I'm Not Dead Yet
January 11, 2011
It's been a bleak couple days...scratch that, it's more like five days now...around here. We're all finally through the worst of it, I think. Kind of. I'm wearing actual pants today, at least.
Jason and I came down with...whatever the unholy hell this was...on Thursday, while the boys held off until Sunday, but it's not like Jason and I were feeling any BETTER by Sunday, if anything we felt worse, since that was our solid third day of on-off fevers and hacking up lungs and headaches and congestion and basically having all of the strength of a pair of newborn, whiny-ass kittens.
Oh. And then our television -- the good one, the not-at-all-old one, the TiVo-DVD-gaming-systems-connected one broke. Just: Poof. Pfft. Kaput.
Right? It's downright unconstitutional, if you ask me.
I called my OB on Friday once I realized that I was possibly suffering from the flu and not a cold, and he gave me a horribly unsatisfactory line-up of drug options, none of which did a single blessed goddamn thing, and eventually I gave up on taking them altogether and have essentially been self-medicating with nothing more than water, saline spray, Chapstick and moaning.
(And yes, GOOGLE, I'm aware that I should have gotten the stupid flu shot. Thanks for providing me with no fewer than 1,324,029 search results saying just that when I went looking to see if I could maybe borrow some other pregnant-lady-on-the-Internet's doctor's list of better recommendations, because I got shafted, y'all. Tylenol. One punk-ass weak-sauce type of Robitussin. Whatthehell.)
(I tend to react badly to the stupid flu shot, for the record, and usually end up getting sick much more often the years I've gotten it.)
(Oh, fine. I can't even pretend I made any conscious decision about the flu shot at all, because I mostly just completely forgot about it, like two days ago it was September and now you're trying to tell me that it's JANUARY? You are high, good sir. GOOD DAY.)
Yesterday Jason became convinced that he was dying and went to see his doctor, who gave him some Sympathy Antibiotics, or possibly Just Get Out Of My Office You Diseased Person Antibiotics, even though I'm pretty sure none of us actually need antibiotics. We just need to construct a giant antibacterial hamster ball around our house.
But not until we can get a new TV delivered.
Can't think of anything particularly upbeat or cheery to say that won't make you hate me. So I'll just say "that sucks balls," which is my 12 year old's opinion of anything short of the impending apocalypse.
Hope y'all get better soon.
Posted by: Plano Mom | January 11, 2011 at 12:33 PM
Please post the info of the hamster-ball building company after you find it. All 5 of us have been sick for so long I can barely remember how to leave my house or where my actual shoes are or hairbrushes or...
... what were we talking about?
Posted by: Peachy | January 11, 2011 at 12:34 PM
I'm pregnant as well (#3 here too!) and this pregnancy has been the most symptom-laden one of all. With the additional bonus of catching anything and everything my teacher husband brings home from the kiddos. And it has taken me until pregnancy #3 to be told that Tylenol pm is nothing more than Tylenol and benadryl, so fine for pregnancy. It's not the wonder-drug, but it helps me get more sleep which helps me recover a bit faster.
Posted by: Monica | January 11, 2011 at 12:36 PM
The venerable Dr. Sears says you can use Afrin...which is a huge relief for me even when I'm not pregnant. http://askdrsears.com/html/1/T011500.asp#T011503
And for what it's worth, (nothing, if your OB forbids it) every OB and midwife I've had has allowed the real-deal sudafed on the grounds that a few doses of that is better than prolonged illness and antibiotics for sinus infection. Feel Better soon!
Posted by: Angela | January 11, 2011 at 12:54 PM
I didn't get the flu shot for the same reason you did. The *one time* I remembered to ask my OB for the shot during my regular appointment, they had run out. Every subsequent visit saw me remember that I wanted to ask about the flu shot as I put my keys into the ignition to drive *away* from the appointment.
And lo, here we are. Allegedly, it is January. According to those who are high.
Posted by: Sonja | January 11, 2011 at 12:58 PM
ooooh that sounds awful. and that tv had seriously mean timing.
Posted by: HolyMama! | January 11, 2011 at 01:35 PM
Ugh, that sucks. The first and ONLY time I got the flu was when I was pregnant with my first kid. It was horrible. I hope you all feel better soon!
Posted by: nonsoccermom | January 11, 2011 at 01:40 PM
Ah crud. That sounds awful. I hope you all get over it quickly!
Posted by: Life of a Doctor's Wife | January 11, 2011 at 02:18 PM
I recommend nose-douching as the only holistic therapy that actually does anything. You don't need one of those fancy neti-pots, either. Just get a squirt bottle (probably a sport bottle like for biking would work) and blast the hell out of your nose until water comes out the opposite nostril. After you push your eyeballs back into their sockets, you'll feel great! My wife is a doctor, so I know whereof I speak.
Posted by: beta dad | January 11, 2011 at 02:22 PM
I got the flu shot this year because they MAKE ME. Every year THEY MAKE ME because I have extenuating circumstances. I digress. Anyway, it makes me sicker than all hell and I'd much rather get the flu and you're taking the right road. Please pass along the information on the Hamster Ball. I'm totally building one.
OH, and buy yourself a new TV..the kind with blu-ray because after all this you deserve it and also because it's rad and Hamster balls can be boring.
Posted by: Sherri | January 11, 2011 at 02:45 PM
Oh, bleh. The flu totally sucks. But, at least you're not on vacation on a cruise, which was when I was stricken. No escape from that, I tell ya.
Maybe your TV will miraculously heal itself. That's what I always hope for when electronics Go Wrong.
Posted by: Suzy Q | January 11, 2011 at 02:47 PM
Ugh, I had the same thing last week. I was totally miserable, and I had the benefit of drugs. No good ones, but it's better than nothing.
Posted by: Kathryn | January 11, 2011 at 02:59 PM
I got the flu shot and I've been so sick this year. I think it is inevitable in my house with germy little kid hands touching everything. I hope you feel better soon!
Posted by: Kristin J | January 11, 2011 at 03:01 PM
I've had the flu 3 times in my life....I've had the flu shot 3 times in my life. Seems the flu shot does nothing but attract the flu for me.
The second time I was 9 months preggo with my first and they wouldn't let me take anything either. Nothing. No sudafed, no benedryl, no afrin. NOTHING but tylenol. It was miserable. I feel for you!
Posted by: Trista | January 11, 2011 at 03:21 PM
hope you don't get the pink eye too...that's been going around here as the flu symptoms subside.
Posted by: Tina C. | January 11, 2011 at 03:24 PM
By any chance was your TV a Samsung LCD? We have one that died a quick and spectacular death last year at 3 years old. Turns out there are known problems with Samsung TVs and though their customer service was AWFUL I was able, through a series of machinations, to get them to repair the TV for free (out of warranty). If this is your situation, DM me on Twitter (I follow you) and I'll send you my regular email plus all the info.
And feel better! I got a horrible hacking cough w/bacterial infection when pregnant w/#3. Sucks.
Posted by: Carla Hinkle | January 11, 2011 at 03:46 PM
Okay, let me get this straight. Your family is going through the flu WITHOUT a television now!? That's not unconstitutional, that's downright barbaric!
I cannot fathom having to groan and be miserable without some DVR'd trashy TV to keep me sedated!
Hope your family and your TV are on the mend!
Posted by: Kailee | January 11, 2011 at 03:50 PM
The cold/flu whatever it is that is going around this year is downright awful! We are on week 3 of it here in our house, just keep passing it around. I hope that you all feel better soon!
Posted by: Katie | January 11, 2011 at 03:57 PM
Ugh. To be without TV while sick and with sick kiddos is terrible! Yuck.
Posted by: Lindsey | January 11, 2011 at 05:18 PM
Sick + pregnant with small children = Hell. OMG i sympathize. Drink hot liquids and watch bad movies on the bad tv till u feel better!
Posted by: MommiePie | January 11, 2011 at 05:49 PM
I'm really sorry that you are all so sick. I feel your pain, I had a terrible flu 2 winters ago that put me out of action for around 4 weeks and took 3 months to get fully over - the on/off fevers and the coughing that kept me up all night was hideous. And I was breastfeeding at the time so it was water and tylenol for me. Only good thing was I lost 5 kilos (10 lbs) which stayed off. Yay for life threatening fevers. Anyway, it was also around the time of the swine flu hysteria so nobody wanted to come near me with a barge pole just in case!
Anyway none of this is helpful to you - sorry! I just wanted to say try putting vicks on the soles of your feet to help with the coughing. Don't laugh! Apparently it helps. That's all i got for you.
Posted by: Treena | January 11, 2011 at 05:49 PM
Re: Jason convinced he was dying - me too, once. Made a wee-hours trip to ER because cold/virus/whatever was keeping me from sleeping and it felt like I couldn't breathe. (And this was on a weekend, so a visit to my doc the next day wasn't an option.) ER said yeah, your throat is surprisingly swollen (enough to CAT scan, anyway,) but mainly you're just really dehydrated. Here's a saline bag. (Y'all, I swear I thought I was drinking enough water. Apparently I should've been drinking from bathtubs or something.) They then sent me home with prescription-strength OTC meds. Yeah, I felt like a $$$$-lighter dumbaff (oops, sorry, hope N & E didn't hear that... :-)
But I have my own sinus/congestion issues, so maybe that's just me.
Hope you & yours feel better ASAFP.
Posted by: Greg S. | January 11, 2011 at 05:55 PM
Ah, you wouldn't have gotten that flu shot anyway. You were kinda considering maybe getting a little knocked up in the nearish future.
Posted by: Donna | January 11, 2011 at 06:18 PM
Just read an article a few weeks ago about how flu shots only actually work in 4% of people, it's just that most people are healthy enough to not get sick or don't get exposed to it anyway. So, no, I don't think you should have gotten the flu shot. I am feeling sorry for you, though! I've only had HORRID allergies and that is bad enough without drugs. I can't imagine actual flu.
Posted by: Rachael | January 11, 2011 at 08:01 PM
"Ah, you wouldn't have gotten that flu shot anyway. You were kinda considering maybe getting a little knocked up in the nearish future."
Hrm, must be going to a different doctor than mine! My primary care doctor, neurologist, and OB all instilled upon me that pregnant women (and those trying to become so) need the flu shot *more* than those who are not gestating (or trying to gestate). But hey, I was too braindead to actually get it, so clearly their entreaties weren't enough to overcome my own personal inertia.
Posted by: Sonja | January 11, 2011 at 09:40 PM
That freaking sucks. Hope you feel better very soon.
Posted by: Kristin | January 12, 2011 at 12:02 AM
Huh, exact crud we've got going on here. I keep wondering when the locusts will show up. Except I'm not pregnant but we are selling our house. Actually I think we've sold our house with a Feb 15 closing and we haven't found a house to buy. I wish I could just be dead for the next month, rise up when all of this is solved and go on Oprah as the next best thing to cashmere wraps.
Posted by: Jessica | January 12, 2011 at 12:39 AM
My doctor is awesome. They okayed me to have Sudafed, Mucinex, Robitussin, Tylenol PM, or Benadryl without even calling. And they got me a Z pack which made me want to kiss them on the lips. They asked me not to.
Posted by: Chimera | January 12, 2011 at 12:47 AM
I am so, so Team Flu Shot. Had every year except one in the past ten years, and I never got the crud, except the year I didn't. That would be in 2009, when i was pregnant and tryong to find the damn thing everywhere. I taught thirdgrade, too, the germ were everywhere, and I stayed healthy.
However, I a solid month of my third trimester congested like crazy, despite neti pots, humidiefiers, everything I could think of. My OB gave me cough syrup with codeine in it . So bug yours if you need to.
Posted by: Kim | January 12, 2011 at 01:28 AM
Psfft. The flu shot didn't do me one lick of good, so don't kick yourself too much over it. At first I thought I was getting morning sickness super early but nope, the flu. Now I've kicked the flu and all of a sudden I feel like I'm getting the flu again... so I guess this may be morning sickness.
Posted by: Megan | January 12, 2011 at 06:21 AM
How's your dad?
Posted by: Melissa | January 12, 2011 at 10:57 AM
The flu shot didn't protect me against what you have - I had it too! two freaking weeks on the weak pregnancy meds, and then they finally gave me inhalators and antibiotics. Inhaled steroids, because they said the baby was "likely developed enough" at 25 weeks to risk the inhalators.
Posted by: Kate | January 12, 2011 at 06:24 PM
Hope you will be better soon.It's worst that you can't watch TV when you are sick.
Posted by: Prevent skin infection | January 13, 2011 at 05:55 AM
I too have bad reactions to flu shots. All the better anyway since my brother (who is a neuroscientist) has studied data on correlations between developmental delay and pregnant mothers having received a flu shot.
Posted by: Alaina | January 13, 2011 at 06:52 PM