Thank you to everyone who has sent me well wishes. They are greatly appreciated.
It’s Day 3 of this cold and I’m still doing well. My body is fighting and that’s my strategy right now, just let my immune system try to take care of this. The cold has moved to my chest and I can feel some light congestion, but it’s not bad at this point. I’m still able to breathe relatively easily. I just feel that little tickle (light congestion) in my bronchial tubes.
I’m not coughing much at all yet, so that’s a good sign that so far my immune system is doing its job and working to prevent this from getting worse. Hopefully it will be able to knock the cold out before it can settle in and I can get back to normal.
If the cold’s not bad, why am I even writing about it? I never know if a cold will be short lived and easily handled or turn into something major and maybe even pneumonia. In my blog I promised a journey through my life with Myasthenia Gravis. Since a cold can play such a huge role in how I’m doing, I decided to chronicle the cold from the beginning. If it turns out to be nothing, then great. If it turns out otherwise, you’ll have had an opportunity to follow me through every step of the way. And, if you have MG, you’ll probably be able to relate to how seriously we take “the common cold”.
For me, colds like this typically take one of two tracks. Either my body does its job and beats the cold within a few days, or after a few days the cold begins to take a turn for the worse. There’s no way of knowing which route this one will take, so we’ll just have to wait and see.
During this waiting period, I try to get as much rest as possible, preserving my energy to help my body fight. I don’t lie in bed, however, because staying immobile is one of the worst things you can do and can easily lead to pneumonia. I’ll take a nap during the day, but the rest of the day is spent either sitting up or walking around the house. Movement helps break up congestion, so it’s important that you continue to move around as much as possible. I won’t push it and go to the gym, but I’ll try to stay active as much as possible at home without over doing it.
I don’t take any medicines other than my normal daily meds as it’s always better to let your body attempt to do its job first. If I get fevers or heavy congestion, I’ll take meds then. I drink a lot of fluids during this period. When I first start feeling congestion in my chest, hot beverages often help. I limit myself to 2 cups of coffee in the morning, so the rest of the day I enjoy hot tea with honey. The warmth of the tea helps break up the congestion and the honey soothes my throat which tends to get sore from coughing or mouth breathing.
I’ve had pneumonia many times, so I know what it feels like and I know what to watch for. I’ll keep a close eye on it and if I feel it might be moving into pneumonia, I’ll head to the doctor quickly before it gets too bad.
I’m going to make this one short today, but before I go, here’s one quick joke.
A guy walks into a pharmacy, looking miserable. He’s sniffling, sneezing, and bundled up like it’s the Arctic. He goes up to the pharmacist and says, “I need something strong for this awful cold! I can barely function.”
The pharmacist gives him a sympathetic look, leans over the counter, and whispers, “Here’s what you do. Go home, take a hot bath, then open all the windows and stand in front of a fan in just your underwear.”
The guy looks at him horrified. “Won’t that make me worse?”
The pharmacist nods, “Exactly! Then we can skip treating this cold and focus on the pneumonia! I’ve got lots of good stuff for pneumonia!”
I know, not funny! Thanks again to everyone who sent well wishes.
Together we are #MGStrong!
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