Not again!

I went back to work today. I felt ok. Just a little cough and tired. Then everyone at work was telling me I should go to the doctor as I didn't feel 100% and sounded bad. My chest started to hurt, from coughing so much. I was checking Webmd and self-diagnosing (not a good idea - I have J.D. not an M.D. but sometimes I forget!). I thought maybe I had bronchitis.


So I relented and called the doctor. They got me in for a 10:15 (which turned out to be 10:45 by the time a doctor saw me but what do you want for a last minute appointment?).


The doctor said that she believed I had a sinus infection because I had been feeling better this weekend but now I was feeling bad again. And my cheeks hurt. My lungs sounded clear and my ears looked good. I didn't have any yellow or green goo coming out of my nose but apparently that is not a prerequisite for a sinus infection.

So I got a prescription for an antibiotic, samples of some cough syrup and a recommendation to use Mucinex to loosen the phlegm. I went to the drugstore and got the goodies I needed. Then I went back to the office, thinking I'd feel better soon. Little did I know, I would actually feel worse.... (I am reading Goosebumps books to my six year old and the chapters all end with some sense of foreboding like this).

I took my antibiotic, ate a bagel, tried to read some light work reading (daily clips, etc.) and put some chicken noodle soup in the microwave in the break room. I left the breakroom while the soup was heating up, and by the time I went back for it I started to feel really hot and uncomfortable. I took the soup back to my office and ate two spoonfuls when I decided I had better go home. I felt awful again.

But when I stood up I felt a tiny bit lightheaded so I sat back down. Then I put my head on my desk. I was drenched with sweat. I closed my office door and sat back down and tried to call some colleagues. I felt so bad I didn't think I should drive home. By the time I found someone, she found me on the floor lying down (I chose to lie down; I didn't faint or collapse). One of my colleagues went to get her car, and another came in and started asking me about my medication. Could I be having a side effect? She also asked if I wanted our resident EMT to come check me out. She's got another job on a help desk in our office but is also currently a part time EMT. She comes in handy in our office, that's for sure. She was awesome. She took my pulse and said my heart was racing. She checked my blood pressure but it was ok. They called the doctor's office and talked to various people.

Apparently I had a fever this morning and had no idea. The nurse took my temperature while I was waiting to see the doctor and I thought she wrote down 98. 4 or something. That's not a fever! But the person I talked to on the phone said I had a fever and it was common for my heart to beat quickly as a result. He recommended I go home and take it easy and call if things don't improve.

My husband had no idea what was going on. I couldn't get into the house because the front door was locked and I never use the keys for the front door. The dog was barking and I was hitting the doorbell. He (my husband, not the dog) won't answer the door unless he is expecting someone. Good thing I figured out my keys!

This scene surely had shades of deja vu - at least the getting a ride home part, not the fainting in the elevator part. My husband made me sit on the couch and fed me Dove dark chocolate and gatorade. Ahhh, much better. Actually I felt better on the way home; I felt silly, actually.

My husband remarked that I am the same woman that drove herself to the hospital when I was in labor, but this is the second time I have gotten a ride home from work. Fainting in an elevator will do that to you. I'm still freaked out by it.

I do want to say thanks for the really kind, compassionate people at my office. They are so great; I didn't hesitate to ask for help and they were there in a flash.

Sooo...I STILL DID NOT get to run yet. I'm not too worried about it but I need to get a run in sometime this week. I think I'll ask for an amended plan from the coaches once I know when I CAN run.

My boss says it's the healthy living that is doing this to me. She prescribed a cheeseburger and sitting around doing nothing. Sounds good. Both of them!