When Germs Appear

That pretty much sums it up right now. Fuck. I'm sick. Granted, I caught a cold. It's not as bad as the man flu but it sucks.

When you have dysautonomia and you catch a bug, it's vile. No, worse than vile. What's worse than vile. Horrid? I'm not sure but it really sucks.

Here's what happens: your body goes berserk. Seriously, it has no idea what to do. So I get more severe headaches, nausea, bloating, stiff muscles and joints, and the normal leaky nose. Coughing gets worse and your breathing becomes labored. Sounds fun, right?!?

It's not.

Right now I'm just waiting to see if this morning's eggs make a second appearance.

So, when germs appear in other people, we prefer those people stay home when they can. I'm lucky, I work at a place where people can stay home and work remotely. Do they? No! And it's fucking annoying.

At the office, my desk drawers look like a mix of what you'd find at Whole Foods and CVS. I have four different kinds of anti-emetics... FOUR! One helps pump my stomach in case gastroparesis sets in. One helps motion sickness. Another is really just ginger but, hey - ya never know if it'll work. And the last is my go-to medication. I also have ginger tea, cinnamon tea, tea to help me breathe better, chai (because why not?!?), and powdered coffee (again, why not?!?). There's also a plethora of essential oils that I use sparingly, tylenol, and medications to relieve my headaches and migraines.

And a thermometer. I still can't tell if I have a bug or my body is just spazzing out like it normally does. If the thermometer reaches 98.6f (which is normal for everyone else, except me), then it's a bug. If it reaches 99f, I probably shouldn't be at work.

Either way, when germs appear there's also a psychological component to all of this. When I see sick people, I'm less inclined to interact with them. In fact, at work, you can find me hiding in a corner with my laptop because I CANNOT GET SICK! I'm sick for longer than everyone else. I become a bit of a shut in, too. When I go to the store, I wear gloves when I touch the carts because I'm petrified of catching something. That's how bad it can get.

So, this week is going to be a long one thanks to germs appearing. I just hope they pass quickly.