February has been a hard month for us! It seems as if our immune systems have just given up. Benjamin and I started feeling bad on the 1st of this month, and it slowly trickled through every member of the family. I think it was the flu, but who knows. Mike was gone for work during most of this, so I rediscovered how miserable one can be when they not only feel like death warmed over, but they are also responsible for three ill beings who ravage every last bit of energy out of one's body. I'm not sure which was harder, actually; feeling awful and having energetic, healthy children in need of attention, or feeling awful and needing to nurture children who also felt awful. I'm convinced I must have committed some heinous crime in a past life and the first week of February was my payback.
Luckily the kids each were only affected for a couple days each, but mine held on a lot longer. Mike ended up getting sick on his trip so he, too, felt awful. Three of us went on antibiotics, although it didn't seem to do much. I still have fluid in my lungs now, two weeks later, and a nasty cough. BOO WINTER. I would give anything to have a good 65 degree day, so I could throw open all the windows and let the bad, germ-infested air out and all the fresh air in.
On top of this, I'm back to seeing doctors again to try and solve the mystery of my recurring episodes of light headedness. A year ago, when this started, I saw an ENT, an opthamologist, and a general MD. No inner ear issues, no vision problems, and my iron levels, thyroid, and other blood work showed no concerns. I'm careful to stay hydrated and I eat enough protein. So why in the world do I get hit with random lightheadedness-- almost always when I'm a state of rest (reading, watching t.v., driving)? It's the two episodes I had while driving that sent me back to the doctor. It's pretty unnerving to have to pull over a car with three kids inside of it, afraid of passing out. The newest line of inquiry is cardiology. My EKG looked okay for the most part. I had an echocardiogram on Valentine's Day (the irony of getting my heart checked on Valentine's Day did not get by me. I was sad I didn't get a sticker proclaiming this fact). No news on that until the doctor reviews it, hopefully next week. Monday morning I'll pick up a halter heart monitor and wear that for 48 hrs, in hopes of catching one of the light headed episodes during that time period.
I'm obviously hoping no answers come from the cardiologist….although I'm not sure where I go from there. This stuff did go away during the summer, so maybe it's a recurring virus or undetected sinus infection that causes the symptoms? Not knowing is frustrating. Go. Away. February.
