Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Of Allergies, Respiratory Diseases and "Stick" Necks

It's that time of the year again when people with allergies drop down one by one, the reason different in every case, the allergen unique to the individual. Mine is simple - a change in weather. As early as Friday last week, I knew - felt - that I'd be sick enough one of these days to take at least a day off from work. While many were downing beer, vodka, gin or whatnot, I had my good old reliable bottle of Bactidol to give me at least a few hours of relief from an itchy throat. Although the relief was short-lived, no one sensed my discomfort.

But everything went from bad to worse from Saturday onwards. Ventolin didn't silence the wheezing sound everytime I breathed - or attempted to breathe - and didn't remove that feeling of having a ride-on compactor (pison) on my chest. I kept waiting for that "yeaahhh" feeling that comes about 1 or 2 seconds after a puff but all I felt was the need to puff again... and again... and again. Monday, I had to pause after every 3 words to catch my breath. Tuesday, I couldn't even get out of bed. And then, Budesonide. My new best friend. But my cough was still bad and I had caught a cold then so I had to take Wednesday off too. Add to all that a stiff neck so bad that a slight twitch in my arm would send a million pain signals that made me see black and almost caused me to pass out. A "stick" neck, as my babies called it, is a regular occurrence to me as I don't move when I sleep. But this morning's, despite 1,500mg of painkillers, was one of the worst I had to endure. It's already early morning of Thursday and the pain in my neck is still pestering me.

So now I lay me down to sleep... and pray that morning will bring relief...

No comments: