the sick is on
wenesday, january 18, 2012


i actually meant to write more frequently than this, but 2012 hasn't started off so well. seems we're having a bit of trouble shaking the dust of a disastrous 2011 off our boots around here.

i've been sick for over a week and a half. saxy's been sick for more than two weeks. both of us are finally getting over it, but for me that took going to the doctor and getting some amoxicillin. and then sharing a day's worth of pills (over 3 days) with saxy to give his body the boost it needed to finally get better.

yea, it's been that bad.

for me, the doctor came in when i couldn't stop coughing and my throat was so bad my teeth hurt. i was worried that whatever this mess was, it was turning into either bronchitis or strep, and as an asthmatic, you don't mess with anything that hits your lungs or can cause extended coughing. people don't realize how bad an asthmatic attack can be, but don't get it under control, and you could die. i tend to try to avoid the doctor for most things now days—we just can't afford the meds—but when it comes to something life-threatening, man am i ever there.

turns out this thing was some kind of mutant sinus thing. i mean a seriously mutant sinus thing. at least according to what the doctor saw. no spots for strep, lungs sounded good. he prescribed antibiotics anyway, and i told him it would have to be amoxicillin or penicillin since we were extremely cash poor at the time and publix fills cillin prescriptions for free. took a few days for it to do much (which makes sense since i was shorting myself a pill), but i'm feeling LOADS better. still sick, but on the mend. in addition to the antibiotics, i put us on a cranberry juice regimen since it really seems to help clean the body out and helps to kill some infections. i've had success with cranberry juice against sinus infections before, and would have started it as soon as i started getting sick, but this mess didn't initially present as sinus related (and cranberry juice has no effect against colds; not sure about the flu).

i haven't been "go to the doctor and dose up" sick in quite awhile, actually, so i guess it was about time? and this thing was plain downright nasty. both saxy and i pretty much checked into bed and stayed there as long as possible. lots of tylenol, kroger brand dayquil type medicine, and juice. the one good thing? i discovered the new full-spectrum bulbs do help. between this sick and the storms that have been running through the area, i'd have been near suicidal by now without it. i do want to get the nest highest wattage available; the 60s are just too dim, which is kinda weird if it's full spectrum light. you'd think they'd be brighter than they are.

anyway, so saxy and i are recovering. and now the kids are coming down with it. both are home tomorrow, and probably friday as well (though froggy insists she has to go because she has tests—told her something else will have to be arranged since she won't pass with as sick as this thing will make her and she's already exposed too many people to it at this point). i'm just hoping this doesn't become the traditional pattern for me when an illness hits this house. i so do not need this mess yet again. tummy is extremely unhappy with the amount of cranberry juice i've been drinking, feminine places not too happy with the amoxicillin, and i so seriously do not need to be knocked back out again. i managed to do some stuff while sick, but definitely not as much as usual, and even though i'm a homebody, i have a lot that i do/take care of: writing, editing job, dii management, two or three sites i maintain, several blogs i maintain or am a part of, plus the usual mamma things.

in other, much happier news: saxy has a second, full time job. it's not exactly what he wants to be doing, but it's paying the same as the catering company, gives him hours that allows him to still work at the catering company, and has some other benefits to it career wise. his first day, he came home really unhappy about it, but he had a much better attitude about it his second day. and it will pay fairly well. this is important when your family has been sinking as long as ours (though i'll admit that i'm not sure it's in time to manage next month's rent at this point; and i've heard the owners are ready to let the house go into foreclosure, or would be if we weren't living here, so i'm thinking we won't be given much leeway). so even if he were still unhappy with it, he'd probably stick it out until something better came along, and we've both agreed that if something comes up that's better for his career, he should go for it. in the meantime, he'll have a full time job on top of his almost half-time job, be getting more experience, and be making some connections. and he's learning some new ways to deal with dietary limitations, which i hope will help open some creativity for him.

this sick was a weird one for saxy too, come to think of it. he rarely gets ill, and even more rarely gets sick enough to require days in bed and any kind of drugs. this thing really flattened him. hoping he'll go back to being mr. near-invincible. he did work a day or two while sick, but in the food industry, that's really not a good idea. and if we hadn't needed money on paychecks, he probably would have called in and stayed home.

the sick is definitely on with this particular nasty that's in the house right now, but really hoping that's it for the season.