As it unfolds: A story about getting sick and getting care

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I thought this could be good for discussion. I'm going to log my experience getting care for illness given my circumstances.

Background info

1) I'm 26 yrs old
2) I have no history of severe illness. In fact, I think it's been 4 years since I was last ill.
3) I am not on any medications.
4) I workout 3-4 times a week doing cardio exercise and free weights.

What's happened so far.

1) I work a night shift (10:00PM - 10:00AM)
2) Monday morning I felt ill at work and left early near the end of my shift.
3) I went home, drank lots of fluids, slept.
4) Awoke and decided I still felt under the weather. Feverish. Called in sick.
5) Spent the night drinking more fluids, dressed warmly.
6) Went to sleep hoping to feel better.
7) Awoke to more feverish conditions, body aches, headache. Called in sick.
8) Doctor's offices are all closed at this hour. I contact my Health Insurence provider. They help me find a emergency care facility.
9) I drive to the emergency care facility at 8:00PM. They tell me there is a 3 hour wait, and to come back after midnight.
10) I go to CVS, get some over the counter throat drops, ibuprofen to help with symptoms.
11) I'm waiting for midnight.

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Type: Discussion • Score: 11 • Views: 432 • Replies: 24

Yikes! At least logging it down here will give you something to do while you wait?

1 Reply

@littlek,

It's actually not a huge deal. As noted. I am on a schedule where I'm supposed to be awake through the night anyways. I already got a nice 9+ hours of sleep during the day. The only noteworthy thing about the vampire schedule I'm on is that I'm kind of forced to use the 24hr facilities as opposed to normal daytime offices. The cost is different, so this will effect my deductible I believe. I'd much prefer to go to a office during the day, but I can't do that AND stay on my current sleep cycle.

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@Diest TKO,

Sorry to hear you're feeling ill Diest, but as someone who doesn't have insurance, and rarely goes to doctors, I would say you are probably better off staying home in bed with a big bowl of homemade chicken soup, a few aspirin and a neti pot. It sounds like you have typical flu/cold symptoms that most modern medicine cannot cure.Unless your problem moves to your lungs - I would say stay away from germ infested emergency places and prescriptions that will only suppress your symptoms and cure nothing.
For the future, I would suggest you find a GP you like and form a good relationship with them (it helps if you pay their fee in cash). My family doctor even made a house call two years ago to check on my husband who was ill. I'm convinced it's because we do not make her fill out any insurance forms in order to get paid. Sending you good vibes and I'm sorry I can't supply the chicken soup

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I know you're tired from an overnight 12-hour shift (are you nuts!?), but could you go to the Doc after work at 10 am?

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@littlek,

littlek wrote:

I know you're tired from an overnight 12-hour shift (are you nuts!?), but could you go to the Doc after work at 10 am?

the gamble with that is if the Doctor can't get me in quickly, I risk losing my only opportunity to sleep. That makes things harder for me. I've taken off last night of work, and tonight I called in as well. At this point, I'm required by work to have some sort of note from a doctor anyways because I'll have charged two shifts on the illness charge code. If I don't feel better by 5PM tomorrow, I'll be calling in again. Tomorrow night is the last night on shift, so if I take it off, I'll have four days after that before I have to go back into work and those will be day shifts (10:00AM - 10:00PM) so if I take tomorrow off too, I'll have lots of time to recover, assuming this isn't anything serious.

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I don't know where you work or what you do...or whether your job involves close interaction with co-workers/clients. As an employer, I would tell one of people "Don't come in Wednesday night." Then you can go to a doctor and have a few days off to recover.

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@realjohnboy,

In the flu outbreak around here, weve established a liberal policy for anyone who develops symptoms. Its actually good business not to infect others at your workplace.

On a personal note, every time I get a fever typeillness (several years ago I got an infection from an insect bite). I would take my temperature and record it as a cumulative time v temp. LAter, when I felt better, Id graph the temp and times in cumulative hours since oonset. Its amazing how most fevers are cyclical.
Fascinating

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Get better soon.
If you have trouble breathing don't delay, get thee to a doctor toot sweet. I know about weird work schedules. If you have a bad case of the flu you won't be able to maintain your sleep cycle, just sleep when you need to.

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Good luck, other me

Cycloptichorn

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@realjohnboy,

realjohnboy wrote:

I don't know where you work or what you do...or whether your job involves close interaction with co-workers/clients. As an employer, I would tell one of people "Don't come in Wednesday night." Then you can go to a doctor and have a few days off to recover.

I think that's the plan. Even if my symptoms have calmed down tomorrow night. I may still stay home.

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@Cycloptichorn,

Cycloptichorn wrote:

Good luck, other me.

Ha!

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@Cycloptichorn,

Cycloptichorn wrote:

Good luck, other me

Cycloptichorn

Well, if the enemy is being sick, at least it's two against one.

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Sorry you've been unwell, Diest.
I strongly recommend a warm bed, a good book, a cat to cuddle up to (if there's one handy) ..... & just before sleep at night, a big glass of very hot water with lots of lemon juice & honey stirred in & a couple of Panadol tablets (or the US equivalent). You'll sleep like a baby! Smile

Forget about seeing the doctor, unless you need a certificate. Rest will do the trick!
Hope you're feeling better soon.

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Went to the doctor. I tested negative for the flu (human or otherwise). It's a cold complicated with an minor infection in my throat (probably from cheering in the cold at the USA v Costa Rica soccer match).

I got my note, and he suggested I not go into work tomorrow either. This give me until Tuesday to be in top shape.

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1 Reply

@Diest TKO,

Diest TKO wrote:

(probably from cheering in the cold at the USA v Costa Rica soccer match).

I've read that the outside temperature has little to no effect on your body getting sick from a cold/flu.

You may have gotten sick from the game, but more likely because of the germ infested people around you (as opposed to any cold-related issue).

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@maporsche,

Yes and no. Cold weather makes our nose drip more and we tend to sniffle the stuff back into our body- thus bringing in rhino viruses (that are always in our nose) into our body. It's not the environmental wet and chill itself, but how our body reacts to it that can trigger the illness. Many airborne viruses end up in our nose and are dormant until "snorted".

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@Green Witch,

I'll see if I can find the report I looked at last year.

It seemed to be fairly scientific.

Putting dozens of people in a room temp room and releasing small amounts of flu vs putting people in a cold room and releasing small amounts of flu. The % that got sick was roughly equal.

1 Reply

@maporsche,

Dryness is the main culprit. Cold air (as in winter, but not as in drippy rainy weather, not sure which Diest was in) is dry air, and dry air makes the respiratory system more susceptible to viruses.

(A cold room wouldn't necessarily be dry, especially if it was cooled down just for the experiment.)

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@Green Witch,

Green Witch wrote:

Many airborne viruses end up in our nose and are dormant until "snorted".

one of my pet peeves. People (usually men) snorting the guck up their noses, instead of blowing their noses gently.

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As it unfolds: A story about getting sick and getting care

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