Meredith, I second smilin's post. If it's been 7 weeks, you should go to the doctor.

My friend's husband was sick for 7 weeks and is finally back at work on a regular basis. She thinks he had whooping cough.

HOpe all are healthy for the big day...as I ist here with my kleenex besode me. Oh well, at least it wasn't a two box day!

Dotsie, I'm saying a prayer for you and Meredith and Jawjaw all to be healthy for Christmas.

Hopefully excitement will help get you through the day. It's amazing what the adrenalin from having fun can do for almost anything that ails you.

Nyquil tomorrow night and early to bed while your husband does the work for santa might help you get rested up for the big day. Dayquil or some other non-drowsy decongestant should help during the day also.

Healthy thoughts and prayers headed your way.

smile

Smilin,
Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers. Today I'm no better, or worse so I can swing this. All I have left to do is some cooking. My husband's family is coming for dinner tonight before our church service and I'm looking forward to it.

Christmas day is just a lazy day for us so if I feel worse tomorrow it's okay. Grandparents pop in and out on Christmas with my Dad staying for dinner. this year my husband and kids are making the dinner so I can't wait! There's nothing better than eating food you don't have to prepare in your own home...at least for me.

Meredith and jawjaw, please feel better soon! Merry Christmas all!

doc says bronchitis...ewwww...

I have drugs, they are my friend.

It feels like someone has a knife in my chest and they are turning it...poor pitiful pearl...

Ms. M...do the doc thing. Me thinks you need meds. Thanks for all the well wishes...it's strange...I can get sick, and I still have an appetite...I'm probably the only person alive who gets bronchitis and gains weight...go figure... Merry Christmas all.

This morning I called "the advice nurse" at my HMO, who basically said, "Seven weeks???!! I'll get you an appointment to see your Doctor, NOW." So here's the scoop:

My throat is bright red (which is hardly a surprise after coughing 7 weeks.) Throat culture was taken and given to Lab; results will be in a few days. Lungs sounded clear (stethescope.) I have a written order for a chest x-ray, which should be used only if the cough gets worse or I develop a fever. Because of all the radiation I received during cancer treatment, doctor says I should avoid x-rays unless necessary. She also recommended flu shot because of my compromised immune system; I brought up some of the concerns from the posts here on the topic. She said, make your own decision.

Doctor said seven weeks is too long for a cold. This definitely is a viral infection. Whether infection is bacterial as well will be determined by the throat culture results. I won't get antibiotics unless it is.

I got a prescription for a medicinal syrup called Promethazine, which will help with both the raw throat and the congestion.

Usually on Christmas we hike in the local mountains, 4-7 hours depending on the route we take. I wrote a 127-line poem on this hike! After seven weeks of being sick I don't have much stamina, so instead we'll go to the movies to see Lord of the Rings 3. We've rented LOTR 1 & 2 already this week and are having our own LOTR marathon, with kettle corn. We've seen the first two a few times each. My husband read all the books at least 5 times. We just can't get enough of this stuff. I suspect that the theater will be so crowded, we'll reschedule for another day and just rent something else at the video store.

Hope everyone else is better soon!

I've gained a few lbs. during this illness because I'm always very conscious about getting adequate nutrition while I'm sick.

Meredith, pounds aren't important right now, getting better is.

Any stronger today?

Jawjaw, how about you? Are you back in the saddle?

I'm still here with my kleenex. No better, no worse, so I can't complain.

Just offered a little prayer for your health.

I think a book about Christmases all over the world is a good idea, but I think the different types of Christmas celebrations right here in the USA is pretty interesting too.

I always think my family's Christmas traditions are far too typical to be interesting, but then I look back and realize there are stories in the memories, emotions, chaos, and relationships that seem to get compressed into a few days at the end of the year.

I write a Christmas story of some kind almost every year. I keep thinking if they were all put together they might make an interesting book, but then thinking is about all I ever do.

Since I'm walking and functional and not in any particular pain, my HMO didn't submit my labs as STAT and thus will probably take up to a week to do them. The throat syrup is helping some, and the congestion is lessening. I went through 3!! boxes of kleenex in 7 weeks, more than I often use in a year.

Yesterday, the migraine that started creeping in on Sunday (yes, I've been taking all my prescription meds) became full-blown full-time and I spent much of the day in bed with an ice pack. Better today, so in about one hour we go out to the local multiplex and see what times we can get for tickets.

At the lower elevations, the trail is fairly populated on Christmas Day. Many families spend the day in nature, walking to see the waterfalls and having a picnic lunch on nearby benches. A lot of new immigrants and foreign tourists so we just say Hello or Happy Holidays in whatever language we feel like. People answer in whatever language they speak. Everyone smiles. At the upper elevations, there's hardly anyone else around any time of year.

Last year our regular trail was flooded so we drove to a different mountain area. Same lots of families with picnics at the lower elevations, but mostly Mexican/ South American (I think we were the only people NOT speaking Spanish.) I had never thought of different hills as attracting any particular ethnic groups before.