Thoughts about COVID-19

Since being sick last March I've never been quite the same. 

First there's the insomnia..I don't think I've slept more than 4 hours continuous in the past year more than a few times. Most nights are a series of one or two hours, where I'm exhausted when I wake up. I've always had disordered sleep but it's gotten far worse. 

Then there's the herpes outbreaks. I usually get cold sores in my nose at the peak of my allergies usually late june/early july. In a bad year I might get 2 more outbreaks either from having a virus or fighting one. 

Until 2020 I'd never even taken antivirals for my outbreaks. But the one I had July 2020 was so bad I thought I had shingles. I was prescribed valacyclovir. Since then I had 7 other outbreaks all treated with valacyclovir. 

The other fun thing... migraines. Other than always having been prone to light induced migraines, and allergy induced migraines... i just get more of them, more often. Some mornings just looking outdoors to see if it's a sunny day is enough to trigger a migraine. Then it goes downhill. I become more sound sensitive and just sensitive to sensory input. 

With the migraines seems to travel arthritis. I've had it to varying degrees for some time but since I was sick March 2020 it's far worse far more often. Some days it hurts to cut a vegetable or open a juice container. My hands are clumsier and I have no strength in them.  I've almost dropped glasses. Suddenly the pain is unbearable and I have no strength. 

Other than that my memory has gotten worse. I still remember what happen 30 years ago but not what I did yesterday or last week. My cognitive skills are worst. It takes a huge effort to write a text like this whereas in the past I could write double in half the time. 

Almost healed.

It's been 5-6 weeks and my rib feels much better. Looks like it healed fine, since I don't have any bubbles in my rib cage anywhere.

It still hurts a tiny bit when I have huge coughing fits. which I've been having since I managed to catch the nasty cold my boss had and of course my SO has it too. We cough in harmony some nights.

Today I was able to lift things and not feel pain. Considering how long it took to heal, it was broken not just cracked....

Next time I go to doctor I will mention it and perhaps get xray.

Custody

I suppose my therapist should be happy with my progress. I am leaving the house. So much so that....

I get a text message from my friend who lives with me on Friday asking who has custody of me today, person A or person B.  Admittedly, it's been like that all week.  Tuesday night & Wednesday spent with person A, and then Thursday evening spent with person B, Friday night with person A and Saturday afternoon with person B moving them.

I've been home so little that it took until tonight for me to spot my friends son. Who has been in my house since Sunday night! When he lived with us until last summer, I would either trip into him or at least hear him.   Today I referred to him like they do on nature shows "The wild Zach is hard to spot in foreign habitats. He tends to congregate in basements to play video games"

roasted seaweed

Stumbled upon this gem at Costco. Yum... 

Active in pregnancy is healthy

I couldn't believe that a pregnant woman who was jogging,  was called a selfish cow, by another woman. People have some weird ideas about pregnancy and what women should do while pregnant. 

The saying about eating for two is a fallacy. My OBGYN used to say don't eat for two, eat twice as well. Also in all the books I've read, it says that if you were active and exercised regularly before pregnancy you should continue to do so while pregnant, with some exceptions such as contact sports like hockey. But sports like jogging, with your doctors blessing is a big help while pregnant. 

Other weird misconceptions is that if you're petite, you won't be able to give birth to a normal sized child. I beg to differ. Despite being all of 5' nothing and weighing about 98 lbs when I first got pregnant, I was able to deliver a 7lb baby girl as my first and a 9lb 10 ounces baby girl as my second. I delivered both vaginally without any complications, epidural or forceps. 

Then there was the idea that I wouldn't be able to breastfeed my children because I didn't have large breasts. Well after giving birth I had much bigger breasts and they provided sufficient nourishment to both of my daughters the first few months of their lives, along with healthy antibodies. 

Another misconception, as long as you breastfeed, you won't get pregnant. Well it might be true for some women, but in my case, although I breastfeed both daughters, I had my period again 3 months after the birth of my first.  The down side to this is that the days where my period was heavy I hardly had any milk to feed my baby.