BritainOphira
29 Oct 2004, 04:29 PM
I always knew that my immune system was crap, but I never realized quite how horrible it really is until now. Somehow, someway, during fall break (over two full weeks ago) I managed to catch a supposedly "non-contagious" form of bronchitis, presumably while shopping at Goodwill.
At the time I did not realize I actually had bronchitis, so I took every type of cough medicine available over the counter trying to get rid of the cough. All that really happened was I ended up basically drunk, clinging to my bed, and begging for the world to “stop moving so much, please, I am getting seasick.” Evidently by last Tuesday my body decided to give up completely and I ended up going to the doctor's where I was told I had bronchitis, to stay home, drink plenty of liquids, and to carefully follow the directions on the pills she prescribed.
Of course the medication came with highly specific instructions (take one or two pills up to three times a day, as needed, for cough) and a warning that they might make me drowsy. It turns out that when I’m drowsy I forget exactly how much medication I have taken, so I kept taking more until I was completely miserable. Being stubborn and unwilling to sacrifice my GPA due to failed finals (my school has a lovely attendance-incentive where if you have only a certain number of excused absences you do not have to take all of your finals), I went to school on Thursday anyway, fell asleep on the bus ride there, fell asleep waiting for the first bell to ring, somehow made it to first block where I promptly fell back asleep, and I was eventually sent home by my chemistry teacher and told to sleep so I could go on an academic team trip to Nashville the next day.
Any normal person would have stayed home, forgotten the trip, and tried to recover, but being normal has never been my problem, so I went anyway, slept on the floor of the school lobby waiting for a bus, then slept the entire trip (even while I was supposed to be playing) except for a few brief interludes where I thought I was going to die because I kept coughing and couldn't walk, during which I laid on the floor hoping for the end.
I thought I had finally gotten better, but this morning I woke up, making indescribable noises, gasping for air and choking, completely unable to breathe. Also, it turns out that I cannot move without almost crying because of the pain. Needless to say I am missing even more school so I can eventually go to the doctor's again where I will be told that it's all in my head, there's nothing wrong with me except for the fact that my body hates me and is punishing me for something I did in a past life.
The saddest part of it all is, despite my illness and subsequent absences from school and my skipping class to work on my school's mock election the few days I've actually managed to get out of bed, I am the only person in my chemistry class (the only “real” class I actually have) who will pass the test that is scheduled for Monday.
None of it would bother me so much, but my French teacher kept screaming at me on Wednesday, blaming me for every abortion ever performed and telling me that I was evil and ignorant because I happened to be the campaign manager for the Democratic Party, so, in addition to feeling like crap, I keep becoming completely irrationally emotional for no reason whatsoever, and crying every hour, on the hour.
I was supposed to report him to someone today, but as I’m not going to school it will have to wait until next Monday, where I will be told that I’m exaggerating and that it’s too late to do anything, anyway.
I’m sorry for the length but I had to tell someone besides my dog, who is currently asleep, upside down, in the living room.
At the time I did not realize I actually had bronchitis, so I took every type of cough medicine available over the counter trying to get rid of the cough. All that really happened was I ended up basically drunk, clinging to my bed, and begging for the world to “stop moving so much, please, I am getting seasick.” Evidently by last Tuesday my body decided to give up completely and I ended up going to the doctor's where I was told I had bronchitis, to stay home, drink plenty of liquids, and to carefully follow the directions on the pills she prescribed.
Of course the medication came with highly specific instructions (take one or two pills up to three times a day, as needed, for cough) and a warning that they might make me drowsy. It turns out that when I’m drowsy I forget exactly how much medication I have taken, so I kept taking more until I was completely miserable. Being stubborn and unwilling to sacrifice my GPA due to failed finals (my school has a lovely attendance-incentive where if you have only a certain number of excused absences you do not have to take all of your finals), I went to school on Thursday anyway, fell asleep on the bus ride there, fell asleep waiting for the first bell to ring, somehow made it to first block where I promptly fell back asleep, and I was eventually sent home by my chemistry teacher and told to sleep so I could go on an academic team trip to Nashville the next day.
Any normal person would have stayed home, forgotten the trip, and tried to recover, but being normal has never been my problem, so I went anyway, slept on the floor of the school lobby waiting for a bus, then slept the entire trip (even while I was supposed to be playing) except for a few brief interludes where I thought I was going to die because I kept coughing and couldn't walk, during which I laid on the floor hoping for the end.
I thought I had finally gotten better, but this morning I woke up, making indescribable noises, gasping for air and choking, completely unable to breathe. Also, it turns out that I cannot move without almost crying because of the pain. Needless to say I am missing even more school so I can eventually go to the doctor's again where I will be told that it's all in my head, there's nothing wrong with me except for the fact that my body hates me and is punishing me for something I did in a past life.
The saddest part of it all is, despite my illness and subsequent absences from school and my skipping class to work on my school's mock election the few days I've actually managed to get out of bed, I am the only person in my chemistry class (the only “real” class I actually have) who will pass the test that is scheduled for Monday.
None of it would bother me so much, but my French teacher kept screaming at me on Wednesday, blaming me for every abortion ever performed and telling me that I was evil and ignorant because I happened to be the campaign manager for the Democratic Party, so, in addition to feeling like crap, I keep becoming completely irrationally emotional for no reason whatsoever, and crying every hour, on the hour.
I was supposed to report him to someone today, but as I’m not going to school it will have to wait until next Monday, where I will be told that I’m exaggerating and that it’s too late to do anything, anyway.
I’m sorry for the length but I had to tell someone besides my dog, who is currently asleep, upside down, in the living room.