Flu Sucks! (But I will get better) - Sunday Freewrite

This week has been my worst Steem presence since I started over two years ago... Why?

Well, Wednesday morning, I got up... got my daily chapter out... quickly made myself a couple of healing foods (eggdrop soup, "Vitamin C tea" and some plain yogurt with raw honey) and went back to bed.

I slept most of the day, fever of 102F most of it, vision foggy when I did get up, a lot of coughing. By the evening when my husband came home from work, I was fairly confident I had influenza. I was ticking off the symptoms down the list...

Finally started eating again on Friday (and got a chapter posted), barely. Today, Sunday (wondering where on earth my week went) marks day 5. I still have a cough, muscle pain/weakness, still not really able to do any housework save what is necessary for survival.

Flu is good

"Serves you right for not getting vaccinated" I hear some say.
Well.

Leaving actual vaccine issues aside, you have to remember:

• Which strains each year's formulation is designed to protect against is guesswork - and they get it wrong most years - probably contributing to the fact that most years, the vaccine is (officially) marked at around 50% efficacy (I don't have numbers/data, but the exact number isn't important, it's the fact that it's low that is.) It's not much better than just not having an injection at all, your odds of getting flu are about the same.
• Flu has a purpose - to help build your immune system. Unless you are part of the extra-vulnerable (the very young, very old or immune-compromised), you are better off getting it and fighting it off. (I was explaining this concept to my younger daughter (nearly 9) who has been trailing me by about a day with flu.)
• Simply forcing you to slow down and rest has its own benefits. I don't have anything to back this one up (just my own mental ramblings), but I suspect that flu is a way of making you disconnect with the day-to-day stresses of life while you remember what is truly important - family. (I spent some time just playing Uno with my youngest - something I don't do nearly enough.)
• Some vaccines are primarily to keep the work force in work... My husband worked for Sam's Club until last summer (fired for being hurt on the job.) There, if you are sick more than three days in the year, you are likely to be fired. Someone working there literally can't afford the flu which will take them out of action for most of a week, maybe longer.

Anyway, the last time I had flu was a full seven years ago! I hope to keep it away as long (if not longer) again!

Now, to get rid of the lingering cough (the muscle pains/weakness are easier to deal with.)

General health

I realize that it's been awhile since I returned to my health journey. Part of that has been because it's been a bit of a rocky journey, and because I never did get rescheduled with that other doctor at the clinic. I got tired of having to keep calling back (which is torture for someone with phone anxiety) - but I will refuse to see the same doctor again, so they're going to have to do something for me eventually.

Meanwhile, throughout the past three months, I've been lowering and lowering my carb intake until this month when I totally dropped them and went full carnivore. That means eating meat/dairy/eggs only. My goal is to be able to add produce seasonally (summer-fall) and have a ketogenic Christmas, but then go back to carnivore - a bit more imitating the cycle of nature.

It seems to be working.
I've lost my inflammation, my wedding ring fits better than it has for awhile now and I'm regaining my energy. (Well, except when I have flu, anyway.)
You might remember that my blood pressure was pretty high back in September/October.
This morning (despite still being sick), it was 113/87. Not too bad, but still improvements to be made.

I have had to suffer some increased measurements and I was struggling for an explanation yesterday, until I found someone talking about the "malnourished obese" people... Ah, yes... And these people do have to put on some first as part of the healing process. Suddenly, I felt I understood. So,patience and perseverance. (And another Facebook group, lol.)

Watch this space.
Meanwhile...

Snow's coming...

Yeah, so they've scheduled us another major winter storm starting tonight. We're meant to get slammed with 7-12 inches of snow tonight and tomorrow. If I feel well enough by Tuesday morning, I'll take my new camera out for a spin. I finally got a lens that the Nikon D7200 likes, so I'm making friends with it.

More good news around the corner... maybe I'll make this Sunday Freewrite a regular feature... it feels good, anyway.

Photos taken in 2018 with my Pentax K30.

Crossposted at Steem, Whaleshares, WeKu

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Lori Svensen
author/designer at A'mara Books
photographer/graphic artist for Viking Visual
(Buy my work at RedBubble)
verified author on Goodreads
find me on Twitter
blogging on: Steem, Whaleshares, WeKu

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