Thursday, January 21, 2010
Codeine Is My Friend
It started with the faintest hint of congestion and a scratchy throat. The winds were high on Thursday morning, and so the symptoms were easily dismissed as allergies. I've never officially been diagnosed as being allergic to anything, but when the Santa Ana winds whip up around here, the dust and garbage in the air wreaks havoc on my sinuses.It's just how it is.
So I ignored it.
I felt fine. No fever, no achiness, nothing to suggest I might be sick at all.
And that's how I spent the weekend. And so, I didn't think about it. Just went about my business, went to a movie on Saturday, conducted a phone interview on Sunday, and spent the evening hanging out with The Nephew.
I knew I wasn't sick, in that stay-away-from-me-I-need-to-be-quarantined sort of way, but I also realized by Monday that something wasn't quite right and figured I would be fine after a good night of sleep. Which was kind of funny since I was just finishing up a three-day weekend.
But, when I woke up on Tuesday morning, I knew I was going to have to miss work and see the doctor. Five days of symptoms isn't usually a good sign, and when I was having trouble breathing, I thought that I had somehow skipped getting a cold and had gone straight to bronchitis.
It's a little bit scary when you call a doctor's office to see if there is any way you can possibly get in that day, tell the nurse your symptoms, and then get an appointment immediately. I still felt generally okay. I knew I didn't have a fever, I still wasn't achy. Other than the minor issues of severe exhaustion and the inability to breathe properly, I was basically fine.
The doctor asked a ton of questions, and most of them dealt with allergies and asthma. She ruled out cold, although she did test for the Swine Flu. Just in case.
(Have any of you had that swine flu test? Where they shove this thing up your nose? Seriously awful.)
Anyways, the doctor thinks I have asthma. And she thinks I've always had asthma, that it's just gone undiagnosed.
How does that happen? How do I get through 33 years of life without any doctor ever suggested something like this?
Weird.
So, she gave me prescriptions for an inhaler and for cough syrup with Codeine.
I've basically been drunk for two days.
It's been awesome.
When I take it and go straight to sleep, I'll snooze for a good 10 uninterrupted hours of bliss. But when I take it and stay awake, well, apparently it's a lot of fun to witness. My roommates laughed right along with me yesterday as I lost my words, giggled at nothing, and refused to make any sort of rational sense at all.
So, yeah, it's been an interesting week. Still don't know exactly what happened. The doc suggested it was a virus that aggravated the asthma or something. The good news is that I'm not contagious. The bad news is that I felt generally okay through Tuesday, but started to feel crappy on Wednesday and it only got worse as the day went on. Today, I don't know exactly how I feel. I have no voice, which is interesting. And, I think my house got hit by a tornado because it will NOT stop SPINNING. Seriously. What's the deal?
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oh Karen, I'm so sorry! I hope you get better soon!
ReplyDeleteI have an award for you at my place :-)
I hope you're feeling better soon! Does asthma strike in adulthood? It does seem strange that you'd have never known.
ReplyDeleteMy husband is in a Walgreens Urgent Care thing right now because he thinks he might be dying of a sore throat. I love winter sickness season!
Oh dear! I hope you feel better soon. But I'm glad you're having fun!
ReplyDeleteI hope you feel better soon.
ReplyDeleteI was diagnosed with viral induced asthma 5 years ago. I got a cold and then coughed for 5 months afterward. Apparently, you can get asthma as an adult.
There are things you can take naturally that can alleviate asthmatic responses.. b12 is one thing and natural raw honey preferably with the comb still in it... so sorry you are having such a rough time with it
ReplyDeleteMan that sucks. I'm sorry! I hope you feel better soon!
ReplyDeleteThat would suck. My brother just got diagnosed with it and he is going to be 22 on saturday. I think all doctors are idiots.
ReplyDeleteHope you feel better soon!!
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly why I can't take codeine...I spin out of control on it, I can't even stand up straight. Yet, the wierd thing is that once it's out of my body, I get the shakes..like a crack addict in need of another hit. Wierd stuff!
ReplyDeleteHope you feel better soon!
I was diagnosed with asthma in high school! So yeah, it's possible. The good news is that if you get it under control with preventative meds, you won't get sick as often.
ReplyDeleteAnd I can't take codeine either.
OH YIKES! I hope you are feeling better soon....
ReplyDelete.....yeah, that codeine can be nasty. Most prescription drugs make me dizzy/nauseous and I never can get off the couch....never could wrap my head around people getting addicted to them when they make you feel like crap. In my partying days experience, I preferred the drugs that made you feel good....you know so I could go out in public and be the village idiot.
*disclaimer....this was not supporting the use of illegal or legal drugs or implying otherwise. Just me being me poking fun at my stupid past.
My fiance had that cough syrup, I think! He'd take it before bed and be OUT! He was taking it during the day...finally I went to the store and got some non-drowsy medicine so he could live his life. He didn't seem to realize that there's actually cold medicine out there that will cure your symptoms and let you be AWAKE! But at bedtime, that stuff was magic.
ReplyDeleteBeing sick totally blows. I'm sorry you're sick. I hope you get feeling better soon:)
ReplyDeleteThat really is weird that it's been undiagnosed this whole time. It doesn't seem possible! I'm glad you have meds now though!
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry! Tell me when you are better so we can go out... :) Maybe next weekend?? Or maybe it would be fun to go out with you all drunk on cough medicine!!
ReplyDeleteFeel better soon!
ReplyDeleteDo you have full asthma, or is it the kind that only crops up when you're sick? That's what I have. I have an albuterol inhaler, but I basically don't need it until I get sick. Sometimes I'll be really sick and won't need it, other times I'll have just a hint of a cold and get wheezy. It's just by body's way of keeping me guessing.
I. Love. Codeine. LOVE IT! Can't have it anymore for a while, but still, it holds a special place in my heart.
ReplyDeleteWow. You are a light weight!
ReplyDeleteI hope you get to feeling better soon. I am having some serious throat issues myself. My parents thought I was just being too "in tune" with my body again, because for the past 3 weeks I've been claiming I have some sore of throat cancer. It's tonsillitis.
It's so scary when you don't know what's going on. Hope you feel better soon!
ReplyDeleteHi there, stopping by from Friday Follow. I'm a new follower! Hope you feel better soon!
ReplyDeleteCathy ♥ Snow White's Blog Shop!
Stopping by from Friday Follow!
ReplyDeleteThis actually happened to me too...sounds really similar. The doctor told me I had asthma put me on an inhaler, didn't work, kept going on higher doses, and finally got a second opinion. She actually had me do an asthma test and found that I did not have asthma...I had bronchitis! So, be sure to get a second opinion! Good luck hope you feel better!
Sorry you're not feeling great (except on codeine, of course)
ReplyDeleteI'm one of the 2% of the population that gets boundless energy from codeine. It kills the pain (discovered that after a minor surgery with major pain) but I do ANYTHING but sleep.
Unfortunately I forgot that the one time about 2 years ago when the doctor at the walk in clinic (it was a Sunday) told me that they don't believe in antibiotics (>!>!>!), so no steroid pack, but they'd give me cough syrup with codeine so I could sleep.
Guess who was up all night long?
You sound like I do when I take Valium before a root canal.
ReplyDeleteMy husband will stay home from work on those days just to watch the train wreck.
Now following from FRIDAY fOLLOW
ReplyDeleteI can feel for ya.
ReplyDeleteWe have a stomach virus or something going around our home. YUK
It's no fun being sick. No matter the symptoms.
*Friday Follow*
LOL I love codeine...but I think I have built up a slight tolerance to it. It makes me slightly drowsy, but only knocks me out for 7-8 hours now!
ReplyDelete