Germs and RA

I keep whining about this but its true. Germs and RA do not work well together.  Here's someone else's story:

"When you have RA, the last thing you want to deal with is germs. These germs that are airborne are a recipe for disaster. I want to tell those that refuse to cover their mouth, to please do so.

The last thing I need is to get more sick when it can be prevented. Wash your hands, germs are on door knobs, money and all that we touch. Let’s be mindful in this season of more germs that they easily spread. My desire is to be in great health this winter. I know first hand, dealing with RA and a real bad cold at the same time is miserable. I’ve had times when I couldn’t sleep. My noise was stopped up and a lot of congestion. I was in bed for days. I noticed I was not able to get rid of the cold as quick as I could before I had RA. So let’s not spread germs, because for some illnesses such as RA, it makes for a miserable mix. I know from experience it is not a quick bounce back. It took me about 3 weeks to recover from a very bad cold."

You can see her full story here.

So I am home with a bad cold. Today was the day my family was going to celebrate our family Christmas. My brother was going to come in last night to stay until the weekend. But since I am sick, they did not. 

The last I heard, and I am staying out of the decision making, is that my brother might come in today and stay in a hotel (additional unneeded expense) and my family will celebrate without me tomorrow. They were going to postpone it until MLK weekend but my niece will have gone back to school by then and my other niece has a concert that weekend so it would have to be Presidents Day weekend. 

This is what happens when you get sick with RA. Family events get  postponed and celebrated without us those without colds. Kids miss out on family Christmases. All because I was exposed to a germ ten days ago.

And no I am not feeling any better. I barely slept last night because of my cold. I did get some cold medicine but there are limits to what I can take because of allergies and other medications. 

So again, if you have a cold, stay home and stop exposing everyone.

So what does that thyroid do anyway?

All of us thyroid cancer people may have fewer problems with their cancer treatment than the life long problems they face with out a thyroid. Do you have any idea what exactly your thyroid does? Most people don't so don't worry if you don't know.

Finally I have found an article that easily explains what exactly a thyroid does.

"The thyroid is a small hormone-producing gland in the neck that controls our metabolism,” explained Army Col. (Dr.) Henry B. Burch, chair of the Endocrinology Division and professor of medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Burch is also the endocrinology consultant to the Office of the U.S. Army Surgeon General, and works in Endocrinology Service at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC).

“In addition to controlling metabolism, the thyroid plays a key role in maintaining [body] temperature, or thermogenesis,” added Burch, whose work has been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)."
So the one big thing it does do is regulate your metabolism. And what exactly does your metabolism do? Well its kind of complicated. Try reading this to get a basic idea but its your body's little engine that keeps it going. And without a metabolism your body just slows way down and turns into a little blob. I just laugh at all those diet tips that tell you to 'ramp up' your metabolism or your thyroid.

And that temperature control thing? I'm always cold. Unless its 100 degrees with 100% humidity and then I'm just whiney.

So imagine if you had to control your metabolism by taking pills for the rest of your life and always feeling cold. This is life after thyroid cancer.

When is a cold not just a cold?

When your immune system is compromised. That is when. What did you think I would say? The flu? Well that too.

In the middle of all this moving chaos (we hope to sign lots of papers tomorrow and are staying in a hotel for 3 nights in transition), I have a cold. Not a very good cold either. I feel like crap. Last week I had the flu. Before that I thought I had an ear infection.

Chronologically its this: On Dec 11, I went to the doctor because I thought I had an ear infection. The doctor said they weren't sure it was an ear infection but because of my medical history (my favorite phrase - NOT), they gave me antibiotics. I felt better after a few days but never completely well.

Then on December 23, I woke up with the flu. The kind of flu where EVERY joint in your body hurts and you are running a temperature for two days. I stayed in bed and took my temperature and pretended I was getting better.

Finally on January 2, I developed a scratchy throat which turned into all kinds of congestion and a nose that runs like a spigot. And here it is on the 6th and I am still not better. This isn't good.

Tomorrow is buy-and-sell-a-house-day. If I could, I would stay in bed and watch bad Lifetime Movies and not go anywhere. But since we are in a hotel and I have to sign lots of things, I will pretend I am healthy.

Friday is get up at the crack of dawn, check out of the hotel, stop and grab breakfast on the way (before the sun rises at 7 am) and head to our new house. Then after the movers get there and we give them a tour of what goes where, I will drive down to our old neighborhood and pick up the cats around 9 am and come back so I can watch everyone else do lots of stuff and be decorative. I hope my husband puts our bed back together so I can sleep - after the movers leave and the cable guy does his thing).

Finally Saturday I can begin to try to take care of myself. Maybe. A normal person wouldn't be sick this long. Its just my immune system and health crap that doesn't heal up anymore.

I'm not whining. I said I wouldn't use my blog as a place to whine. I am just trying to cope. And if I go to a doctor, I am sure they are gong to tell me to do things like drink fluids, take OTC medications, and get lots of rest. Things I don't have time to do until we move.

Don't you wish you were as healthy as me?

I need a change

Things are starting to get to me this winter. Why? We have been living in the arctic tundra for weeks. I am starting to go crazy. I think. Maybe its just a case of cabin fever.

I am not asking for much. These are the things I want:

• I want to be able to wear shoes. Not boots. I have been wearing boots for weeks. I miss my shoes. Its been too cold and snowy for shoes. This morning was 4 below without windchill.
• I want to be able to walk outside. Without climbing over snow drifts or wearing boots (see above). A nice stroll without frostbite concerns would be nice.
• I want to be able to go outside and play in the garden, look at new things growing, and see what survived the winter. But the snow needs to start melting. 24 days until spring, but who's counting?
• I want one month without a single doctor appointment. Its been a while since I had a break. I have one today and then another next week I think.
• I want to feel better - no aches and pains. As if.

Maybe a vacation would be nice. But that's not happening for a bit. However in the meantime, I can plan some trips away. I'm up to five so far this year but not for a while.

I think this winter is an example of how people with chronic illnesses can't just run out the door and go have fun. I have concerns about falling on ice - that has happened before and injuries have resulted. I have concerns about getting cold - my fingers turn white with cold easily these days. And I'm sick of staying inside.

At least the snow drift outside the living room got small enough yesterday that the sun actually shined in the front window and the cat took a little nap in it.

My day in the arctic chill

This morning it is a tropical -4F. A lovely morning indeed. I do not need to go to work. I get to stay mostly at home. But I am going to get a crown at the dentist this morning. Which is better? Going to the dentist when its below zero or staying home under a warm pile of blankets. Of course, I have to go out. Damn. I do not do well in cold weather.

I did fall earlier this week on the ice. Today I will wear my really fancy clothes. I have a giant puffy down parka that is rated to 50 below. Then I will strap on my winter hiking boots which are rated to 35 below. When I am done getting my teeth drilled, I get to go pick up a free sewing machine for some new crafts. I hope it isn't heavy because it is being left out for me and there won't be anyone to help me with it.

Finally, I will go purchase an old collapsible sewing table for my new-to-me sewing machine. This table is apparently about 30 lbs. I will leave it in the car until my husband gets home. Then it will be heavy and really cold. 

I posted on Facebook about feeling dizzy (and asked my mother not to read it but she did and commented on it) and the consensus is I should call my doctor about dizziness. I don't really want to but I will. This may mean another trip out into the arctic air again.

I really just want to stay home and play with my sewing machine. I have an idea for new crafts  using a combination of fleece pieces and yarn to crochet the fleece together with the yarn to make infinity scarves. And I can make mittens from fleece and can embroider those with flowers and things to make people think of summer.

That's what I'll do today - think of summer.

A day off

Today I have given myself a day off. Actually, don't tell anyone, but I have a cold. Well its not really a 'cold'. I just don't feel well, run down, tired, but no congestion. And I have been fighting it since Monday night.

Due to being Mrs CIS (Compromised Immune System), I don't bounce back from little germs like I used to. Actually I don't bounce at all...

I just plan on being better for vacation which starts Sunday (and to all you burglars, we have a house sitter). I can't be sick on vacation. That's a rule. I might also not blog very much while we are gone...

But I must be healthy while we are away..

Anyway, I also be home this afternoon while I get a new windshield for the new car. A big crack appeared while I was stuck in traffic Tuesday afternoon. They get a five hour window from 12-5.... I'll be home with my germs. But at least I have a good excuse for sitting around all afternoon.

Cancer people should get an exemption from all the regular crap in life....

I can't decide

No this isn't about cancer. It does say 'breast cancer blog' but my life isn't all about cancer - which is a good thing.

My problem/decision today is - allergies or a cold. I flew back from DC last week and was exposed to all sorts of people. As I blogged on Saturday, I am not feeling that great. But after sitting on my butt for two days instead of getting exercise and not feeling better, I have decided I need to go to plan B. Ignore it.

I can't decide if its a cold or allergies so I am going to ignore it. I have too much to do this week to be sick so I am going to pretend I am not sick. If I get sicker, maybe I'll do something about it. But right now its a stuffy nose, a sore throat and generally feeling blah. And no, please do not recommend Benadryl or other antihistamines because I am allergic. But thanks for the concern.

I am going to work this morning and then the gym, provided I don't turn into a pumpkin in the meantime....

Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail, nor cancer....

Shall stop the blogger. But a pesky cold? Yes.

I have not been doing well this week. I had a nasty stomach flu for 24 hours on Tuesday and it has left me with a fever and generally crappiness (yes that is a technical term). I worked a grand total of 3 hours last week. Instead of my normal 15-18. I tried to go to the gym one day and was less than successful. I had planned to go away for a girls weekend and didn't.

Friday I got my nails done and that was it. Saturday I got out of bed for 30 minutes to prove that I could. Then I got back in bed and slept for the day. Today I got up, took as shower, ate some food and am now back in bed.

My father is convinced I got something when I was at the ER with him last weekend for 8 hours. I doubt it. But he wants nothing to do with me until I am better.

My husband is taking very good care of me. He makes me food. He brought me flowers (which the cat tried to eat twice and threw up twice). I hope for more ice cream today.....

The real problem I am left with is a temperature. I took it one dat last week and it was 99 and figured no big deal and ignored it. Then it started getting more interesting - up and down, from 98 to 102.5. So when do I call the doctor about a temperature?

I think normal people wait three days. My immune system is not normal and its been longer than 3 days so maybe I'll call tomorrow.

But I'll keep on blogging.

I used to like winter

I always liked winter. (Stop me now if you think I have blogged about this for the past few years.) I used to go outside and play in the snow. I viewed winter as another season to get outside and have fun - skiing, snow shoeing, hiking, and more.

Now things are a bit different.

I feel like I have turned into a little old lady...

"Is that ice? I don't want to fall again and have to go back to the doctor."

"Its too cold to go out today."

"Do I need a walking stick to walk to the store? There's an inch of snow."

I am turning into a wimp.

I complain about the cold and snow, instead of enjoying it. The cold makes my ailments feel worse. I am whining and waiting until spring.

A lame blog post

Yes, this is a lame blog post. Sometimes I wonder why people read my blog. I mean sometimes its really about nothing - just like a Seinfeld episode.

I have a cold still/again. I did make it to work yesterday and stayed until 300pm. I will admit that it was the day of our holiday party which makes it one of the best work days of the year. I wanted to stay until 330pm but at 300 I started to feel awful so I headed home with the intent of going to bed immediately.

My commute is usually about 30 minutes. It took over an hour because of holiday mall traffic and some unknown gremlins who slowed down the highway. But then I did finally get in bed and slept for about 2.5 hours. My husband came home and made dinner from left overs. I could taste the food when I covered it in hot sauce. Then I went back to bed.

Today I am going to work even though I am sick because (I promise not breathe on my coworkers):

1. The garage next to work is going to finish the last car repairs which have dragged on for weeks.
2. I brought some scarves to work yesterday and some of my coworkers bought them but two wanted to think about it and look at their wardrobes before purchasing.
3. I really have some work that needs to be done which is the reason we all go to work in the first place.

Then I will come home and take a nap unless a miracle cure happens between now and then. I am supposed to celebrate with a friend this afternoon - she has champagne and I have pate, cornichons, and french bread - but I am too sick for festivities and will have to cancel. Damn.

My other big concerns because getting healthy, honestly I mean getting over my cold, I am not sure about the being healthy part ever again are:

1. Find my missing mitten
2. Purchase groceries for Christmas dinner
3. Find my missing mitten.
4. Get healthy
5. Find a cure for cancer.

See, this was a really lame blog post and you get extra points for actually reading it to the end.

The damn cold

This weekend we had a bit of a cold snap around here. While New England gets its share of cold weather, those of us nearer the coast around Boston usually don't go below 10 degrees or so. Any time a single digit forecast is involved all the cold warnings go up.

Both Saturday and Sunday mornings I had to go to craft shows where I had a table. I was overjoyed to pass by thermometers showing a tropical 9 degrees on Saturday. We later celebrated when the temperature went up to a balmy 14. Sunday was a bit warmer but still frosty. Monday morning was down nearer to zero than I prefer to think - but at least it was not a negative number around here.

Tuesday it was pleasantly warmer so it could dump 8" of snow during the evening commute.

Wednesday morning we woke up to double digit temperatures and lots of snow to dig out - this means my husband shovels and I supervise. He had gone out the previous evening but the plows had since been by with a vengeance - say hello to the giant glacier at the end of the driveway. But it was warmer out.

Unfortunately I developed a cold. The temperatures rose outside and my germs flourished. This was actually a convenient thing. One car got stuck in the driveway so my husband took the other to work. This forced me to stay home and take care of myself - and blow my nose approximately 1000 times, drink about 40 cups of herbal tea, and other wise be miserable.

I took my temperature with our digital thermometer at one point. It measured 95.1 degrees. So I tried the other digital thermometer. It registered about 96. I said hmmm maybe its that cold water I drank. I tried again 15 minutes later and the same readings. Broken thermometers. Now we need new ones.

I have no idea if I had a fever or not but I think I probably did.

Well anyway, today I feel better but will go to work because its the holiday party. I will not go to the gym until I feel better. But I will take things day by day. I hate having a damn cold again.

I hate hot weather

I am melting. I hate hot weather as I said. I am a New Englander, 85 is too hot in my opinion. 25 is a nice winter day. I am counting the minutes until Sunday when it is supposed to top out at 75. Instead of the 100 which is due today.

I want to go to the beach today. My cold is lurking in the background again. I stopped taking decongestants the other day but they were keeping me up at night so I stopped. Now I am all congested again. My ears are more clogged again.

I think I just need a vacation.

Too bad that's not happening for another month.

Okay I learned a few things

I have had this stupid evil cold since Friday afternoon, June 28. It came to me courtesy of my husband. This is a normal event, one family member gets exposed to germs and brings them home to share with other family members.

My theory on colds has always been to take good care of myself and basically ignore them unless I become fairly sick. Rarely does a cold send me to bed for more than a couple of extra naps. I have never had a problem with this theory. Ignorance keeps the colds away.

This worked for decades.

Not any more.

In  the past 24 hours I have learned:
- when you start to feel sick, stop RA drugs
- when you start to feel sick, call your PCP, not after a week or 10 days as I normally would
- colds more easily turn into pneumonia when you have RA both due to the disease and due to the medication.

Today I am home in bed sick again/still whatever. If you are keeping count this is day 14. Normal colds evolve and slowly get better. Evil RA colds, stick around and get worse. My sore throat is gone but my cough is not and my ears are clogged.

I am on antibiotics that I started yesterday morning and if I don't feel better by Saturday I am supposed to go to the walk in clinic. Next Tuesday I see my new rheumatologist and will probably learn more about the common cold with rheumatoid.

The only good side to all this is that the scale seems to be going in the right direction even though I have been eating ice cream every day.

Its been a long couple of days

Wednesday I had my back procedure. Thursday my back hurt less. Friday I started to feel like crap but got a manicure/pedicure in the afternoon to make me feel normal.

Saturday I started feeling pretty bad and took my temperature which topped out at 101.6 at 2am this morning. I couldn't talk and my husband had to screen my phone calls and tell people to email me instead. I feel like all I have done in the past four days is lie around and take drugs - pain meds, cold meds, and tylenol. I have also eaten chocolate chunk chocolate ice cream for its healing properties.

I woke up this morning and my temperature was 98.8 so I think I have mostly recovered. I am finally beginning to think I might survive. I am not going to work tomorrow so I can continue to recover.

But my back doesn't really hurt much any more.

Personally I think that if you have had cancer you should be exempt from the common cold.

Back update

After my lovely adventure Wednesday morning where I definitely felt a few pinches, my back is doing better. After I came home, I took a nap to sleep off the anesthesia. I iced my back all afternoon and on Thursday as well as took pain meds. Yesterday I had less of a need of ice and pain meds.

So far this morning, my back feels okay but I have a nasty cold and am spending the day in bed. But my back doesn't hurt.

I was up until 1230 and then up again at 5 so I am a bit tired as well.

I am optimistic that it will feel better for a year or more. I just have to get over my cold to appreciate it more.

My brain is not working well enough to blog more today. I think I need a nap.

Allow me to be whiney

Its my blog so I can be whiney if I want. If you don't like whininess then just go away for the day. I am going to be whiney today because I still have a cold. Back on March 20, 2008, I blogged about Cancer Vs. The Common Cold and indicated that I was waiting for a cure for cancer and a cure for the common cold. That's plenty of time. I am on day 7 of another evil cold here and I still feel like crap. This is not fair. I am sick of being sick.

I DEMAND a cure for both the common cold and cancer. I am going to be a demanding, whiney brat about this. Its time. Plenty of money has been spent on research for both of them and I do not believe there is an evil conspiracy by the pharmaceutical companies to hide any cures they have because they make so much money on the medications and treatments for both.

I am not being a good patient at this point. I am living on tylenol (no aspirin products for me because I am on anti inflammatories for my back), no decongestants (because between being allergic to decongestants and no thyroid - I can't take anything that says don't take if you have a thyroid disease), herbal tea with lemon and honey, cough medicine, and whininess.

I can't even whine to the cat because he is vacationing at my parents house - not yet returned after our vacation last week. I am whining to my husband but he makes fun of my squeaky voice.

I know if I go to the doctor she will just tell me to drink plenty of fluids, take tylenol, and wait it out. Whine, whine, whine, grr.

I am undecided

I am undecided today. While I wish there was a cure for cancer (wouldn't that be nice?) I also wish there was a cure for the common cold. I am in day 5 of an evil cold. I have been doing all the right things. I first felt bad on Wednesday and was in my pajamas at 5pm,  in bed by 7, with the light out by 8. Thursday I stayed up slightly later. Friday even a little later. Yesterday I decided to pretend I was healthy and made it through 30 minutes at the gym and a trip to Costco. Today I woke up at 130am all congested, and no I did not get back to sleep. (I may slip into crabby mode a little later as a result.) In December I had another evil cold for 16 days that interfered with all my holiday preparations. I am getting a little fed up with this health business interfering with my desires to have a normal life.

Why can't there be a cure for both the common cold and cancer?? That would be the perfect world. Actually there are many medical ailments out there that could use a cure. And, no, there is not an evil conspiracy by the government, aliens, giant corporations or anyone else to make money off the rest of us while hiding the true cures for all ailments. Nor will you be healed by clicking on a link or sending $100 to some 'dude' somewhere  who has discovered the cure for whatever ails you - and you know this because he sent you an email where your name was only slightly misspelled.

Maybe what we all need to tide us over until the cures are found is a reverse voodoo doll where we can stick pins in it and relieve our symptoms. I don't know I'm clutching at straws here or having a pipe dream or whatever, but frankly I am sick of being the patient patient who goes from doctor appointment to doctor appointment. I am really just sick of being sick.

Speaking of viruses and colds

Last week at work, there were two co-workers who didn't miss a day but both obviously had a cold. Their claim was that since they had been sick for a few days they were no longer contagious. The rest of us thought they shouldn't be there. I sneezed a few times last week. This morning I woke up with a cold. Grrr... As a result, this is one of my more uninspired posts so feel free to skip it if you are bored.

There are things in common between a cold and cancer. There isn't a cure for either. There are also risk factors for a cold as there are for cancer. I do try to minimize my risk factors. I eat a lot of fruit and vegetables, exercise, take vitamins. (That sounds like the same as for cancer.)

Colds don't necessarily do you in but they do make you feel like crap for a few days. And I have a lot going on and can't afford take any time off from work - the downside of part time work is no sick pay. Its not just financial its that I have a lot to do that has deadlines. I also have meetings two nights this week that I really should go to - they are for my other job. I will not go to work or the gym today or tomorrow. Last week was my first week back on the track of three times a week at the gym. I guess I am back down to two trips this week and it has barely started.

I saw a news article recently about how to avoid getting sick - but now as I am ready to write about it I cant find it anywhere. They included things like avoiding sick people, washing your hands regularly, etc.

I did just look up the difference between a cold and a virus/flu. Basically a cold is centered in your nose and a virus/flu makes you feel bad all over. So far its my nose and throat and a general feeling of crap. But it does give me an excuse to spend the day in sweats, catching up on reality TV on the DVR and drink a lot of herbal tea with honey. I think I have some home made soup in the freezer too. But hey its not cancer. So I'll just suck it up and whine my way through it.

The solution for hair issues

You get cancer, you have chemo, you lose your hair, you wear a wig, and wait FOREVER to have your hair grow back. Forget it, I have a new solution. Research should be done to figure out how to add automatic hair growing to the equation. This could be done something like the old Crissy dolls from the 1960's. These were the ones where you could automatically grow your doll's hair from short to long just by turning the dial on her back. Then we wouldn't have this long waiting period of getting our hair back to its desired length. This is called 'creative thinking' or 'thinking outside the box'. If someone could figure this out, they could get very rich.

Okay, enough thinking for today. I still have my cold. My back still hurts. My husband is home sick another day. However I do feel somewhat better and will actually attempt a walk with a friend outside today. Maybe some fresh air will help. Well, that's the idea anyway. I also have some work I have to finish and some errands to run. Today is errand running day. Tomorrow, believe it or not, is another snow storm. We live in the 9+ inches area. Too bad I can't shovel. I am so upset. However my extreme supervisory skills will kick in and I will make sure my husband handles snow removal correctly.

Yesterday I did go to the gym, work from home, and go to work. Not very exciting but I never claimed to be exciting.

Having no memory

Chemo brain means having no memory - short term or long term. It is now my excuse for forgetting just about anything. Sorry if you think I over use it but I am going to use it.
However now my phone has lots its memory. The sim card died. This means every single phone number that was programmed in is now gone! I have to find them all again and start programming. WHAT A PAIN!!! But it does give me something to do between job hunting, being sick, working, and going to the gym.

Speaking of memory, yesterday was a rainy/snowy/yucky day. I decided not to go outside for a walk (because that would be a really bad idea since I have a cold). Instead, I decided to take my cold germs to the gym (so I could share them). However I have no brain so I got there with out my sneakers. I ended up riding a stationary bikes, pedaling in my socks. I looked at my sneakers before I went out the door and just forgot to pick them up.

Sharing is an important thing to do. I have now also shared my cold germs with my husband. This makes him crabby. Perhaps he will just go back to bed or something. I actually do have a busy day. I need to do the work I didn't do yesterday as well as go to the gym and go to work. I also hope to fit in watching Top Chef. The new episode was on last night and is on again today at 11. I hope to watch it then.

Otherwise another normal boring day. My back hurts. My cold is still here. So exciting.