Friday, October 21, 2011

Better now.

If I had to guess why I feel rotten, I would probably pin it on the late pollen season.  Yes, the wet summer has indeed given way to a warm, wet fall.  Still not a lot of pretty leaf-peeping, and it's almost impossible to find my favorite allergy pills.  Soon I will be paying a premium for Chlor-Trimetron; one of the few relatively inexpensive remedies that doesn't raise my blood pressure.  I also have to take a Zyrtec (its generic equivalent) every day.  It's a very rare summer that requires the extra boost, and this summer has been a real b!+c#.

One very bright spot:  I got my knees back!

Must have been about 45 years old when I noticed that I no longer had visible knees.  Just a fatty pack of skin where they used to be.  I was exercising and dieting and walking, and nothing worked.

I gave up, resigned to lack of knees as being part of the whole middle-age thing, along with lack of waist-line.

This summer filled the air with so much pollen, so much rain, and so much suffocating humid heat, that I spent extra time indoors, playing my beloved Final Fantasy video games.  In order to not pile on the weight, I sit on a recumbent stationary bicycle, and pedal during gaming.  The resistence is set very low, because I tend to get leg cramps at night, and overworking those muscles worsens them.

The bad pollen season actually started in the early spring, with "tree season."  Most hay-fever sufferers know nothing about tree season, because most trees are non-allergenic.  Supposedly.   My older daughter also suffers from tree season, even though she doesn't get hay-fever.  My younger daughter gets neither:  lucky her.  I am allergic to just about any pollen anyone can name, and I bet would even show allergies if I moved to Arizona, with my Blog Sister, Karen.

So I've been stuck indoors, pedalling away in front of my games.  I started with Final Fantasy, the original and am all the way up to Final Fantasy 6, one of my favorites.  When I tire of TV, I go to my games; when I tire of my games, I go to TV.  I also walk five days a week with my younger daughter, right after she gets out of work at Barb's Soup's On.

And I also now must do yoga, since I sprained my back falling on ice last winter.

I found out about the knees when I sat down on a low seat and had to struggle to stand.  I finally grabbed my knees and rocked my way up.  In doing so, I felt...

Knee caps!!!  I am so amped! 

Maybe I will even get my waistline back.

Well, I still have to weather the eating season:  Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Maybe next year.

pb
Little Pond

Thursday, October 13, 2011

What the hell happened?

For crying out loud, I began the month on such a high note.  Honestly thought that the post summer exacerbation would not hit me.
Now here I am, gasping for breath, exhausted by an hour and a half of grocery shopping.  My legs feel like they were lent to me without the users' manual, and I somehow forgot some step or other in their maintenance.  I have to keep dropping my hands down into my lap for a rest between sentences.

The ringing in my ears is drowning out the sounds coming from the laundry room downstairs.  Last night was one anxiety dream after another, each followed by a trip to the bathroom, often with no success.

And I still feel like I could have some sort of potty accident at any minute.  The cats need flea medicine and I don't dare drive up to the Tractor Supply.

I blame it all on Wednesday, when I pulled out the hose to clean and tie up the awnings.  Wednesday was cold and foggy, so after about an hour of being soaked from head to foot, I stopped everything and took a warm shower.  Then I dropped into bed for a two-hour nap.  When I woke, the sun was out and the porch was sparkling.

Is it possible to trigger and exacerbation in one short morning?  Wednesday afternoon I felt sick to my stomach and very iffy, in need of staying close to the bathroom, for both ends.  My lungs are clogged, my head and neck hurt like the dickens, and even my eyesight sucks.

Good Lord.  What the hell happened?

If this doesn't clear up by Monday, the neuro is getting a call.

pb
Little Pond

Monday, October 03, 2011

Hurray for the cool days!

Finally.  Weather I can live with.  I must be made for the Equinox.  I've always said that I want to retire to Bermuda.  The temps rarely go out of the 70's F (low 20's C).

This summer played havoc with the immune system:  I'm taking two different allergy medicines.  Generic Zyrtec and generic chlor-trimetron.  Nose still runs like a leaky faucet; coughing up lung "biscuits" galore.  A low-intensity headache is the norm and being asleep is my favorite state.

At present I get most of my exercise in the basement, riding a recumbent stationary bike.  While playing my favorite RPGs, of course.  My younger daughter walks with me after work on weekdays.  And I still wander the riverfront with Ellie on weekends.

One more week to go carrying Ellie around to avoid steps.  Then we can return to the lower portion of the Chemung, just downstream of the city.

Don't expect any pretty foliage shots this fall.  There aren't any.  I even go out without my camera.

Hope everyone is recovering from all these natural disasters.  We are still waiting to get a contractor for roof work.  Same as everyone else in the neighborhood.  Wind and rain make for leaking houses here, and complete flooding for my unfortunate neighbors along the Susquehanna.

pb
Little Pond