I’m sick, can’t run

And no it is not a hangover from the Super Bowl. Even though I did watch my favorite team win, I did it from bed. No beer, but I did manage to eat some junk food and a pizza!

Oddly all of a sudden on Saturday I was just hit out of the blue with nasty flu like symptoms. I think I may have graduated from just symptoms to a full on case of the flu. Good news is I feel better today, but it is certainly still hanging all over me. I have noticed that this year (my first rebif year) that I have gotten sick more times than not. My neurologist insisted that it affects/suppresses a different part of the immune system, but as my GP says it doesn’t truly matter how you are supposed to react to a drug and instead it is the clinical reality that shows the real truth. In other words medicines perform differently on different people. Of course affecting immune systems seems like a pretty major thing to be willy-nilly affecting, so maybe she is right. But I have been exposed to less people (which could also be the problem) this year, I’ve gotten better sleep and had less stress in my life. I still think it is the rebif. Plus why was it recommended by a blogger (ok yeah, what do we know, seriously?) that as a ms person needs to get a flu shot. I have never gotten one in the past, then again I am getting older…

Well, I hope to be back running soon, but maybe not this week. Course I will get itching to go and I will end up running before I am healthy enough. I know I will. We’ll see.

I’m sick, can’t run

And no it is not a hangover from the Super Bowl. Even though I did watch my favorite team win, I did it from bed. No beer, but I did manage to eat some junk food and a pizza!

Oddly all of a sudden on Saturday I was just hit out of the blue with nasty flu like symptoms. I think I may have graduated from just symptoms to a full on case of the flu. Good news is I feel better today, but it is certainly still hanging all over me. I have noticed that this year (my first rebif year) that I have gotten sick more times than not. My neurologist insisted that it affects/suppresses a different part of the immune system, but as my GP says it doesn’t truly matter how you are supposed to react to a drug and instead it is the clinical reality that shows the real truth. In other words medicines perform differently on different people. Of course affecting immune systems seems like a pretty major thing to be willy-nilly affecting, so maybe she is right. But I have been exposed to less people (which could also be the problem) this year, I’ve gotten better sleep and had less stress in my life. I still think it is the rebif. Plus why was it recommended by a blogger (ok yeah, what do we know, seriously?) that as a ms person needs to get a flu shot. I have never gotten one in the past, then again I am getting older…

Well, I hope to be back running soon, but maybe not this week. Course I will get itching to go and I will end up running before I am healthy enough. I know I will. We’ll see.

Getting close to strapping on the shoes

Well I feel a lot better now. I have been getting a lot of sleep and haven’t been pushing myself work wise. One thing to thank the economy for anyway. I still woke up this morning having to hack away, but it doesn’t last for long. Right now my cold, flu, whatever seems to have moved to my sinuses and is nearing the end of its fruitful association with me (I am hoping anyway.)

I am really looking forward to running again, though living without the alarm clock has been nice. But I’ll even welcome that with open arms. They say running can become an addiction. I am not so sure about that. In my past when I smoked, I would smoke when I was sick. But running (at least when it is bad) is out of the picture. I have read that running when you are feeling under the weather can be a good thing in moderation. I guess it depends on how hard you push yourself and what sort of weather you are running through. I did some hard runs right before I got sick, but the weather was ok. I at least wasn’t running cold and wet.

I was disapointed to read that Japanese author Haruki Murakami was passed over for the Nobel prize for literature. I just read his book “What I Talk About When I Talk About Running” and loved it. He also has a rich array of fiction that he WILL some day get his Nobel for. He deserves it. Better luck next year Haruki.

Getting close to strapping on the shoes

Well I feel a lot better now. I have been getting a lot of sleep and haven’t been pushing myself work wise. One thing to thank the economy for anyway. I still woke up this morning having to hack away, but it doesn’t last for long. Right now my cold, flu, whatever seems to have moved to my sinuses and is nearing the end of its fruitful association with me (I am hoping anyway.)

I am really looking forward to running again, though living without the alarm clock has been nice. But I’ll even welcome that with open arms. They say running can become an addiction. I am not so sure about that. In my past when I smoked, I would smoke when I was sick. But running (at least when it is bad) is out of the picture. I have read that running when you are feeling under the weather can be a good thing in moderation. I guess it depends on how hard you push yourself and what sort of weather you are running through. I did some hard runs right before I got sick, but the weather was ok. I at least wasn’t running cold and wet.

I was disapointed to read that Japanese author Haruki Murakami was passed over for the Nobel prize for literature. I just read his book “What I Talk About When I Talk About Running” and loved it. He also has a rich array of fiction that he WILL some day get his Nobel for. He deserves it. Better luck next year Haruki.

Lungs are still heavy

I am finding myself feeling a lot better, but I still think my lungs need a bit more rest before I send them out on the road. On the one hand I know it would be good to help clear them out, but not yet. Plus who wants to watch my hacking and spitting? Throw in a sweaty 42 year-old and we have a recipe for disaster.

It has been a good thing to give my body a rest though for this week. I was having that little twinge in my one knee (not even sure which one it was now) but that appears to have been recuperated by rest. My feet also seem to be a little less bothered by the numbness issues, though it is still there. I think the pounding does have an effect.

As for the healing powers of bee stings, I’m either going to have to call it a bust or say that I need more for anything to happen. I would have loved to have been able to convince myself that the bee venom worked miracles. I could have finally had a show I could do for cable access! I have always wanted some reason to be on. I would have to come up with a crazy bee outfit I suppose.

Last night was injection night. I was again worried how the rebif would react with my cold/flu symptoms. Well I may have found a solution. As I setup the injector and placed it on my planned site, I pressed the button. I felt nothing and thought, wow the hot compress really works. Then I realized, crap, I for got to take the cap off again. I popped it off and quickly jammed it in my stomach, hoping to get as much as I could. I did manage to get a partial injection and that seemed to mitigate the flu-like symptoms. Makes me wonder if I could get some half injections for when I was sick. I’ll have to ask the doc about that.

Lungs are still heavy

I am finding myself feeling a lot better, but I still think my lungs need a bit more rest before I send them out on the road. On the one hand I know it would be good to help clear them out, but not yet. Plus who wants to watch my hacking and spitting? Throw in a sweaty 42 year-old and we have a recipe for disaster.

It has been a good thing to give my body a rest though for this week. I was having that little twinge in my one knee (not even sure which one it was now) but that appears to have been recuperated by rest. My feet also seem to be a little less bothered by the numbness issues, though it is still there. I think the pounding does have an effect.

As for the healing powers of bee stings, I’m either going to have to call it a bust or say that I need more for anything to happen. I would have loved to have been able to convince myself that the bee venom worked miracles. I could have finally had a show I could do for cable access! I have always wanted some reason to be on. I would have to come up with a crazy bee outfit I suppose.

Last night was injection night. I was again worried how the rebif would react with my cold/flu symptoms. Well I may have found a solution. As I setup the injector and placed it on my planned site, I pressed the button. I felt nothing and thought, wow the hot compress really works. Then I realized, crap, I for got to take the cap off again. I popped it off and quickly jammed it in my stomach, hoping to get as much as I could. I did manage to get a partial injection and that seemed to mitigate the flu-like symptoms. Makes me wonder if I could get some half injections for when I was sick. I’ll have to ask the doc about that.

Sick as a dog

Yuck, I feel like garbage and have for a few days now. I ran On Sunday and Monday and my breathing was really heavy both days, by Monday night I was down for the count. I think it might be a flu since I have flu-like symptoms. Oh wait, that’s right, rebif gives me flu-like symptoms, great… Coughing all night (I need to get some cough suppressant or something), constant runny nose, fever (oh wait, the rebif again), sweats (uh, thanks rebif) and sneezing (a little). I know I am supposed to keep taking the rebif even when I am sick, but it is really tempting to skip it until I am better. I am sure that screws up the way it works, so I’ll keep at it.

On a positive note, I have been trying a different strategy for reducing the pain of my injections. I had been icing the area beforehand. Sometimes this would work fine, sometimes not. I got a call from msLifelines and talked to them about my issue and she recommended using a warm compress instead. I had heard this, but the ice was just easier, so I kept at it. Well, so far I am a convert. The warmth works much better. I heat up a washcloth with hot water and apply it to the area. I do this twice before my alcohol swab, hand washing and injection. Apparently it is the rebif that actually causes the pain, not the shot. The warmth allows it to be dispersed better. Well I’ll be. Lastly I massage the area to aide in dispersion.

I am not sure when I will run again, right now it feels like January. But I am sure I will get through this and feel better soon. Because it is so lung focused I am a bit concerned about running again. I think I’ll start out with some short runs to get back into it (haven’t we heard that before!)

Sick as a dog

Yuck, I feel like garbage and have for a few days now. I ran On Sunday and Monday and my breathing was really heavy both days, by Monday night I was down for the count. I think it might be a flu since I have flu-like symptoms. Oh wait, that’s right, rebif gives me flu-like symptoms, great… Coughing all night (I need to get some cough suppressant or something), constant runny nose, fever (oh wait, the rebif again), sweats (uh, thanks rebif) and sneezing (a little). I know I am supposed to keep taking the rebif even when I am sick, but it is really tempting to skip it until I am better. I am sure that screws up the way it works, so I’ll keep at it.

On a positive note, I have been trying a different strategy for reducing the pain of my injections. I had been icing the area beforehand. Sometimes this would work fine, sometimes not. I got a call from msLifelines and talked to them about my issue and she recommended using a warm compress instead. I had heard this, but the ice was just easier, so I kept at it. Well, so far I am a convert. The warmth works much better. I heat up a washcloth with hot water and apply it to the area. I do this twice before my alcohol swab, hand washing and injection. Apparently it is the rebif that actually causes the pain, not the shot. The warmth allows it to be dispersed better. Well I’ll be. Lastly I massage the area to aide in dispersion.

I am not sure when I will run again, right now it feels like January. But I am sure I will get through this and feel better soon. Because it is so lung focused I am a bit concerned about running again. I think I’ll start out with some short runs to get back into it (haven’t we heard that before!)