My immune system has gone on strike.
I am so annoyed with my body. I normally hardly ever get sick, and now for some odd reason, I'm working on my 3rd cold since Thanksgiving. What's up with that? There's been no change in my diet or lifestyle except that I started going to the gym. And here I thought going to the gym would help me to be MORE healthy!
Bleah.
I feel achy, I have a cough, and as Zoe says, my voice is wrong.
Anyhow, I'm laying as low as possible today, so the final installment in the productivity series is going to have to wait until next week.
I did write up a whole post about the new healthy cookbook from America's Test Kitchen, though, so you can go read that if you miss my daily post here too much. And I put up a 365 post too.
Hopefully I'll be feeling some better tomorrow, but even if there's no change, I think I can handle doing a Food Waste Friday post. 🙂
I'm just getting over some yucky virus or other myself, so I feel your pain :O
Only, I'm 3 months pregnant....and I couldn't take any meds! Even Vicks Vapor Rub? Says not to use if you're pregnant on the bottle. Pfft.
Lets hope both our immune systems keep us healthy after this cold!
Since when? I practically lived on that stuff when I was pregnant. You might want to ask your doctor if you can use it - my recommended it since I couldn't take anything else. Hope you feel better soon!
Really?! I didn't ask, I just read the bottle. Made no sense at all to me. I will ask, thanks 🙂
Don't read the bottle - that language is purely to protect the mfgr. Ask your OB.
I'm also pregnant (15 weeks!), and had a really bad cold with my last pregnancy.
Suggested pregnancy cold remedies:
- Breathe Right strips - they really do help keep your nose open even when you have a stuffy nose, making breathing at night a lot easier
- Nasal rinse system - I own the isotonic version of this one: http://www.neilmed.com/usa/sinusrinse.php They're a little weird, and you definitely want to use body-temperature water, but they help a LOT.
- Mentholatum on external nose skin made sore from lots of blowing.
- Riccola cough drops, especially the honey flavor, if you have a tickle in your throat.
- Lots and lots and lots of chamomile tea with honey in it. No lemon. This is a treatment that my sister's professional voice teacher prescribed for protecting her singing voice when she'd get a bad cold. You have to drink a LOT of it, so I recommend mixing up a gallon or so and aiming to drink about half a gallon a day. You can drink it cold or warm, so you can keep that gallon in the fridge.
- Warm, steamy showers every day. Even when you don't feel like it, take a warm shower and let the bathroom fill up with the steam. Stand under the warm water so it falls on your face. This will help increase circulation to your sinuses and break up some congestion. It also just plain feels good in the winter! Showering daily will also make you feel a bit better.
- Tylenol. Just take the max. recommended dose, even if nothing specifically hurts. It will take the edge off any pain, and will help dull an achy or itchy throat. It's one of the few drugs we pregnant women can take, and it really does help, even if you don't have specific pain.
Talk to your doctor about taking Zyrtec. It's a 24-hour allergy medication. I'm on it continuously here in Ohio because I'm not functional without it (we tried a 3-day trial early in this pregnancy and it was a disaster), and the cold I got a few weeks ago was much less unpleasant just having that background antihistamine. It's a pregnancy Class B, meaning it hasn't been proven to be dangerous, but there also isn't enough data out there to definitely say it's completely safe. There's a small risk associated with pretty much any medication but Tylenol, so use your and your doctor's discretion. I have a toddler, and being glued to a tissue box by my nose for 9 months just wasn't an option, and home remedies for allergies (including the nasal rinse) didn't do a thing.
Wow, EngienerMom, that's a really helpful list. I have a deviated septum, and find it difficult to breathe most nights, and I totally agree with the warm showers and neti pot. I have used the Breathe Right strips in the past, but forgot about them. Thanks for the reminder, I will try them again tonight.
Another thing that might be helpful for a stuffy nose is a nasal lubricant. Part of my problem is that I can't breath through my nose at night and end up breathing through my mouth, which makes it incredibly dry and uncomfortable. My doctor recommended a nasal lubricant like Rhinaris, which helps with the stuffiness, which in turn lessens the need to breathe through my mouth.
Congrats on the pregnancy! I hope you're able to keep well throughout it 🙂
(I know we've never really spoken, but I've been reading Kristen's blog [and the comments] for a long time now, so it does feel a bit like I know her readers)
Hey Kristen,
Sorry you're feeling bad. You can try this. Works for me. http://altmedicine.about.com/od/herbsupplementguide/a/Astragalus.htm
I'm in Texas so I get it at the local HEB. Comes in liquid form, you take 1 ml (30 drops) twice a day. Taste like alcohol mostly. Mix it in juice. It will boost your white bloods cells. I use the stuff during the winter months to keep from getting flus, colds and sinus infections. Good luck.
Merrell
Feel better soon! 🙂
Feel better soon! Maybe you caught something at the gym???
Oh no! Lots of germs on those machines, particularly this time of year! Take care and feel better soon!
I was going to say the same thing. Your body is probably just reacting to lots of new germs, etc. that are left on the machines or are in the air at the gym. It's still a very healthy thing to do though. And some years are just like that too, where you get sick a lot for whatever reason. They're especially noticeable when you're someone who doesn't often get sick.
Hope you're feeling better soon!
Ooh . . . you must have gotten it from me.
Sorry. 🙁
Katy
Bummer. Yep, better stay safe and just stick it out. Hope you back to yourself soon.
BTW, love the blog. I really want to start a food blog. Have been thinking about it for over a year now. My husband would be the photog and he's a I/T geek, but I can't find the time. Maybe one day.
Merrell
You're not the only one. I had a bad cold right before xmas and I have one again. Both times it started out as a sore throat that lasted a couple days then turned into a cold. It stinks. I'm coughing so much I've developed a bad headache. So every time I cough, it feels like someone is stabbing me in the head.
The kid and husband were sick twice too. At the beginning and end of December.
Feel better soon!
There has not been a full week since the fall that one or more members of our household has not been sick, so I feel your pain! Hope you get better soon!
Me too, its horrible!
I thinks its the body saying slow down.
Hope you feel better soon!
I never get sick either, but was wiped out Sunday, and now improving. I always wash my hands before I leave the gym, and change right out of the gym clothes when I get home.
Yes, I was going to recommend lots of hand washing at the gym, too. Once I put my hands on the sides of a machine I was using to brace myself--on the pad I was sitting on instead of on the handlebars--and after I got off the machine I got some little red bumps on my hands and forearms. I have sensitive skin, but still...ew!
I think it really varies year by year. Last winter I didn't get sick at all (my hubby did a few times but I never got what he got). This year I got a cold once a month 3 months in a row! I feel your pain!
Hi, hope you feel better soon. love to read you every day. Here in belgium we have been lucky, no one sick, But the weather is becoming colder again and snow also. we'll see. Take care!
Oh yuck! Being sick is the worst! Hope you feel better soon!
Kristen,
You are probably picking stuff up at the gym - it's as bad as a kindergarten class for germs (maybe worse!) Make sure to use gym wipes before using the equipment and wash your hands right when you leave. Beyond that, there's not much you can do, but tough it out and know that you'll be healthier for having exercised and for having had the colds... Hope you are feeling better soon!
Oh Kristen, I agree with the other commenters about the germs at the gym. My trainer told me to bring lysol wipes with me and wipe the machines down before I used them. I also boost my vitamin D in the winter to help my immune system. Have some hot tea with lemon and honey and feel better soon!
Not to gross you out, but thing of all those germs on the equipment. My husband and I would be so careful to bring a towel and wipe up when we were finished, but I am sure there are people sneezing into their hands, sticking fingers up their noses, and other gross things we don't want to think about. Plus, there are people everywhere who go to the bathroom and do not wash their hands. Ack! Just thinking about it makes my skin crawl. I will be back. I need to go hose down myself with anti-bacteria soap.
Approaching week 3 myself. First week was flat out sick. 2nd week was just icky. 3rd week is annoying. I'm not sure if I'm coming down AGAIN with it or if it's just still lingering?? Whatever it is, appears to be coast to coast and wicked... Hope you feel better SOON!
Yes, I agree that you're bringing home a lot of germs from the gym. As a teacher, after my first year, I never got sick, in spite of being coughed and sneezed on constantly! But it always held true that any teacher new to our system would be sick a lot that first year, until he/she built up an immunity to the new set of germs. Same with Kindergarteners, who also go home and pass the germs on to their family. I would agree with the suggestions to take your own Clorox wipes and wipe down the handlebars of the gym equipment before using it, wash your hands before leaving and again when you arrive home, or preferably do a full shower. Don't touch your eyes, nose, or mouth until fully "disinfected"!
I think there are just 3 (or more?) viruses this year. I usually don't get sick either but like you, I've had three colds since Thanksgiving. Ugh. One of them did indeed put my voice out of commission too. It was tough not singing to my baby for a week!
That is one bad cold that's going around. You could have picked it up anywhere. Have all family members wash their hands a lot. Hopefully it doesn't go through the whole house.
Hope you feel better son.
I'm sorry to hear that your sick again, Kristin. Rest and get well. Take all the time you need. We'll still be here when you get back! = )...***HUGS*** ~Colleen~
I hope you feel better soon! I have been thinking about your productivity series a lot as I go about my days lately. Especially the last post about looking at how I spend my time, and how that should reflect what is most important to me. Thank you for giving me so much to think about!
I'm thinking that maybe as a busy SAH who homeschools, that you're not exposed to as many bugs as others. Now you're going to the gym and getting exposed. If I'm right then the problem will dimish eventually.
If you, then you're just having a yucky year. :-{
That is exactly the theory I put forth to Mr. FG earlier this afternoon. I dearly hope that's the case because then this is just a temporary problem.
I had the same thought as WilliamB. I hope you feel better soon and that your system comes back stronger as a result.
I much prefer 24 hr stomach bugs to head colds or flu. My friends laugh, but as I see it, I'd much rather throw up, feel better for that short period afterwards and then rest in between bouts than have a stuffed up, or worse, drippy nose which lingers and prevents sleeping. To top it off you can feel miserable for days or weeks with relapses.
Wishing you a speedy return to health.
Exactly my thoughts. On the positive side your immune system is growing stronger! 😉 Hope you feel better soon.
Sorry you are feeling lousy...Maybe your body is detoxing from your workouts :). No wonder you have not felt like cooking lately. Hope you are better soon. Vitamin C and zinc always helps me if it is a cold and not detoxing I mean!
Just wanted to say that I so appreciate the kind comments. I am so grateful that I don't have the sort of readership that gets all, "Just eat thus and such!" or, "Just stop eating bread/meat/carbs/animal products."
Mr. FG brought me home some TheraFlu and he is out picking up pizza for the kids and him to eat.
I can't even remember the last time I was this sick and miserable. bleah.
Hope you feel better soon! My doctor told me to take vitamin D3 to boost my immune system. It also helps with depression during the winter, because of lack of sunlight. I started taking it last spring, and knock on wood, I have not had a cold so far this year. I work in a school - so this is amazing!!!
I am sorry to hear you have been sick with a bad cold. What a "bummer." Hope you feel better soon! 🙂
Feel better soon!
I bet it is going to the gym. You've introduced your body to another environment of potentially unknown germs. It will adjust, though! Every time we move or travel, one of us gets a cold, especially in the winter when people are trapped indoors together.
Vitamin D supplements are your FRIEND. I have a love obsession with them!
Dr. Oz said that if you rub your breastbone with your knuckles and it stays tender that you have a vitamin D deficiency. Swanson and other vitamin companies have great supplements!
Hope you feel better soon!
I only had one cold this year? My secret zinc and Vitamin c. A flu shot helps, a tetanus shot, pneumonia shot, orange juice, bundle up in the cold, I clean my throat with a toothbrush everyday and cod liver fish oil. I hope this helps.
I use Zicam anytime I feel a cold coming on. It has Zinc in it I believe, kind of pricey initially but an entire bottle of the spray lasts me a season. It's been SO worth it! I always get a slight sore throat & start to feel sort of run down when a cold is starting to come on. The key to it is to start asap when you feel the symptoms starting up.
It has worked miracles the past couple of times. I cannot afford to get sick lol Got a pt job as a nurse, gotta be there, staffing is such a huge problem anyhow.
Oh and please do get well soon.
Get Well Soon Kristen!
ps - Gym's have air conditioning - breeder of germs 🙂
Hi Kristen
Hope you recover fast 🙂
Uhmm! so you started going to the Gym and now getting repetitives colds?
May I suggest to keep an eye on your health to avoid Overtraining, please don't do chronic cardio or you will burn your Central Nervous System and your Inmune System.
Please when you can check this post: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-to-deal-with-overtraining/
The idea of exercise is to be healthy and exercise is a good thing, but too much of a good thing is a bad thing.
Oh, worry not...I don't think I'm overtraining! I only get to the gym 3 days a week even when I am not sick.
Ya know that public gyms are notorious for being germ ridden, right? I bet that's where you keep up these colds. Bring hand sanitizer with you to the gym, and maybe your own antiseptic wipes to clean anything before touched. Good luck and feel better! 🙂
They do have spray and wipes there and I've been faithfully wiping down the machines after I use them.
But I've been operating under the (probably) false assumption that everyone's been wiping them down before I use them. lol So, from now on I'll wipe before and after.
Sorry you've been hit with a third cold sweety! I will be praying for your full speedy recovery. My recommendation is lots of hot green tea with lemon and honey, rest, rest and some gargling with warm salt water for the throat. Then having done all you can do you rest some more. God bless!
Although I am much, much older, I rarely get sick. But 3 years ago, I had the worst flu/ cold I have ever had...so bad I ended up in ER due to dehydration. Since then I have made sure to get the flu shot in the early fall and so far I've been very hardy all winter long.
Rest, fluids, and feel better.
Hope you feel better soon!
Kristen - I'm sorry you're sick! My recommendation would be vitamin D if you aren't already taking it. The recommended is a a few hundred units a day but you can use 1,000 without any problem. They even have chewable which are quite small. You can find those at health food stores (not sure Walmart, etc carry those). I know I feel better since I started taking them. Had mine checked and found I had next to none in my system! It is supposed to help your immune system so colds and flu stay away!
Yep, I've been taking Vitamin D since this summer. I had some bloodwork done then and the only out of the ordinary thing that showed up was low Vitamin D levels. I'm supposed to go in for a redraw this spring to see if my levels are up now.
I agree about the gym being germy and upping your VIt D intake but have your iron levels checked. I had low iron and caught everything that came along. Once I got that fixed, my immune system has rocked. My kids still pick up germs - Bible study, church, etc. and bring them home but I don't catch it from them. A stomach bug went through the entire family and I was the only one who didn't get it. I had one day of feeling a bit yucky but that was it and my husband went to the ER with it (passed out at work). I never knew until after my doctor was so concerned about my low iron and helped me get it fixed about the connection to immunity.
On some other blogs I've been reading, they are talking about something called "adrenal fatigue" that extremely busy people develop. You might want to check into that just in case. Once it is full blown it is very slow recovering from it.
One theory I've heard about the common cold is this: The cold is simply the body ridding itself of toxins. We don't catch it; we can't stop it. We simply treat the symptoms and the cold will "go away" after our body has done its part to rid us of waste. Just thought I would pass this on.
I think there are a lot of respiratory viruses in the Mid-Atlantic region this year. At our house we use a lot of Airborne and zinc lozenges (generic ColdEeze) at the first sign of a cold (and take ibuprophen at the first sign of a sore throat) and they seem to help knock the viruses back. I hope you feel better soon.
Feel better soon! A hot toddy always makes things a bit better 🙂
We love, love Airborne. It works for allergies also. In fact I have my teenager take it every morning before school and we are never sick...
This will be no comfort to you at all but I had the exact same thing happen to me about 3 years ago. I was taking tons of echinacea, Vit. C, etc. and just kept getting sick. I also homeschool and stay home a lot, though our kids are in sports, church activities, play with lots of friends, etc. I think I had 6-8 colds in a 6 mo. period. I kind of got depressed. Anyway, I still don't know why that happened or what caused it...but I feel your pain! I do hope you feel better soon!
Gym's are a breading ground for colds/virus's/germs. I am guessing that you are being exposed to some that you haven't been before which is causing this. Hopefully your body will build up the immunity quickly. When my daughter was 11 months old (only sick once) we moved to a new state and she was crazy sick for 2 months. After those 2 months she has only been sick 3 times in the last 6 years.
hope you feel better soon! relax & vitamin C 🙂
I use to have problems with getting colds. On the advice of a friend, I started to take a garlic supplement daily. I get fewer colds and they do not last the weeks they use to. I get the supplements at Walmart, so they are not expensive. I do not taste or burb garlic.
A SPECIAL PRAYER FOR YOU TODAY!
I do hope you feel better. You might want to bring some hand sanitizer along with you when you go to the gym. So many people there, some are bound to be carrying more than a a few extra pounds...yes, germs! Do take care.
feel better soon!!
It is also quite likely that spending more time exercising than you were possibly used to is releasing toxins from your tissues and therefore your immune system is fighting harder and will find it more difficult to deal with. If your immune system is healthy then an influx of new germs should be dealt with swiftly and shouldn't be causing you to get sick. Germs are good things! Hope you feel better soon.
re: gym & weakened immune system -- aside from germs, could it be that you've increased the amount of energy you normally spend, but kept nutrition, including vitamins etc., at the same levels? Perhaps your body sees the increased activity as stress, and a simple multivitamin course will do the trick?
Feel better soon!
Last fall winter when I was worked out at the gym, it was the most sick I have ever been in my life. Just when I would get over a cold, I would get another virus-even with the flu shot! I have learned to clean each machine before and after I use them.