Saturday 16 January 2021

Chillin' Out

So my second Covid vaccine shot happened on Jan. 7th. I took two shifts off in anticipation of feeling like crap for a bit. That actually didn't happen at all! I was surprised, but pleasantly so. I wasn't really looking forward to running a fever, feeling achy and super tired at all, even if only for a day or so. I was told I would have 95% immunity in a week after that. So happy I was able to get the vaccine!

However...

I am just starting the 2nd of 2 weeks off work. Doctor's orders. Because I was having some pretty bad stress symptoms. He wanted me to take time off before I cracked.

Now, I am always been the "steady Eddie" kind of person. Rock solid in the face of stressful situations. Not fazed by much at all. But this pandemic, the increased stress at work (often working short staffed, having an increase in really sick patients, management saying 'yes, change is stressful but you will adapt' bullshit, etc) and the isolation from friends and family has really gotten to me.

I haven't seen my family in 10 months, other that my younger sister a handful of times. No family birthdays, no Easter or Thanksgiving dinners, no Christmas gathering, no pool parties at my nephew's in the summer. Zippo. I live alone, which usually isn't an issue. I have done it for years and actually like not having another person in the house most of the time. The cats are pretty good company. But not being able to see anyone else is a lot different than choosing to not see anyone. I miss them all desperately. I miss being able to hug someone. My family hugs a lot.

I wasn't sleeping well at all, and I was having nightmares, where I would be running for my life, or fighting for my life, there would be knives or swords or other weapons, and I would wake up with adrenaline surging and heart pounding. Try going back to sleep after that! Nope... just doesn't happen. And I was having a lot of GI symptoms. Not fun when you have to bolt to the bathroom multiple times a day. I have discovered I don't tolerate Imodium (Loperamide) to slow my gut down. It makes me feel absolutely awful, and loopy in the head. My doc tells me there is a name for the syndrome for people who do not tolerate narcotics of any kind. Of course, I don't remember what it is... he did tell me, I swear. I already know things like morphine and codeine (which include Tramadol, a synthetic codeine) make me physically ill. So the Imodium (which some people actually take because they want to get that loopy feeling ~ yay, party drugs...) is off the table for me.

So my doc gave me a letter to be off work for 2 weeks. And a script for Lorazepam 1 mg at bedtime, to help me sleep. It has been a little over a week now and I have stopped the frequent bathroom trips. I have been sleeping better and only one bad dream but after 5 days of taking the full 1 mg of Lorazepam at bedtime, I cut it back to 1/2 mg because my head was so foggy during the day. Still felt foggy with that, so know I have cut it to 1/4. The pills are so small, it is difficult to cut into 1/4s with my pill splitter, but I am doing my best. So still helping with sleep. And my head feels better too... I feel functional.

So functional, I have started updating my kitchen! I have one more week to get a bunch of stuff done. We will see how much I can get done in that time. I have to patch walls, paint the ceiling and walls, install new floor tiles (after ripping out the old vinyl sheet flooring) and updating the light fixture over the back landing. I got started yesterday by cutting back a cupboard so I can relocate the fridge. I discovered that this cupboard must have been painted red at some point. I cannot imagine red cupboards in this tiny kitchen!! Wish me good energy to get a good portion of this done.




10 comments:

  1. Pleased to read that the vaccine caused no ill effects. Was it the Moderna one?
    I was on Diazepam briefly, and also did a kitchen renovation - it does help with distracting the mind.
    Take care,
    Sx

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    1. Scarlet, it was the Pfizer vaccine. The Moderna vaccine has been reserved for the more remote areas of my province, as the storage requirements of the Pfizer vaccine are too extreme for those small, far away communities.

      Yes, the kitchen reno is definitely a good distraction! xoxo

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  2. Careful with that stuff please. Around here we know it as "Tavor", powerful shit.
    Good to see that you tolerated the vaccine well, at least something positive. So you can see family soon. Good luck with the kitchen renovation - frankly I could not think about doing something like this, I would certainly stay in bed the whole two weeks, and go into the kitchen only for coffee and the fridge ...

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    1. Mago, I am only taking it "as needed", and took none last night. And no, I cannot see family soon. Because I can still take the virus with me, even if I have immunity (which is 95% for me so theoretically, I can still catch covid but would probably have a mild case). If I am exposed and then go see family, I can be the transport the virus needs to infect someone other than myself. People have this idea that once they are vaccinated, they can do away with the masks, the hand washing, the social distancing, and that is not true. Until at least 70% of the population is vaccinated, we must still be vigilant and take precautions. It will be some time before we can get back to more relaxed social interactions.

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  3. Glad you didn't have a bad reaction to the vaccine but I know you've been strong for too long. Good that you are enthused to get on with stuff and I hope that a fortnight's break is enough. Please don't hesitate to extend it if it isn't.

    We're thrilled that Tim will have his first vaccination on Monday. I wish that the government hadn't decreed that it'll be 12 weeks to wait until the second, but we're taking any positive events round here.

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  4. I FOUND YOU!!!!! And my heart goes out to you. To hear that you've been knocked around by Covid lockdown really surprised and saddened me, because you are, as you noted, steady as a rock and generally badass. Re the pill splitting - this from a former druggie. Mash the little sucker on a shiny, flat surface, like a dish, divide the dust into fourths with a paring knife and then separate one fourth out, dip it up with the tip of your finger, ingest, and cover the plate with another plate to keep for the next dose. Very glad you're doing better now. XXOOO

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  5. Good advice from FN, she knows her stuff.

    Now, would you care for a small "I'm still alive" sign ?

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  6. Fashinably late, as usual, I wish You a Happy New Year !

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  7. Have you seen the first Krokus of the year yet ?

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