments Off on I Guess This Made My Life A Bit Interesting (or An Outing To Urgent Care)

Posted in Health, Tough Stuff

Tagged ,

3 Years Of Being A Medical Miracle (or Just Enjoying Being Healthy)

Posted on April 21, 2020 | Comments Off on 3 Years Of Being A Medical Miracle (or Just Enjoying Being Healthy)

I’ve said before how the date of when I became a medical miracle is a bit hard for me to determine. I’m not sure if I should consider the day I had the MRI that showed my tumors were shrinking as the day. Or maybe the day one of my doctors emailed me to say that it looked like the tumors were shrinking. Or when my liver surgeon called me to tell me for sure that my tumors were shrinking and that he recommended I cancel my surgery. So even though the date isn’t really a date that I got any information, I have considered the date that my surgery was supposed to happen as the marker for being a medical miracle. And yesterday, it marked 3 years since I was supposed to have surgery.

I don’t necessarily do anything to celebrate being a medical miracle, but I do acknowledge it and take time to remember how lucky I am. I know that if my tumors didn’t shrink, surgery was necessary. My tumors were big enough that they could be life-threatening. Not having surgery would have been a very dumb choice. But even though I knew that I needed that surgery, I wasn’t looking forward to it and I was scared about so much. I’m so glad that I didn’t have to have that surgery or deal with the recovery. I haven’t had abdominal surgery before, but I imagine the recovery would be worse than it was for my hip surgery. And there would other things during recovery that would have been tough for me.

One of the things about recovery that scared me was not being able to go to Orangetheory. I was worried that I would lose all momentum that I had been building in my workouts and that I would be so far back when I finally could work out again. Of course, right now I technically have no way to go to my workouts. I am working out at home, but it’s not the same. So it’s a bit funny that something that I was so worried about is a reality that I am dealing with right now. But I am lucky that there are OTF at Home workouts that I could do and that wouldn’t have been an option if I did have surgery.

I was worried about what the surgery might do for my mental health. I didn’t share this too much, but I was worried that having a big scar might make my body dysmorphia worse or that something about having surgery would trigger my panic/anxiety disorder or even my eating disorder. Surgery is a big unknown so there isn’t a way to know how you would react to it. I was hoping that surgery wouldn’t affect my mental health, but it was a big concern that I had about it.

And I was also worried that the surgery wouldn’t be the only one I needed. I knew that I might need another surgery in the future to get rid of one of the tumors if they couldn’t get all of them in one surgery. And I had been told that they could take my gallbladder out when doing the surgery, but I worried that something would happen where they couldn’t and I would need that surgery at another time. I’m actually very lucky when it comes to my gallbladder because it turns out that many of the issues I was having with it was related to the tumors and their size, so even though I didn’t have surgery I have had very few attacks in the past 3 years. I technically still need it out, but it’s not as necessary as it was before.

I am grateful every day that I didn’t have to have surgery. I’m grateful that I didn’t have to go through what could have been a big change in my life. I didn’t have to deal with as many unknowns (even though I do still deal with some unknowns now regarding my tumors). I was able to keep living my life as normal without a disruption. But even though I am grateful every day, I am always extra grateful when it’s my medical miracle anniversary. It’s been 3 years since I have known that my tumors are shrinking and there is still no medical explanation for it. But I feel so lucky that it happened to me.

I am supposed to have another MRI in about 6 months, and if the tumors continue to shrink, that will be my last one scheduled. I might have them every couple of years, but I won’t need annual ones any more if they are smaller. And if by some chance they grow, I will have surgery and I will be ok if that happens. But for now, I’m just focused on being grateful for what happened to me.

You Might Also Like

Default Thumbnail3 Years Knowing About The Tumors (or I Forgot An Anniversary) Default ThumbnailAnother Story About A Tumor (or I Guess I Was Misdiagnosed For Over 15 Years) Default ThumbnailA Non-Surgery Anniversary (or Another Year Of Being A Medical Miracle) Default ThumbnailMedical Miracle Anniversary (or A Year Of My Liver Being A Badass) Default ThumbnailTaking Back A Medical Miracle (or Getting My Eyes Checked Again) Default ThumbnailA Tumor Miracle (or I Wasn’t Expecting This)

Comments Off on 3 Years Of Being A Medical Miracle (or Just Enjoying Being Healthy)

Posted in Celebrations, Fun Stuff, Health

Tagged , , , ,

Some Of The New Normal (or I’ll Need To Get Used To This)

Posted on April 15, 2020 | Comments Off on Some Of The New Normal (or I’ll Need To Get Used To This)

I haven’t been leaving my house to do things lately, so the new guidelines and rules for what we need to do haven’t affected me yet. For a while, people weren’t wearing masks. Then they started to wear them. Now, you are required to wear them in LA. If you go to a business not wearing a mask, they have the right to refuse service and make you leave.

These masks we are supposed to use are not the medical ones. We are supposed to use different fabric masks. I ordered one online, but I haven’t gotten it yet (a friend of mine also made me one, but that hasn’t arrived yet). But I did look at instructions online on how to make one using fabric and some hair ties, so I made one earlier this week to try it out. I had to modify a few things to make it work for me (just using hair ties around my ears didn’t work because of how my ears are shaped), but I figured out how to do it. It’s not perfect, but it does the job and fits the requirement for what we need to have.

And I hadn’t had a chance to use it until yesterday when I had to go to Kaiser to pick up a prescription. I wish I could have had my medication mailed to me, but because of it being a controlled substance, I have to get it in person and show my ID and sign a form to get it. And I waited as long as I could to get my refill, but I was down to 2 days of medication left. I would have preferred to wait until things were a bit more normal, but that wasn’t an option. So I got my mask together and drove over to the hospital when I was done with work.

I’ve never had to wear a mask for any reason before, except when I was skiing and it was a part of my hat. This was a bit weird to wear and made me feel a little claustrophobic. I also think I folded the fabric over too many times because it was very thick and not as easy to breathe through. But I was fine and just had to deal with the weirdness. I’m glad I didn’t need to wear it while driving because breathing made my sunglasses fog up.

When I went to get my medication, I did have to be checked for fever before I was allowed inside, so I know they are being careful. And I used hand sanitizer after any interaction. So it wasn’t too bad considering everything going on. But it did give me an idea of what things will be like as I use a face mask for other things in the future.

I hope the masks I am getting will be a bit better than my homemade one. I still expect that it will fog up sunglasses, but that’s not a big issue. And I will get more used to wearing one the more often I have to do it. I don’t think this will be a forever thing, but it will be something that I have a feeling we will be doing for quite a while.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailWeird Feelings About Reopening Things (or I Might Just Keep Staying Home) Default ThumbnailFinally It Feels Like Things Are Normal (or A Week Of Various Self-Care) Default ThumbnailOver A Month On Vyvanse (or A Meeting With My Therapist) Default ThumbnailAnother Mixed Motivation Week (or I Might Be Almost Done With At-Home Workouts) Default ThumbnailCoconut Oil Hair Mask (or Trying A Simple DIY Beauty Trick) Default ThumbnailFeeling Normal Again (or Happy To Be Back In Control)

Comments Off on Some Of The New Normal (or I’ll Need To Get Used To This)

Posted in Health

Tagged ,

Another Thing I’m Learning In Isolation (or Eating Disorder Issues)

Posted on April 10, 2020 | Comments Off on Another Thing I’m Learning In Isolation (or Eating Disorder Issues)

There are so many things that I’m learning about myself and about the world right now. Yes, there are so many sad stories happening and I have friends who have lost loved ones. But I also have never heard of so many stories about how people are helping each other and coming together. I have learned that I’m much more of an extrovert than I thought (I thought I was an introvert until this). We haven’t been doing this for that long and I expect us to have to do this for a while, so I’m sure there will be so many other things I will learn about myself and about others.

But I have also come across issues that I never thought about before that are only happening because of being in isolation. And the biggest ones for me have been with my struggle to recover from my eating disorder. First, my workouts have been so good for me with feeling better about myself. But now, I’m not able to do my workouts the way that I have gotten used to. I’m not able to work out as hard and I’m missing a lot of cardio (I’m working on fixing that, but it’s not easy). Having something that felt like it was helping removed from my life has been hard. I don’t know if I was struggling this way before joining Orangetheory because I didn’t know what I was missing. I don’t know how to get the same feeling I get in class when I don’t have others around me supporting me and pushing me. But it’s something that I have accepted would be difficult to deal with so I’m working on it.

But the biggest challenge or struggle with my eating disorder has been about food (which is usually my issue). I am not used to having this much food in my house. I don’t like it because it makes me uncomfortable. But I know I have to do things this way because I need to limit how often I go to the store. And I’m not keeping foods in my house that I usually keep because I have to find more shelf-stable things or some of the things that I like to have aren’t available or easy to find right now. If I’m craving something, I can’t always find it. And I can’t have a binge of the foods I have in my house because I need that to eat for the rest of the week.

I’m also almost feeling food insecure because of those issues. I know that I’m not actually dealing with food insecurity and that’s a real and serious issue, but that’s the best way I can describe it. I know I have food and I would be fine if I couldn’t get more for a week or two. I wouldn’t be eating anything fabulous, but I have things like pancake mix and ramen that I could have. But I don’t have things that are as familiar to me and I don’t know when I’ll be able to get those again. Going to the grocery store has been stressful, but I have been able to avoid it for the past few weeks. I’ve had both grocery delivery and a friend help me, so it’s been easier now that I haven’t had to deal with going to the store myself. I’m not feeling anxiety by the lines or by being frustrated that I can’t get the things on my list. But I’m also feeling a bit out of control when I don’t see immediately what will be something that can be purchased. It’s a weird situation where I don’t know if I can win.

I’ve seen several articles and heard some podcasts that discuss these issues and say how this is a difficult time for anyone who has had or currently has an eating disorder. Even people in recovery are finding this a challenge and knowing that has made me feel a bit better about my struggles. I’m not alone by any means in this and that is reassuring. There haven’t been a lot of suggestions on how to work through this yet because this isn’t something that people have experience with. The main thing I have heard over and over again is that people need to be gentle with themselves and know that there may be setbacks right now. And that is ok because we are dealing with something that nobody has ever been through before. If right now my recovery takes a bit of a pause, that doesn’t mean I have ruined everything that I have worked for. I can get back to what I was doing before. And maybe I will start to pick up some skills that I can use to help me soon. I don’t know yet, but I am trying to stay optimistic.

I’m sure there will be other things that come up in the coming weeks and months that will be challenges and struggles that I wasn’t expecting. Even when things start getting better, I know that they won’t be just like they were before. We all will need to ease back into normal so we can feel comfortable with not being isolated anymore. But just because things won’t go back to the way they were before immediately doesn’t mean that they will be worse. I hope that I can find a way to make things better for me in the future. And if I can’t, I will just have to keep reminding myself that this time is temporary and any issues I have with my recovery are temporary as well.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailHaving To Defend Myself (or My Eating Disorder Isn’t Taken Seriously By Others) Default ThumbnailMore Eating Disorder Research (or Reading About HDE) Default ThumbnailDealing With Hormones (or Trying To Work With My Eating Disorder) Default ThumbnailNational Eating Disorder Awareness Week (or Not Talking About It Is Part Of The Problem) Default ThumbnailLearning About “Breaking Vegan” (or An Amazing Book Giveaway!) Default ThumbnailBinge Eating In The Media (or More Help Might Be On The Way)

Comments Off on Another Thing I’m Learning In Isolation (or Eating Disorder Issues)

Posted in Health, Tough Stuff

Tagged , , , , ,

The Weirdness Of Being Sick Right Now (or Isolating Even More)

Posted on March 31, 2020 | Comments Off on The Weirdness Of Being Sick Right Now (or Isolating Even More)

Last week, I started to feel like I was coming down with something. I wasn’t sure what it was, but it was just like when I normally can feel a bad cold coming on. I wasn’t having symptoms of COVID-19, so I wasn’t worried about that. I really just figured that I was coming down with a bug. And it is the time of year for that to happen.

And over the weekend, I did end up getting sick. My symptoms continue to be almost the opposite of what COVID-19 is (wet cough vs dry, no fever vs fever), so I still don’t believe that I caught that. Plus, if I did, I am having an extremely mild case since this really feels just like a cold. So I’m not too worried about myself right now. I usually get colds this time of year and it doesn’t surprise me that I would catch on right now.

But being sick right now isn’t like when I am sick any other time. I know that by now if I do have a cold that I am no longer contagious. I can pinpoint the day I would have caught this bug because I am not leaving my house much. So it’s easy for me to figure out when I was contagious and when I’m done. But going out when I am coughing and sneezing is not smart right now. Even though I feel certain that it’s not COVID-19, others might think that it is and would be scared that I would get them sick. So I don’t want to cause anyone else to be in fear if I was out in public.

But also, I have to be more cautious with my own health right now. I’m fighting some bug right now and my immune system is working hard at doing that. So if I was going out to get supplies, I am even more at risk for catching anything. And I’m not just worried about COVID-19. I would hate to get the flu right now (even though I got a flu shot) because I know how packed hospitals are. I don’t want to do anything that might require me to see a doctor. I need to keep myself as healthy as possible, not just for myself but for others. So even though I have been practicing isolation for a few weeks now, I’m stepping it up a bit for the next few weeks.

I am going to stay inside my house unless it is absolutely necessary. And to me right now, going out to get supplies is not necessary. I’m ok for most things, and I can get stuff delivered to me if I need it. I am trying to not use the delivery options too much because I know the delivery drivers are overextended and putting themselves at risk too. But it is an option for me so I’m using it and trying to make sure I don’t do it that often. I also have some friends who live in my neighborhood who have offered to get groceries for me. I’m trying to not do that because I know how stressful going to the store can be. But it’s good to know that I have more options than just delivery.

I’m treating this bug as if I had COVID-19. I’m avoiding all contact with others as much as I can for the next 2 weeks. I am already starting to feel better now, so I don’t think I’ll be sick for that much longer. This cold wasn’t that bad, but it was enough to give me a bit of a scare and made me re-evaluate what steps I have been taking and what steps I need to take now. And in 2 weeks, I’ll try to continue to do as much isolation as possible since that is what we have to do even when we are healthy.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailMy Cold Caught Up With Me (or I Guess I Was Due To Get Sick) Default ThumbnailA Low Key Post (or I Guess Things Come In Threes) Default ThumbnailBeing Sick (or Feeling Off) Default ThumbnailA Quick Post (or I Really Hope I’m Not Getting Sick) Default ThumbnailYup, I’m Sick (or Trying To Take Care Of Me) Default ThumbnailBeing Hard On Myself (or Pushing Myself To Not Be Sick)

Comments Off on The Weirdness Of Being Sick Right Now (or Isolating Even More)

Posted in Health, Tough Stuff

Tagged ,

Staying Isolated (or Doing My Part)

Posted on March 18, 2020 | Comments Off on Staying Isolated (or Doing My Part)

I assume everyone knows what’s happening in the world right now. For a while, coronavirus seemed like something so far away and not something we had to worry about. I don’t know if I was naive thinking that or hopeful. But for a while, I thought that it wouldn’t be something we would have to deal with. With other viruses similar to it, I don’t remember it being something Americans were this worried about. It could be because we have social media and instant news, or it could be because this is so much worse.

Right now, Los Angeles has shut down a lot. Essential things like pharmacies and grocery stores are open (and I’ve seen some other retail shops open that didn’t seem essential), but for the most part, things are closed and we are told to stay home. Not being around others is the best, and right now only, way to stop the spread. If I got sick, I would probably be fine. I know it’s not a guarantee, but I’m not as high risk as others. But there are people in my life that would be higher risk and I wouldn’t forgive myself if I passed it on to one of them and they got really sick or died. So staying away is necessary.

Almost all of my friends are working from home now. I’m lucky that I already work from home so that doesn’t feel different. But I feel so much more isolated than I ever have. Orangetheory is closed and that is such a huge part of my life for both my mental health and for my social life. I’m still texting and messaging with my friends, but it’s not the same. There are no places to go out and see people, nor can we really be around each other. This is for 2 weeks right now, but I have a feeling it will last longer. I hope that it doesn’t, but it seems like 2 weeks won’t be long enough to make sure that we stop the spread.

I’m doing ok. I was able to get to the grocery store and they had a lot of things still on the shelves. I got food and supplies to last me at least 2 weeks, but I am planning on trying to do weekly shopping so I can keep at least a week or 2 of food in my house in case I do get sick and have to stay home. With the exception of being alone and not seeing my friends, I have everything I need right now. Mentally, I’m not doing as great, but I’m not doing horribly either. I’m just very anxious and everything seems so overwhelming. I think this is because there are so many things changing at a rapid pace and there is no sign of that changing. I think about going to my sister-in-law’s baby shower about a week and a half ago. The world seemed so different then. I never would have imagined it to be like this now. And if then I couldn’t imagine this, what could life be like in another week and a half? I try not to think about that and just focus on what I can control, but I can’t help going through a lot of what-ifs.

I also wonder what to do with my blog. I would love to be able to blog every day, but I also don’t know what to write about. I will be writing about what I’m doing to manage things and how I’m trying to find ways to have some normalcy in my life, but if this isolation lasts over a month I might not have much to write. I guess if it comes to that, I will figure out a new blogging schedule and hopefully, you will all understand.

Please, stay home to help keep everyone safe and healthy. Even if you would be fine if you got sick, you don’t want to pass it on to someone who wouldn’t be ok. Putting your life on hold isn’t fun, but it’s necessary. And the sooner everyone can do that, the slower this will spread and the more likely it will be that our hospitals can take care of everyone who needs it. We will be ok. We will get through this. It might not seem like that right now, but soon enough we will be looking back at this time and a blip in our lives.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailTrying To Avoid Holiday Burnout (or Staying Home For Self-Care) Default ThumbnailWeird Feelings About Reopening Things (or I Might Just Keep Staying Home) Default ThumbnailStaying Calm In The Crazy (or Is This Month Over Yet?) Default ThumbnailBeing Social and Nauseous (or Taking Some Inspiration From My Workouts) Default ThumbnailCraving Social Interaction (or Staying Away And Staying Online) Default ThumbnailStaying Healthy (or 2 Needles in 30 Minutes)

Comments Off on Staying Isolated (or Doing My Part)

Posted in Health, Tough Stuff

Tagged , ,

Doing At Least One Scheduled Thing (or The Last Normal Thing For A While)

Posted on March 17, 2020 | Comments Off on Doing At Least One Scheduled Thing (or The Last Normal Thing For A While)

When I was writing my posts about coronavirus before, I think I was hoping that it wouldn’t get as bad as it could. As I’m writing this, Los Angeles has pretty much shut down. Grocery stores and pharmacies are still open. We can order delivery food (but you can’t eat at a restaurant). And some other essential places are still open. But for the most part, things are closed. It’s weird and I’ll write more about that coming up.

Everything that I had scheduled for the next few weeks have been getting canceled one by one. The only thing that didn’t get canceled was a doctor appointment I had scheduled for yesterday to get my eyes checked. I am almost out of contact lenses and needed to get a new exam before I could order more. It took a while to get this appointment, so I didn’t want to cancel it. But I had no clue if it would still happen or not. I assumed it was still on because I didn’t hear otherwise, so I headed over there a bit early since the office is in the same shopping center as a few stores that I knew would be open and possibly very crowded.

Driving there was weird because there weren’t a ton of cars on the road. I know that’s a good thing because people need to be staying home, but it still felt eerie. And getting to the office for my appointment continued to make me feel uneasy. There was a checkpoint to get through before I could go inside (which I totally understood since they need to make sure people aren’t sick) and then it was empty in the waiting room. I’m used to having to sit and wait a long time for eye appointments, but I was the only one there. And in the waiting room, all the seats were moved to be on their own and apart.

I know this is all done for safety and health, but it doesn’t change that it just feels odd to me.

I was called back pretty quickly and got through every section of the appointment back to back. In the past, I’ve had to wait in a waiting area between different sections of the appointment. This was so fast. Before I knew it, I was seeing the doctor to see if I needed a new prescription (one eye got a bit worse so I am getting a stronger prescription) and we were discussing if I was happy with my brand of contact lenses. I said I was and I was brought over to where I could order some boxes. I got a year’s supply since that’s what I usually order when I get new contacts. And I was done after that. I was in and out in under 25 minutes which I think is a record for me.

After that appointment, I headed over to the main Kaiser building to make a stop at the pharmacy. I didn’t have any prescriptions to get, but there were a few over the counter items that I wasn’t able to find at a regular drugstore and thought I would give a hospital pharmacy a try. It was weird in there too because they had the seats blocked off so only one person could sit in each seating area. And just like at my eye appointment, it was empty inside. Even when I’ve gone at a weird hour, I’ve never seen it without at least a few people inside.

I was able to get almost everything I was looking for, so that was good. And then I headed back home to not be in public. I know that I’m lucky that I have a job that I already work from home, so I don’t have to worry about work. And I was able to get things at the grocery store so I have more than enough food for the next two weeks. I am going to try to go outside for walks and things if I can, but for the most part, I’m going to be inside my house for the next 2 weeks (or longer if things are closed longer). It’s weird to think that my appointment was my last normal thing for a while, but I know that it is for the best because we all have to work together to stop the spread of coronavirus.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailGetting Back To Normal (or Friend Hangouts And Doctor Appointments) Default ThumbnailMy Eyes Had A Miracle Too (or I Wish I Knew What I Was Doing Right) Default ThumbnailHoping For Some Normal (or Fingers Crossed That This Was This Easy) Default ThumbnailBusy Unemployment (or Maybe I Over Scheduled) Default ThumbnailOver Scheduled In The Best Way (of Taking Time For My Friends) Default ThumbnailA Bit Over-Scheduled (or Starting To Stress Out)

Comments Off on Doing At Least One Scheduled Thing (or The Last Normal Thing For A While)

Posted in Health

Tagged

Trying To Be Cautious But Not Overreact (or Aware Of The News)

Posted on March 13, 2020 | Comments Off on Trying To Be Cautious But Not Overreact (or Aware Of The News)

I would be surprised if there is anyone out there unaware of COVID-19 (or coronavirus) right now. It’s all over the news and there is no way to not see at least one story about it on social media. It’s almost impossible to avoid all the news about it unless you don’t watch any tv or do anything online. I’m not necessarily a news junkie, but I do pay attention to the news every day. So this has been something I have been reading and hearing about for a few months.

Whenever there is a big health-related news story, I try to not take everything that is said as the truth. There is usually some sort of spin to the story and I try to find a reliable source to get my information from and to confirm what I have gotten from other sources. For example, when some sources were saying that this was much more fatal than most other diseases, I was able to see online that while it was worse than some other diseases that it is not killing everyone who catches it. When some news was saying that the cases in this country would be down to just 1 or 2 within a few days, I was able to see online that wasn’t likely.

I’m not panicked about what is happening, but I am aware and being careful. I’m making sure I wash my hands much more often now and I am being cautious when I’m out if there is a large crowd. I’m not hoarding food or supplies, but I am making sure that my emergency kit is stocked and that I do have a bit more non-perishable food than I usually have in my house. I know there are several people who are stocking up, but I don’t feel the need to do that. It is a bit annoying that others are because it can make it difficult to get things that I need. For example, it took me 3 stores before I found one with any toilet paper for sale. I was out and needed to buy some, but other people were buying out the entire stock (I don’t quite understand why that is one of the main things people seem to be hoarding).

I don’t want to complain about things being canceled because I know they are doing it for a good reason. But it is sad to see so many things being canceled or postponed that I have been looking forward to doing. Some of them have been fun events and some of them are union meetings. With the union, almost all meetings have been put on hold because they are trying to make sure that we don’t get each other sick. For me, that meant 5 meetings this month are no longer on my calendar. I know that staying healthy is important, but I really have loved doing my union work and I’m sad that I will be missing that this month. And as far as the fun events go, I’m sure those will all be rescheduled at some point and I’ll have a lot of things back on my calendar soon.

With all the different precautions being put into place, I know I am very lucky if anything is done in LA. I already work from home so I don’t have to worry about what will happen if I can’t go to work. I do worry about if there will be as much work for me if things get worse, but I can’t think about that too much. I live close to different stores so I can get things I need (as long as they are in stock). I know some people are worried that grocery stores will be shut down and not open, but even places that have quarantines are keeping stores open so people can buy food and other things they need. I don’t need to worry about having to survive on only the things I have in my house. And I think everyone living in the US is pretty lucky because we do have good hospitals and so many scientists working on this situation right now. Even if politicians say that it’s not a big deal, there are others who know how bad it could be and are working on making sure that doesn’t happen.

I know that things can get really bad, but I’m trying to focus on the situation right now and taking the steps I can do now. And worrying too much or thinking up what could potentially happen isn’t a healthy thing for me. Even though my panic and anxiety aren’t as bad as it used to be, I don’t want to do anything that might trigger an attack or make me spiral. All I can do right now is stay aware, pay attention, and take little steps and actions that will make sure that I stay healthy and safe.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailLearning Lessons (or What Being Sick Taught Me) Default ThumbnailI Have To Be Political (or Hoping My Healthcare Stays The Same) Default ThumbnailStaying Isolated (or Doing My Part) Default ThumbnailDay Job News (or Things Are Getting Better) Default ThumbnailCatch Up Time (or A Blog With Lots Of Random News) Default ThumbnailExciting News (or Sometimes It Pays To Wait It Out)

Comments Off on Trying To Be Cautious But Not Overreact (or Aware Of The News)

Posted in Health, Tough Stuff

Tagged ,