Saturday, January 5, 2013

Still Sick


There’s a ton of stuff written about how regular exercise helps your overall health.  A consistent regimen keeps all of your systems moving along well right down to the cellular level, so not only is your circulatory system clicking efficiently along, your immune system is, too.  However, that doesn’t mean one can’t get sick.

And this One did.

I’ve heard for years about “cold and flu” season, but never taken it seriously.  It’s not like I don’t get sick now and then, but I have a short memory when it comes to that sort of thing.  So when the news is talking about some new strain of flu or the number of states that are seeing widespread outbreaks, it’s like I’m watching a documentary about whale migration patterns.  Interesting, but it’s not something I’m ever going to deal with directly.

So the combination of my personal demeanor and the fact that I keep myself in good shape pretty much leads me to ignore a lot of really good information and habits that could’ve helped me avoid this past week.  Things like washing my hands regularly throughout the day, keeping them out of my mouth and not doing things like biting my nails, and taking advantage of immunizations like the flu shot.  You’d think I’d be better at that stuff because of my recent experience.  Hell, I think I’d be better at it.  But I’m not.

I know stuff about myself that most people don’t know and don’t care about.  I know my weight within two pounds even though I don’t get on a scale but maybe once a month.  Sitting here I’m at about 144.  Down a little since I haven’t eaten much this past week.  My resting heart rate is around 63, but I’m sure it’s elevated these days because of all the cold medicine I’ve been taking.  I’m guessing I’m at 68 right now.  My blood pressure hovers around 100 over 68, but again it’s probably higher these days because of the meds.  My liver enzymes are probably high, too because of all the Tylenol in the stuff I’ve been taking, but that will come back down to normal when I stop.  My BUN numbers are going to be up right now, too because I’m sure my kidney’s aren’t working like they should right now, either.  They’ll be fine once I’m through this.  What’s your white blood cell count?  I know mine; it’s just below the normal range sitting around the low 4’s.  Slightly elevated above that currently because I’m sick, but like everything else they will fall back to numbers familiar to me.

I know all of this because of having cancer.  I have seen all this information over and over for the past 5 years or so, and it’s become old hat.  I’ve seen the numbers change and watched how they move when we treat certain things.  Pretty cool stuff actually, to learn how things affect your body in very specific and measurable ways.  I’ve learned that my body does much better without any vitamins or supplements and just eating right each day.  Doctors will tell you that all the time, but until you watch your blood numbers improve because you STOPPED taking vitamin C and started eating a piece of fruit or drinking a glass of juice every day, it’s hard to believe it.

The last thing I talked about, the white blood cell thing, is the factoid that I’ve ignored for the last time this year.

A short explanation (really short) of white blood cell counts: Normal is somewhere between 10.5 and 4.5.

People familiar with that will laugh right here and say, “yep” but know there’s at least another chapter explaining what those are and what they represent, but for this blog just know that bit there.

When the cancer thing started my levels were always up around the low 7’s.  “Robust” was used to describe that aspect of my immune system.  It’s why I hardly ever got sick and very rarely was an illness serious.  My colds went by faster and easier than most people.  I realize now that history has made me lazy.  After my ridiculously high levels of radiation treatment, etc my white blood cell counts are where they are now: just below the Normal range.  When I raised my concerns about that to my doctors they all said that is my “new normal” and that it won’t be a big deal.  They did tell me that I would be more susceptible to getting colds and that I should start getting the flu shot.

Brilliant.

I’m only a week into this little Personal Growth Stage, but I believe I have learned a valuable lesson and will get the shot next year.  Of course a vaccine is not a sure thing, but most proactive behavior isn’t a guarantee just way to improve our odds.

“Live and Learn,” they say.  And you know I’m all about Living.  I just need to keep Learning as well.
 
I'll be out and running again, soon but I want to get through these coughing fits first.  If I were to go out today, I'd find myself doubled over and hacking for a second and somebody would probably jump out of their car, knock me down and start trying to give me CPR.  I can do without that today, thanks very much.

1 comment: