The first half of the week was pretty rough. I’m not sure if it started with a hangover (great evening with friends) or not. At first I thought it was but when by the end of the day on Monday I still couldn’t keep a glass of water down I began to wonder. Aches, pains, upset stomach. Maybe it was the flu. It wouldn’t be the first time I had the flu for Christmas. Funny though, I was weak and tired. By Tuesday night I was able to eat a little bit. I took it easy and went to bed early. Heck I probably didn’t need the sleep. I’d slept quite a bit over the previous 2 days. But then….
I awoke around midnight which isn’t uncommon. This time of the year I get up at least once in the middle of the night and toss a log in the furnace. I couldn’t get back to sleep. I also couldn’t catch my breath. Mind you, I experienced absolutely no chest congestion during this ailment. Each time I tried to go to sleep and my breathing became shallow, I felt as if I was suffocating. I was very weak and shaky too. I went from the bedroom to the deck outside (20 degree weather) to the living room and back to bed again. Over and over I did this. Outside in the cold air, I felt some relief. Probably because the oxygen was more dense out there. If I yawned deeply, I also felt relief. However the relief did not last but a minute or two. Finally I sat in the living room and checked my blood pressure. Wow. It was very high (for me). 179/79. Just the week before it was 123/60. My pulse wasn’t to high given the circumstance. I had also become anxious which probably aggravated things. I took a baby aspirin and finally dozed off while sitting up in the living room. The next morning I was very weak and shaky. This lasted until late Christmas afternoon.
I was a little nervous about doing it all over again Christmas night. So, before bedtime I took a baby aspirin and a Benadryl. The Benadryl pretty much knocked me out. I awoke around midnight and checked the furnace as usual. Again, trying to get back to sleep was difficult. I had pretty much the same symptoms as the previous night only not as severe. I immediately took a baby aspirin and another Benadryl. Before long I went back to sleep and slept through the rest do the night.
Today (December 26th) I went out to split some logs. Man, I am weary. I’ve no energy. Hmmmm. I had a serious bout with mono 10 years ago or so. I wonder if part of this is a reoccurrence of that?
I also wonder if I may have experienced a heart attack of sorts?
Oh well. I thought I’d write this down just in case I have the big one!
Here’s to 2014.
Cheers.
Update:
I’ve done better the last couple days. I think part of my problem was that I had mucus draining in the back of my throat which made it difficult to breath. I know, ewwwww! This is a chronic thing with me due to allergies I suppose. Doctors have never come up with relief. Last night I took an over the counter mucus medicine before bed and I slept much better.
This morning the dog and I took a 2 mile stroll in the mountains and all was good. Who knows?