Maybe Mono?

So I've been feeling a little under the weather for awhile now and I finally went to see the doctor, because enough is enough!!

I had the flu through most of February and saw the doctor who confirmed it and gave me Tamiflu -- an antiviral flu medicine -- which is supposed to shorten the duration of the flu. I felt miserable, as I said, for most of February. Then, at the beginning of March I finally started to feel fine again. Around the 11th or 12th of March, I started to feel sick again. I've had a sore throat and I've used Mucinex alot, along with other sinus meds and decongestants. When I woke up on Tuesday morning I felt alot worse!! I woke up with pain in all of my joints, my lymph node areas of my throat and armpits were so tender. It was painful to wash and then dry my armpits after the shower. It's also achy and painful to move around alot, like while washing my hair.

It's miserable! The doctor did a complete examination of my ears, throat, breath sounds and ordered a complete array of blood tests. She said she thinks it's mono, but the blood work will confirm or deny that. She ordered glucose, to tell if I'm diabetic, a CBC, cholesterol numbers, and a special note to measure my Epstein-Barr titers and my Parvo B19 titers. I didn't even know that Parvo could affect humans, but apparently it can, it's just a different type than affects dogs.

Today I spent most of the day popping ibuprofen and Mucinex. I hoped the Mucinex would help with the drainage and sore throat, because I can't sit around all day with heated pads on my neck. The ibuprofen must be helping because I wasn't nearly as achy, but I still feel like shit!

The worst part about all of this is shirking responsibilities. I have litterboxes to clean, cats to give affection, a mid-term to do, and most important, a big day of volunteering coming up on Saturday, all day long. I am hoping and praying that I will feel a bit better by Saturday, because I cannot imagine spending more than twelve hours on my feet dealing with people. I feel like I might need to cancel, but I also know there's no one else who can step in and do it for me.

What I keep asking myself is how do people work at full-time jobs when they feel like shit? I think what would it be like if I had a job right now and had to spend 40 hours a week working hard, all the while feeling like I do now. This is the thing that keeps me up at night. I worry about being sick like I have been for the past two months really. How could I possibly be expected to work full-time when I'm sick for months at a time? I've spent alot of time in the past few years suffering through cold symptoms and waiting to feel better. Maybe it's time to consider a different way of living.

I was reading through the descriptions of mostly raw diets the people featured on Oprah last week are using. One guy said he hasn't had a cold in 20 years. Could I give up most of the foods I love in exchange for not being sick anymore? That's a good question, and one definitely worth considering. I thought I was going to avoid being sick when I started using a neti pot everyday, but so far that hasn't happened either. Not only have I had a cold, but also the flu and now maybe mono. So much for you, fucking neti pot.

I have American Idol on the television in the background, but I'm mostly ignoring it. My husband is playing World of Warcraft and I'm trying to keep my train of thought and write this.