I know I'll have a module called The Experience of Illness sometime next year, as part of my degree, but recent events have got me thinking about this so I just wanted to share my thoughts.
Everyone - or almost everyone - gets ill at some point. Usually it's a childhood illness or something common like the cold, and these are referred to as "minor" illnesses but I really don't think there's anything minor about any kind of illness.
I've spent the past month battling various minor viral infections and I feel horrid. It started with some form of flu on Christmas day, which I wholeheartedly believe was in fact swine flu - I've had a few flu viruses in my lifetime but never had one that felt like this! Within 2 hours of being in contact of someone who was poorly with flu, both me and my boyfriend had the same symptoms and it still feels like we're shaking it off. The worse of it was, it was evil enough that after 3 days my fever suddenly disappeared and I was bouncing with energy (my inner monologue went something along the lines of "Yay! I'm cured!!!") only to sneak back the following morning as if I'd been hit by a truck, except this time it brought vomiting and a dodgy stomach with it! Fast forward 2 weeks and we felt on the road to recovery (no longer coughing up a lung every time we moved and could bear to stomach food again) and my boyfriend's nephew came to stay....except he had a nasty cough, which we managed to pick up on the last day of his stay and 2 days later we discovered we both had tonsillitis (the swollen tonsils, covered in white spots, kinda gave it away)! So I made an appointment to see the doctor 4 days later, since the symptoms were no better and I now had pain in my ears, and the doc said it was viral so antibiotics couldn't help and the pain in my ears was most likely due to my sore throat.
So I stayed at home, got plenty of rest, drank plenty of fluids etc etc and even managed to do a shift at work. I started feeling better after that, until I was getting ready for bed that same night and suddenly felt like I'd been swimming underwater - my right ear started ringing and all I could feel/hear was all this fluid moving about. I went to bed, but couldn't sleep and ended up on the phone to the doctor at 5:30am due to being in so much pain. In fact, my wailing/crying/screaming actually woke my poor boyfriend up!
I'm only about halfway through my prescription at the moment and still feel crappy. I've partially lost hearing in 1 ear (it's like a cross between standing in front of really noise machinery that leaves a ringing noise, and having an ear full of cotton wool) which I guess could take a while to sort itself out - based on what I've read about perforated eardrums, it could take anywhere up to 2 months to heal! My tonsils have only just started calming down - I think today is the first day I can't see any white spots, they don't look as swollen and it doesn't hurt as much to swallow. My sense of balance has been shot to hell and I think I've got a new pain chart, for future reference (I haven't experienced childbirth so I'm guessing it will change again then!)
Even though each of these things are considered relatively minor on the illness scale, they still feel debilitating. I mean, I haven't even been up to doing any housework, I've lost earnings through calling in sick to work, and I've withdrawn a bit socially-speaking as I struggle to hear what people are saying.
Most of all, is this feeling of helplessness - and it's frustrating. And even though I've been doing most of the right things in terms of looking after myself - not drinking, I don't smoke (only passively - but that's out of my control for the most part), I try to go to the gym regularly, I have a balanced diet and I aim for 7-8 hours of sleep a night - it just feels like it's not good enough.
And then I got to thinking - what if my hearing never fully comes back? I have family members and friends with tinnitus and I've never really given it much thought before, but this recent spate of illness has got me wondering how people deal with things like this on a daily basis, knowing it might never get better?
There is only so much a doctor can do - at the minute, all they can do for me is give me antibiotics and painkillers - but popping a pill doesn't really do much to make you feel better does it? If they created a pill that came with a hug from a loved one, that would be ace! So I'm taking these tablets, to get rid of the internal gunk, but I think this is where complementary therapy really comes through. Combine nice uplifting smells, with warm oils massaged into your skin, someone who listens to you - not as a doctor, just as a sympathetic ear, and an overall soothing atmosphere......surely even the placebo effect alone makes it worthwhile!
Now if only we could get things like this on prescription.....way of the future methinks!!!
Everyone - or almost everyone - gets ill at some point. Usually it's a childhood illness or something common like the cold, and these are referred to as "minor" illnesses but I really don't think there's anything minor about any kind of illness.
I've spent the past month battling various minor viral infections and I feel horrid. It started with some form of flu on Christmas day, which I wholeheartedly believe was in fact swine flu - I've had a few flu viruses in my lifetime but never had one that felt like this! Within 2 hours of being in contact of someone who was poorly with flu, both me and my boyfriend had the same symptoms and it still feels like we're shaking it off. The worse of it was, it was evil enough that after 3 days my fever suddenly disappeared and I was bouncing with energy (my inner monologue went something along the lines of "Yay! I'm cured!!!") only to sneak back the following morning as if I'd been hit by a truck, except this time it brought vomiting and a dodgy stomach with it! Fast forward 2 weeks and we felt on the road to recovery (no longer coughing up a lung every time we moved and could bear to stomach food again) and my boyfriend's nephew came to stay....except he had a nasty cough, which we managed to pick up on the last day of his stay and 2 days later we discovered we both had tonsillitis (the swollen tonsils, covered in white spots, kinda gave it away)! So I made an appointment to see the doctor 4 days later, since the symptoms were no better and I now had pain in my ears, and the doc said it was viral so antibiotics couldn't help and the pain in my ears was most likely due to my sore throat.
So I stayed at home, got plenty of rest, drank plenty of fluids etc etc and even managed to do a shift at work. I started feeling better after that, until I was getting ready for bed that same night and suddenly felt like I'd been swimming underwater - my right ear started ringing and all I could feel/hear was all this fluid moving about. I went to bed, but couldn't sleep and ended up on the phone to the doctor at 5:30am due to being in so much pain. In fact, my wailing/crying/screaming actually woke my poor boyfriend up!
So I had to get driven to the doctors and fluid started leaking out of my ear when we were about halfway there - turns out I had a full blown nasty ear infection, complete with perforated eardrum.....got given a weeks' worth of antibiotics - the strong kind - along with codeine (also the strong kind) and have been taking 4 a day of each.
I'm only about halfway through my prescription at the moment and still feel crappy. I've partially lost hearing in 1 ear (it's like a cross between standing in front of really noise machinery that leaves a ringing noise, and having an ear full of cotton wool) which I guess could take a while to sort itself out - based on what I've read about perforated eardrums, it could take anywhere up to 2 months to heal! My tonsils have only just started calming down - I think today is the first day I can't see any white spots, they don't look as swollen and it doesn't hurt as much to swallow. My sense of balance has been shot to hell and I think I've got a new pain chart, for future reference (I haven't experienced childbirth so I'm guessing it will change again then!)
Even though each of these things are considered relatively minor on the illness scale, they still feel debilitating. I mean, I haven't even been up to doing any housework, I've lost earnings through calling in sick to work, and I've withdrawn a bit socially-speaking as I struggle to hear what people are saying.
Most of all, is this feeling of helplessness - and it's frustrating. And even though I've been doing most of the right things in terms of looking after myself - not drinking, I don't smoke (only passively - but that's out of my control for the most part), I try to go to the gym regularly, I have a balanced diet and I aim for 7-8 hours of sleep a night - it just feels like it's not good enough.
And then I got to thinking - what if my hearing never fully comes back? I have family members and friends with tinnitus and I've never really given it much thought before, but this recent spate of illness has got me wondering how people deal with things like this on a daily basis, knowing it might never get better?
There is only so much a doctor can do - at the minute, all they can do for me is give me antibiotics and painkillers - but popping a pill doesn't really do much to make you feel better does it? If they created a pill that came with a hug from a loved one, that would be ace! So I'm taking these tablets, to get rid of the internal gunk, but I think this is where complementary therapy really comes through. Combine nice uplifting smells, with warm oils massaged into your skin, someone who listens to you - not as a doctor, just as a sympathetic ear, and an overall soothing atmosphere......surely even the placebo effect alone makes it worthwhile!
Now if only we could get things like this on prescription.....way of the future methinks!!!
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