I'm sick and tired of bein' sick and tired! (or, What IS this stuff?)

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Countryside : One Thread

I sit before you, slurping peppermint tea with kleenex close at hand. I have had this cold now for three weeks, and I am getting tired of it. If it was just me, I would mark it up to allergies. But seems just about everyone at school has it--head and chest congestion, losing their voice, and TIRED. I've not been to the doc--seems that those who do go are on their second round of antibiodics already, so evidently they don't help. A bunch of us were wondering if it had something to do with the new air conditioning that the school corp had installed this summer; it is a monster thing, and blows cold air all the time. But last night at church, our poor pastor's wife and daughter were sick, too (an all the babies have had ear infections). And my daughter just walked past, squinty-eyed from headache and sore throat pain, looking for the tylenol. Usually this stuff doesn't hit until February or March. So what gives?

I used to be on an e-mail board where some guy was talking about com-trails. I thought he was a bit far out, but now I am not so sure. And the scientitists say this year's flu season could be a doosey! Supposedly, this isn't the flu....but if we are THIS sick now, this winter sounds scary.

-- Leann Banta (thelionandlamb@hotmail.com), November 02, 2000

Answers

I wish you were feeling better. The cold air can make you sick. When my husband worked 3rd shift at a printing factory, it was freezing in there at night from the air conditioning. And he never gets cold. He had to wear sweatshirts and he was still cold. And it was 95 degrees outside during the day. He tried to sleep during the day with no air conditioning, and just sweated. He had a fever for a week, finially went to Dr. and got a couple shots. He dosen't work there anymore, does construction again, and hasn't been ill since.

Use lots of honey water, hot, and garlic pills to kick that thing away. The honey will make you cough it up, don't drink right before bed or you will be up coughing soon. They say honey can suck the moisture out of a rock. And go sit out in the sun if it is warm enough. Eggs are good to eat if you are tired, not meat.

When you are around lots of people, don't touch your eyes, nose or mouth with your hands untill you wash your hands good. That is usually how colds are spread. It works too. Hope you feel better soon.

-- Cindy in Ky (solidrockranch@msn.com), November 02, 2000.


Sorry you're not feeling well, Leann. I think that there are so many different strains of cold and flu viruses out there, and with folks traveling from coast to coast, we are exposed to new things each day that we have no resistence to. I had something a few weeks ago, sore throat, extreme fatigue, felt awful. I'm usually a workhorse, but I took a sickday and stayed on the couch all day. I just want to mention a fairly new supplement for bronchitis-Enzymatic Therapy makes Ivy Extract, and it seems to be a huge help in stopping bronchitis if taken early enough. It's less than $10 a bottle, and I've taken it when I first started feeling that rattle in my chest, and I really believe it worked. Feel better soon. If you have a juicer, use it. I really think fresh mixed juices help, too.

-- Cathy Horn (hrnofplnty@webtv.net), November 02, 2000.

My kids have been sick 2xs this winter already and i have been 1 x, sounds about the same,it took almost a month to get the cough gone. I am not looking forward to the months to come,i am also thinking of taking the 2 older ones out of morning pre school,to many people use it for "daycare" and send their kids no matter what.

-- renee oneill (oneillsr@home.com), November 02, 2000.

Leann, I try to avoid antibiotics at all costs, and have had excellent results using licorice root for chest congestion and bronchitis (I have chronic bronchitis). Take as directed on the bottle, the capsules work fine, and remember to adjust for body weight. To boost your white cell count during viral attacks, use astragalus root, can be hard to find locally, but it WORKS, doctors now recommend it to folks who are undergoing chemo. during cancer treatment to reestablish proper white blood cell levels. Our white blood cells are our only defense against viral infections, I can usually feel the difference the first day. It is available through Frontier Natural Products Co-op, 1-800-669-3275, you have to join as they are a true co-op, but it is worth the 10.00, as you buy wholesale. Annie in SE OH.

-- Annie Miller (annie@1st.net), November 02, 2000.

Leann, I don't know where you live, but this is an article from the Des Moines Register. Maybe it's similar to what everyone there has?

http://www.dmregister.com/news/stories/c4788996/12797192.html

-- Green (ratdogs10@yahoo.com), November 02, 2000.



Okay, this is scary. My 17 year old son has been sick for over a month. It began as a bad cold. I do not have medical insurance and who goes to the doctor for a really bad cold anyway? The high school attendance policy is for the birds. The students can't miss more than 4 days without a doctor's written excuse. (This high school is used to well off students.) So I kept sending him. Then, after two weeks he developed a really bad cough. Suddently, in the middle of the night, he couldn't breath because of coughing and when finally caught his breath, he made a whooping noise. So I sent him to the doctor. He only got to see a Physicians's Assistant who happens to be an idiot. She threw anti-iotics at him without listening to what he said. Ten days later, I took him back and this time we saw the on- the- ball Physician's Assistant. Guess what? He has Whooping Cough! They can't test for it now because he already had anti- biotics. They have diagnosed him based on his symptoms. I suspected this as a possibility but dicounted it because he has been vaccinated. Here is the really bad news. Because Whooping Cough is not as dangerous for older children and adults, boosters are not given. So his vaccination had worn off. Whooping Cough is also experiencing a come back and they are seeing more and more cases. Also, since we were so worried about his attendance credit, he went to school when he was contagious, the first two weeks when it seemed he only had a cold. He also went to work. He still missed alot of work and school but he was there enough to spread it around. Folks, this is scary to me because of my grandson. Thank heavens I stayed away from him the moment John became ill. There is an awful lot of repiratory illness out there this year. And John may be ill for two more months they informed us. Please, if you are ill, even with just a cold, stay away from others. They suspect my son contracted this at work. He gathers and pushes shopping carts! All those sick people and sick children who handle those carts.

-- Cheryl (bramblecottage@hotmail.com), November 02, 2000.

I hope you are feeling better! I was sick for about two months and am only now beginning to get my energy back...First I sounded like a frog...then I got to feeling better...then I ran a slight fever and had chills...then I was o.k. for about a week...THEN the chills and high fevers (for me around 104) came back with a vengence and just about completely knocked me out for three weeks! I was lucky that I am a reporter and could do some of my interviews and things by phone and then work here in my home office but I would have to just sit at the computer for about 30 minutes and then go lie down! My doctor officially diagnosed it as "acute sinisitus" but said I could have a combination of walking pneumonia and mono! I have no health insurance or he would have likely put me in the hospital because I cannot take antibiotics by mouth because of my severe allergies and I can only take a couple of antibiotics by IV. He finally started giving me one or two antibiotic shots per day in his office. Talk about expensive. But eventually I started feeling a little better!!!

The symptoms were just like the "old timey" flu that I can remember when I was a little girl. I have only been feeling a little better for about the last two weeks so this went on from late August until then. I can't take vitamin C or the flu shot but I'm trying to be extremely careful~

-- Suzy in 'Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), November 02, 2000.


I really appreciated your post Cheryl! I haven't had the 'flu since I was a child, probably because I don't have children bringing disease home from school, and I do all my grocery shopping at night after everyone else has gone home, but I had not thought about the angle of pathogens ON the cart! When I hear people coughing and sniffling in one aisle of the store, I steer clear (I just don't have time to be sick), but I think I'm going to start taking along some alcohol wipes...and considering the OTHER posts, probably start wearing a germ mask out in public like the Japanese do. I do take a lot of astragulus tho.

One other bit maybe of interest. A few years ago I had a terrific cough that just wouldn't go away, coughing so hard that I would vomit from it. I couldn't walk from one barn to the other with a pail of water without stopping to rest halfway, and the buildings were right next to each other. Eventually it got so that I had to sit down to rest walking from living room to bathroom until I could get my wind. The doctor said 'it's going around' and gave me pills. It didn't help -- he said 'it must be bronchitis, it's going around' and gave me more antibiotic pills. THOSE didn't help. One night I drove myself to the emergency room, stopping to get my breath walking to the door -- couldn't even OPEN the door. I was hospitalized for a total of 11 days (you do NOT want to know how expensive that was!!)

The long and short of it was that I had hypersensitivity pneumonitis - - pneumonia-like symptoms caused by a hypersensitive allergic reaction to my birds. It is commonly known as Bird Keeper's Lung (or Poultry Keeper's Lung). It affects approx. 5-10% of the population, but the percentage is growing. I cannot keep ANY birds now, even outdoor birds, and had a high allergen count for species I'd never even kept (turkeys). All the birds had to go, as well as things like feather comforters. It turned out that this problem ran in my family, but no one had ever mentioned it to me. It doesn't sound like any of these cases, but in the event that someone does start to experience similar symptoms, keep it in mind. I didn't have any of the 'classical' symptoms of allergies (no runny nose, itchy or weepy eyes, rashes, etc.), just the shortness of breath and coughing.

-- Julie Froelich (firefly1@nnex.net), November 02, 2000.


Jilie, thanks for your insight, maybe I'll have to get rid of the chickens, or at least use a GOOD dust mask everytime I'm near or in the chicken house. Annie in SE OH.

-- Annie Miller (annie@1st.net), November 02, 2000.

ok. I am making my list for the local co-op natural food store this weekend; good thing it is a payday weekend, huh? Thanks for the sympathy and tips; I already take garlic and mega-vitimins, and colloidial silver, which might be the reason that it hasn't developed into anything worse. Maybe a batch of chicken soup this weekend would be a good thing.....

-- Leann Banta (thelionandlamb@hotmail.com), November 02, 2000.


Oh,oh, don't forget the Vitamin C and Echenacia. I swear by them. Stay away from the dairy while you are coughing too.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), November 02, 2000.

We all had it too. Our doc just called it the crud. takes about 10 days. Hope your over it soon.

-- Jay Blair (jayblair678@yahoo.com), November 02, 2000.

Leann, I live just south of you and there has been some really bad bugs going around. Three weeks seems to be about how long it takes to start getting over it too. Antibiotics don't seem to help, unless you get something else once your immune system gets whupped on. Having had the pleasure of experiencing exactly what you describe a while back I offer my heartfelt condolences. This is viral in nature and seems to really be catchy. Wash your hands and your kids hands frequently. I've been seeing this in the ER for 2-3 months now and flu season hasn't even hit yet! Oh well, job security. John

-- John in S. IN (jsmengel@hotmail.com), November 04, 2000.

Leann, hope you're feeling better soon! Sounds like the early flu bug got to you. Take care and God bless!

-- Phyllis (almostafarm@yahoo.com), November 05, 2000.

Moderation questions? read the FAQ