Before my medical crisis, I had no idea what pneumonia felt like. Now that I do, any time I feel anything close to it, I worry. But also, it was such a unique feeling, anything compared to it is lesser. Which is both good and bad. “It’s not walking non-Covid-related pneumonia” is a pretty easy bar to clear, but that doesn’t mean that what I have is not something to worry about.
I feel like I did when I got the Covid shot. Not quite as bad, but the same symptoms. Chills and sweat, alternating. Fatigue and body aches. None of the more classic ones such as cough, runny nose, etc. I am sniffing more than normal, but no runny nose.
It could just be the crud. I am going to pick up a Covid test to see if it’s that. I will be both peeved and annoyed if it is Covid. Peeved because I just got the booster. Relieved because then I would at least know what it was.
I just took the test. It’s snowing out. That makes me happy, but it’s not going to stick around long, I have a feeling. But it’s certainly pretty and makes me feel very wintery, which I appreciate.
The test is fairly easy. It’s just swab the inside of the nose and then test it. Wait fifteen minutes and you get results. But you can mess up each step along the way if you don’t do it pproperly. And it’s fairly easy to fuck it up. I bought two in case I messed one up and also so I can test in a few days even if I’m negative with the first one. The only thing I had forgotten from the first time was that the ‘test tube holder’ was the package itself. Which I ripped open. Fortunately, I could craft it into a stand so it was no big deal.
I have taken a test before and tested negative. I know that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily negative as false negatives ar ea thing. This test is negative as well. Not even a whiff of a pink line for the test line. I will try again in a few days, but for now, will assume I don’t have it.
That doesn’t mean I don’t have something. Yes, Covid is a big worry, but there are other things, too. I don’t think it’s the flu given that from what I heard, it hits really hard. Maybe a bad cold? But it doesn’t feel like cold symptoms. That’s why I think it might be menoapause. I asked K about her symptoms when she had it, and she said it was exactly as I described. Body aches, fatigue, chills, and sweats. If I don’t feel better by Monday, I’ll see my doc.
It’s funny how I know something is wrong, but I don’t know what it is. It’s nothing lung-related. I know that that feels like very well, especially bronchitis. I got that all the time in the Before Times. At least two or three times a year for several months at a time. It wasn’t like this, though. It was me coughing constantly, basically.
So far I’ve resisted Googling my symptoms because we know what happens when you Google medical shit. You come up with the most obscure thing you might possibly (but really don’t) have and then freak the fuck out.
Here’s the complicating factor for me. I don’t get a fever. Ever. My basal temp is 97.5 and I don’t think I’ve ever gone over 100. Doctors say a fever is discrete from your basal temp, which doesn’t make sense to me. If my basal temp is a whole degree lower than most people’s, then why wouldn’t a fever be the same? But if I accept what doctors say about a fever, well, then I have never gotten one.
Since having a fever is the first symptom of having the flu, that means I’ve never had the flu, either. That doesn’t mean I haven’t had things that felt like the flu (which is pretty much now), but–wait. You can have the flu with no fever. Huh. I don’t have any respiratory issues, though. That’s the thing. No coughing, no sneezing, no bronchial shit. It’s me being tired, muscles aching, and chills/sweats. That’s why I think it might be menopause!
If it doesn’t clear up by Monday, I’ll see a doctor. It’s definitely not normal tiredness, but it’s not walking (non-Covid) pneumonia tired, either. When I had that, I could not move hardly at all. All I wanted to do was sleep, and I slept a ton. This is more, I’m tired, but not unable to do shit. I did the first hour of my Taiji class (out of an hour-and-a-half), which is much more than I could have done when I had pneumonia. I really think it could be menopause. Which would be a relief. i can deal with that.
I think that’s the worst thing about being sick, but not knowing what it is. It’s difficult to deal with it when you don’t know what dealing with it entailed. It’s funny how most of the time, it boils down to resting, hydrating, and resting some more. There really isn’t much else you can do.
I am hoping that this will clear up in a day or two. It’s kind of like what people get when they go to a conference. It’s affectionately known as conflu and almost everyone gets it.
I have not been to a con, but I did go out this week to dinner for the first time since the pandemic. And even if it’s not Covid, it could be a variety of other things.
I don’t want my takeaway to be not to go anywhere, but any time I’ve gone to any place other than Cubs (and maybe it’s Cub! I don’t know), I get something. It could be something lowkey like a cold, or it could be something like whatever this is. Unless it’s menopause. That’s not catching.
That’s it for today. I’m going to keep an eye on this and if I’m not better by Monday, go to my doc. The video is just something fun and not related to the topic.