"I do not think that word means what you think it means..."

(from Princess Bride)

Shingles is a pain in my side. Fortunately for me, it's more a mental anguish that my body doesn't have energy than a literal pain in my side or on my head. My co-workers have not been as lucky. My one co-worker has it on her scalp and she can't brush her hair and she says that by 3pm it feels like someone has been pulling her hair all day.

And all the literature says, "Immuno-suppressed." Well, I may be fighting boils left and right, and I know my co-worker and I are both under a lot of stress as things change at work, but I have heard enough stories from people that weren't dying from cancer and shingles was just a symptom, a flag that said, oh guess what, you are REALLY sick.

And it's not just old people. It seems that Shingles is as pervasive as Mono, just not as well understood. I've heard of 14 year olds getting it, college students getting it...

Oh, and here's something. When you get it, start taking B vitamins and Vitamin C at therapeutic levels *right away* and aggressively. Your doctor won't tell you because "it's not proven that those work" (from my friend who is married to a doctor and deals with too many doctors). Avocado is a good food to eat a lot of. Also beta carotene.

This is not a scientific blog, but a place for me to be frustrated with the status quo of how doctors and patients operate in this first world country. It's all about germs and not about your body's mechanisms to fight it.

Sarah Louise and the Allergic Reaction

This was in my in-box this morning:

Hormonology: Week 1 First day of period to Day 7

Today's hormone-cast: Have cramps? Don't reach for the Tylenol. Stock up on ibuprofen instead. Studies show it quashes the pain of menstrual cramps far more effectively. Want to give your ibuprofen a boost? Down it with chamomile tea. Scientists discovered it contains a compound that acts like a mild muscle relaxant, which makes menstrual cramps less intense.

So, really, what my hormone-cast is telling me I should go into shock--since I'm allergic to both ibuprofen AND chamomile.

Which is wonderful, since this week I already ate tilapia, which I'm allergic to. I finally took a Benadryl at midnight, after googling for quite a while, figuring out that I didn't have ER ready symptoms. (My throat was a little constricted, like I hadn't swallowed a pill correctly.) And Monday, I slept the ENTIRE afternoon. Yes, I will be getting an epi-pen when I go see my allergist in two weeks. And my therapist was like, um, why did you keep eating it when you knew you were allergic? I know. But I was cloudy from having spent the morning with one year old twins, waiting in line to see the Mr. Rogers Land of Makebelieve. So yes, I need to learn to say, "I'm not hungry" if I'm determined to be polite to the hostess.

Meanwhile, I am SICK of having this cold. We're on week 1 plus days now. AND, I lost my tablespoon.

Go do something really happy and healthy. I have to go sing to babies in five minutes.