Friday, March 15, 2024

Anxious for things to return to normal, but right now I’m in it for the (covid) long haul

Isn’t this a strange photo?  This is me sitting on the floor of my bedroom, wearing a Moist Heat Sinus Relief Mask from Amazon.

It’s a very soft, plush fabric that wraps around your head and comes with 3 heat settings and an auto-shutoff timer after 15/30/60 minutes.  It’s comfortable to wear and the heat can be soothing; I only wish it came with eye-holes!  Debbi from the blog ‘Life’s Funny Like That’ reached out to me with a link to this device and after reading most of the customer reviews, I went ahead and ordered one.

The instruction book says “Even though this comes with a shutoff timer, please do NOT wear it in bed or to bed, it can get hot enough to burn.”  So, unable to sleep or read or look at TV, you’ve got plenty of time to sit there and think.

It’s pointless to look back and wish you could have a do-over, but I can easily see how events played out that led me to this.  The Tuesday after Thanksgiving I stopped at Rite-Aid on my way to the Senior Center to see about getting my covid vaccine shot and a prescription refilled. 

There was a line, so I thought I’d come back the next day.  On my way out the door I said to the manager “You guys aren’t on the bankruptcy closure list are you?” and she said “Not yet!”  I didn’t return the following day, and when I finally went back on Friday—sure enough, the doors were locked with a sign on the front saying goodbye and prescription pickups were sent to the Giant Eagle on Mt. Nebo Road.

(That’s when I asked my friend Susie if I could ride along the next time she went there as she did her grocery shopping there.  I went with her the following Monday, she called me the very next morning and said she was sick and tested positive for covid; 2-3 days later I wound up positive too.)

She recovered from covid with no issues, I wasn’t so fortunate.  So if I hadn’t gone with Susie, would things be any different right now?  This is entirely my fault of course, but I bet my IRA I’d be pain-free and blogging about something else.

I haven’t been to the center since February 21.  We had a nice lunch that day of broccoli stuffed chicken and orzo, and they asked if I wanted seconds as there’d been several cancellations.  I said yes, thank you… but also admitted I was dealing with a buildup of orofacial pain for the last couple weeks and it was becoming too much to bear.  Little did I know what was coming…

I have to admit the persistent pressure in my forehead and temples is making me a bit mental.  Earlier today (I’m writing this on a Friday night) I decided to shave and walk to the store for some ham sandwich spread and a can of Resolve Carpet Cleaner.  Maybe do a little ‘early spring cleaning’ and freshen my bedroom carpet.

So I’m standing in line at the deli counter, and because it’s Lent there’s a lot of people in line for fish sandwiches and stuff.  The woman behind the counter says “Next!” and it’s the tall guy in front of me, but he’s turned sideways, talking to a woman not in line.  The deli woman says again “Next!  Next!”  and I lost it and poked the man’s shoulder and said “SHE’S TALKING TO YOU!”

The man jumped and said “Dude!  I was talking to my Mom!”   I said “I DON’T CARE YOU GOT A LINE OF PEOPLE BEHIND YOU!”   He said to his mother  “Can you believe this?  I’ll call you tonight!”

Now see.. normally I wouldn’t have said a word.  But it was my head doing that, not me.

I forgot where I was going with this… I guess I just wanted to put something new out there.  I know I’m going to fully recover from whatever this is.  (Lots of pressure in the front of my head with jabs of pain, sore sinuses and mouth.)  I no longer think it’s sinusitis, there’s no congestion, no (forgive me for being gross) colored discharge.  Just lots and lots of chronic inflammation.  At night I can sleep for the most part, and that’s a good thing.

As long as I’m thanking Debbi for sending me the link to that face mask, I also wanted to thank blogger Joanne for the Neilmed Sinus Rinse suggestion.  I’ve become quite the pro at using it, and the saline wash has been soothing to my dry, ragged sinuses.  I can’t believe I’m in my sixties and never used one before.

If you made it this far, let me know and I’ll add you to my will.  Thanks for listening.

Thursday, March 7, 2024

That’s my head in the vise and I feel guilty it’s there, but I’m working on it

Last week, the day after my trip to Mercy Hospital to meet with my PCP and an ENT, my sister texted me and asked if I was feeling better now that I started the antibiotics. 

I responded I didn’t feel any better, I’d only taken two pills so far.  She replied “With strep throat two doses of antiobiotics you feel like you’re healed!”  I felt guilty for not having strep.

The next day, my friend Elisa (who works at the Senior Center) emailed and asked what happened at my medical appointment.  I told her my PCP believed this was a long-covid condition and they didn’t have all the answers.  But post-covid inflammation could persist for 3 months or even longer.

My friend said “Sorry, I’m not buying it.”  I felt guilty for sharing such a dire forecast, I should’ve just said I’ll be better soon.  (Still, this is now in it’s second month.)

Three days ago my friend Pat texted me and said “It’s 72F outside!  Go for a walk, I bet you’ll feel like your old self!”   I said okay, but the truth was I just returned from a walk to the market and felt guilty it didn’t make me feel like my old self.

The day before yesterday, I emailed Courtney (the director of the Senior Center I belong to) to inform her I wouldn’t be coming up for the Flatbread Turkey lunch, and could she please express my regrets to my flatbread partner Mary.  She said of course, and asked if I wanted to attend the St. Patty’s Day luncheon next week.  I said I’d better not schedule anything else just yet. 

But I still felt guilty leaving Mary in the lurch for lunch. 

Yesterday morning I called my doctor to let him know I was on the last of the antibiotics but wasn’t feeling much better yet.  He said “Douglas, the antiobiotics were to ensure we got any bacteria in your respiratory.  What are you doing to manage things?”

I told him I was taking a nightly bath with steam and epsom salts, it really seemed to ease the cranial pressure for an hour or so.  And I was going to bed with Vicks VapoRub streaked on my cheekbones like Indian warpaint.  

I added the Naproxen was a game changer, it reduced the pressure in my head by almost half sometimes and for hours too.

My doctor said “I only prescribed you ten of those pills for worst case scenarios, they weren’t intended for daily use.”  Oops.  He asked how many I’d taken, I said 6.  He said “You abused those, I don’t want you taking anymore.  Have you tried aspirin?”

I said yes, but they only help a tiny fraction of the discomfort.  He said “It’s better than nothing.  Next time follow my instructions.”   Yes sir.  Oh the guilt.

Okay, I just finished proofreading all this and boy this is one big boo-hoo, isn’t it?  If I post this on my blog, I’m going to feel REALLY guilty for sharing it with all of you.

But as long as I’m feeling so guilty already….

Monday, March 4, 2024

From my old comic book and sci-fi days… the unearthed videos of ApacheDug

While I’m waiting for this brain fog & long covid orofacial stuff to go away, I thought I’d share something silly I found (and long forgotten) on the internet Sunday.

Several years after my mom passed and before I retired in 2015, I belonged to an online club called Blammo.

Blammo was a place where we got into some pretty heavy discussions on everything from finances to music—but the focus was on comic books, movies, Doctor Who, classic and contemporary science fiction, Star Trek.

It was mostly guys and we teased each other relentlessly.  Some became like brothers.

I was going to do a series of videos on there after the first one got so much feedback, but I worried the guys would see me as a goof and nothing more.

There’s only 4, and they’re only 1-3 minutes long, but if you’re curious to see me jibber-jabber in person so to speak, lisp & all, here ya go.

1.  I made this first one to celebrate my 9000th post… MY 9000TH POST

2.  That first video got such a positive response….

3.  Third time’s the charm?  (I was on something in this one)

4.  Capped and caffeinated (this is still my favorite ball cap)