Where Liz Links: Bleah

October 17, 2003

Bleah

Last night around 10, my temperature was 99 - a lowgrade fever, which is no more than I expected given my congested cough.

The morning was too hectic for me to bother, but around 2:30, while Matt and Penny were both sleeping, I started to shiver, which is a sure sign of a real fever for me. I took my temp again - 100. No longer really "lowgrade," but not high enough to do anything much for, especially since I've got a sick baby on my hands as well. I put on a sweater and took a couple of Advil, and then picked up Penny, who'd just woken from a five-hour nap and was hungry enough for three babies.

Around 3:30, the shivering stopped, which I took as a good sign. Just to be sure, I took my temperature again around 4:00 - and discovered that despite the Advil, I was up to 101. When I got up to take Penny upstairs, I discovered that in lieu of the shivers, every muscle in my body ached. I'm well on the way to seriously ill.

With a sick baby in the house. And Matt isn't feverish, but isn't quite at the top of his game, either.

I took some different cold medicine with an analgesic built in, and am hitting the liquids, and am watching my temperature a little more closely. If it gets to 102, I'll need to call a doctor and/or go to the emergency room.

One thing about having a baby that somehow slipped my mind: Sleep deprivation suppresses the immune system. Guess I need to hit up the vitamin C a little more.

In the meantime, the next few days are going to suck.

Posted by Liz at 04:37 PM

And then they said...

4:30 - 101.7.
4:45 - 100.5. Whew.

I know, I know - keep pushing the fluids.

Gods, I hate being sick.

Posted by: Liz (email) (link) on October 17, 2003 04:50 PM

and Echinacea. Something that doesn't matter until you are a parent is the sick thing. When it's just 2 adults in the house, if 2 adults are sick, well, it's not fun, but each are adults and can take care of themselves. Once you leave the childless club and enter the parent club, though, when one person gets sick, the rest better beef up their immune system. In our home we use vitamin C, prayer, fluids, and Echinacea - 3 capsules a day as soon as someone (aka Em) gets sick. That has generally prevented all three of us from getting sick. Sometimes 2 of us have been sick at the same time, but the sick adult who had been taking Echinacea doesn't get as sick as the Emma. Therefore the sick adult can usually help take care of the Emma while the nonsick adult can go to work, or if a weekend can take care of grocery shopping, etc. Just a tip that we use. Speaking of which, we need more Echinacea.

Posted by: Kris Brandt (email) on October 18, 2003 07:00 AM

I picked up some echinacea at the store. It wasn't until I got it home I noticed the label on the side said, "WARNING: Do not take if you are pregnant or nursing."

Well, poop, I thought. There goes Liz. Oh, well. I'll take it, at least, so at least one of us doesn't fall all the way ill.

It wasn't until after I'd taken it I noticed the label on the side also said, "Do not take if you are allergic to any member of the ragweed family."

Well, poop. I'll just sit here and wait for my throat to swell shut or something, I guess.

Posted by: Matt (email) (link) on October 19, 2003 12:08 PM

huh. I don't think I started taking it until after I stopped nursing, so I don't know about that. I do know that Braz is allergic to everything in the ENTIRE world, and he takes it. I don't know if it effects his allergies, but I don't think it does. Anyway, if your throat swells shut see if Liz can grab a sharp knife to cut you a trache -- about 2/3 down the neck. Or call 9-1-1 and have them do it for you. Good luck, anyway. Hope you all are feeling better soon!

Posted by: Kris (email) on October 19, 2003 11:56 PM

I can see it now...

::ambulance and police arrive at the Brooks residence, sirens wailing::

"Ohmigod, lady, what did you do? Just-- put... down... the knife."

"No, no, it's okay, he *wanted* me to cut his throat. And my friend's a nurse, she told us to do it."

Luckily, all necks were intact upon my arrival.

That aside-- clinical results on echinacea have been mixed. For some ppl, it seems to help, for others it does nothing (I'm in the latter category, alas). When I heard the Brookseses had fallen ill, as I was going to be shuttling back and forth between two new-baby households for my visit, I made for darn sure I was taking my multivitamin with the booster of C, and an added dose of zinc as a side dish. Happy to report, not sick (yet).

Posted by: Gris (email) on October 21, 2003 12:10 AM