Jane Lately #40

I have been sick.

It started out with a cold and breaking my pinky toe, which was not a fun combination, and evolved into a sinus infection. I’m impressed with myself each time I have one of these, because no matter how few fluids I consume when I feel crappy, I always go through a whole box of tissues and have all this snot. I feel like it should work backwards—like, if I go awhile without drinking anything, shouldn’t my nose dry up? It’s the only thing that makes actual sense here.

The upside of this mess is that I finally had the willpower (re: patience) and time to edit photos from last year’s GFAF Expo so I could get up the post. Otherwise, I’ve been trying to sleep everything off, because it feels like the wise thing to do. I once read rest and sleep helps the body recoup, so I’m doing that. (I mean, not that I’ve got a choice. I got the sleepy medicine that induces a coma and renders me a zombie when I awake, so.)

There’s a very fine line between hunger, exhaustion and a stuffy nose, and I don’t have tolerance for all three at once. 😣

I did have the bright idea of trying Cherry Honey Ricola drops instead of sticking to my typical flavors, and I don’t recommend it unless you’re deeply in love with cherries. I think the honey makes it too sweet; I looked at the ingredients, and it has sugar despite containing honey, and honey and sugar are both sugar, so I don’t understand that corporate decision. My BFFs during this time: Ricola, Sudoku, Roseanna M. White, and Bunheads. I’m not friends with Robitussin, because it makes me smell like the medicine.

Elsewhere lately

‘Cause I feel like crap, here is what I’ve been reading/perusing on the internet. (And listening to.)

This song reminds me of the things I did that were supposedly “bad”, but in hindsight seem like some of the best decisions I ever made. Like, shout out to my ex? And also to all the “because I said so” people. I’m the person I am today because I did something bad. 👌😊

Tor.com’s eBook of the Month (for US and Canada). Thanks, Jamie!

GDPR affects anyone who collects personal data (includes emails and IP addresses). My privacy policy seems to fit the bill, based on my non-expertise and reading comprehension skills. Also: US bloggers are supposed to have a privacy policy ’cause it’s legit illegal not to. Figured it’s fitting to note here also. Sucks that Bloggy Law (blog) shut down. 😐

Nickelodeon went off air for 17 minutes on March 17, 2018 in support of the students who walked out of school in honor of the 17 Parkland students who died.

Last year, something someone said to me struck me. I was reminded of this from Ash:
“I’m convinced that we need each other for this reason more than any: to act as little guideposts for one another. Every single thing you do becomes a beacon for someone else…”

[brushes hands] Now, dear reader, I am going to lay in bed and read myself to beddy-bye time (except, with my luck, I might not even fall asleep). 😪

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Georgie’s gravatar

I hope you feel better soon 💐 As I’ve mentioned, I love Ricola! I haven’t had them in a while but I enjoyed whatever the purple and yellow flavours were. Blackcurrant and lemon I guess?

I think there are a quite a few songs out there that reflect on how a negative experience turned one’s life around. I know I can relate to some of them 😄

GDPR is driving us crazy at work. Lots of work needs to be done around it 😓 My job doesn’t directly touch anything GDPR-related, but it’s definitely tiring hearing about it haha.

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Jane’s gravatar

Thanks! 💙 I’ve never seen blackcurrant here, so I haven’t been able to try it yet. I definitely stay away from the lemon. 😅

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Christine’s gravatar

Feel better soon!! I always think the same thing about drying up my congestion when I have it. If you can go to Walgreens and get something called a shower soother, try those! You put them over the drain in the shower and let the water run over them and they release eucalyptus and other decongesting herbs. My husband swears by a neti pot, but as crunchy as I am I can’t get myself to do it. Feel better, rest up, and dry up! 😛

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Evelina @ AvalinahsBooks’s gravatar

I think you’re looking at it backwards xD you should drink MORE water when you’re sick. Otherwise you’re sort of dehydrating yourself. That contributes to the headaches. And, as you’ve already come to the conclusion that it doesn’t really affect your sinuses, you should definitely go fetch that water now. This is coming from a person who was hospitalized for dehydration. Please take my word on this :p

I hope you get better soon! Is your toe better at least?

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Jane’s gravatar

I don’t have a lot of dehydration issues. 😐😅 My problem is typically water intoxication, ’cause I sip it carelessly throughout the day. So…for me, “few fluids” is, like, around 32oz a day when sick, which is about a third of my typical intake and over half of what I can handle on the daily. Water poisoning brings up similar problems as dehydration, but I think it’s harder to resolve in the long run. My doctors have literally advised me to drink more soda to help avoid such problems as often as I was! “You’re drinking too much water. Why don’t you drink more soda?” isn’t typical medical advice. 😂

So water poisoning equates to headaches as well. 😔 It’s deadlier than dehydration. 😰

But thanks for the concern! 👌

Ah! And yes, my toe is doing better. 😊

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Evelina @ AvalinahsBooks’s gravatar

What, more soda? O_o that sounds very American xD I don’t know, we are advised to drink like 2 liters a day (67oz I guess?) and I’ve never really heard about drinking too much water. So what does that entail? Yeah, that does not sound like your typical doctor’s advice AT ALL xDDDDD

No but srsly I’ve never heard about it o_o how much is too much..? And why…?

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Jane’s gravatar

Drinking that much is a lot. I think the whole water consumption by drink minimum started because a lot of people don’t drink as much as they’re supposed to, but the 64oz/day rec I’ve always heard of is a fallacy. The necessary amount depends on each person individually, because we all live different lives and consume different stuff. Someone who eats fruits and veggies with a lot of water content is going to overdose on water if they continue to drink the 8×8 water rule.

I suppose water intoxication is more a laughable topic, because it seems more absurd a thing. But it’s easier to die from it than via smoking pot and can be worse than not drinking enough.

At a glance, the task seems difficult. I once looked at all the water bottles I consumed on a daily basis and thought, “Wow! I didn’t even realize!” But then, that’s the problem. From my experience, it starts with a yeast infection-like feeling. I’ve only had one of those in my entire life, but…it seems to be the warning sign. It’s gotta do more with the kidneys, though, so…it could just be that that and kidney stones feel the same for me. Then comes feeling hot when there is legitimately no reason to, like hot flashes. Headaches are the telltale sign it it, then feeling like you’re gonna puke (nausea). But in the midst of all that, pee goes clear. It’s not actually supposed to be clear.

I happen to consume more water than I should sometimes, because I’ll idly sip from a water bottle for no reason. The kidneys can only take so much water per day, which boils down to up to a liter an hour. One liter is 33 ounces, which makes up about two 16.9-ounce water bottles. I try really hard these days not to exceed more than that per hour, but sometimes it’s really impossible—and I’m still thirsty!

The doctor who had recommended it to me had studied in other countries as well, and I surmise he told it to me because drinking soda is better than consuming more water than my body can handle. Things go wrong fast. Juice is full of sugar, and also my body can’t handle it. I don’t drink much juice (even then, I water it down), never drink coffee, seldom drink tea, and have a soda only here and there. So there’s not much else for me to drink, but the problem is that I get thirsty.

Then, there is also the issue of my eating disorder.

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Evelina @ AvalinahsBooks’s gravatar

Oh my.. I am not liking those symptoms. I’m surprised it’s not talked about at all – the general narrative seems to be that “nobody is ever having ENOUGH water” O-o

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Jane’s gravatar

Yeah, the media pushes it a lot until there’s a fatal incident of it (they don’t care unless you die from it, and then they make that your legacy). I think a lot of the older doctors are baffled at the idea, despite proof, the same way a lot of them are with allergies and allergic reactions (despite proof). I’ve had newer doctors, and they seem to be more open-minded. A nurse practitioner I had as a general physician? SHE WAS THE BEST. She had an assistant who was more an actual doctor, but…ah. She was amazing. <3 I’m rambling now, though. 😳

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Evelina @ AvalinahsBooks’s gravatar

I suffer from a lot of weird (and untested) allergies as well, so you’ve still got my attention xD

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Jane’s gravatar

Haha. XD

Ah! I have loads of allergies, including food. Do people try to non-allergicsplain (IDK what it’d be called, ha) about yours? My cousin-in-law told me how to to “cure” my pollen allergies: local honey—two pounds. I can’t even eat a teaspoon without the sugar content exhausting me?? I don’t know how to even consume ONE pound within a month. And anyway, they teach this stuff at immunotherapy. Which I had. Every weekday, save Friday, for about six months.

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Evelina @ AvalinahsBooks’s gravatar

Where should I message you? 😀 we need to continue this conversation :DDD Twitter DM, or..?
By the way, POLLEN! Pollen completely ELLIMINATES my allergy (it’s BETTER than antihistamines). But I can’t take it because it kills me with IBS T_T It’s a huge regret of mine 😀 actually, my allergies are quite mild, so people don’t know I have them (not sneezing – skin allergies.. ugh I AM UGLYYYY) and also I work at home so nobody ever knows xD but yes, the pollen does help, and it doesn’t make any sense (cause my allergies are not even the sneezy seasonal ones!!), but they have been experimentally tested on me and they so work and I also can’t have any T__________T xDDDDD #life

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Jane’s gravatar

You can do any of it—Twitter, Discord, email. 😉

Yeah! I’ve seen pollen and considered getting some for smoothies (I hide a lot of things that help my allergies in smoothies, because it’s easier that way), but it’s really expensive for a small amount and I wondered if it was worth it. Ah! That’s something good to watch out for (using a lot because IBS; I have IBS, too). I did diminish most of my IBS symptoms by using a fluoride-free toothpaste, however.

Jane’s gravatar

Twitter or Discord would be faster all around, of course. XD

Evelina @ AvalinahsBooks’s gravatar

I totally failed to message you, but good point about Discord! Couldn’t message you on Twitter though – there’s no message button 😀 either you have the disabled, or you’re not following me xD I’ll just ping you on discord next time! 🙂

Really, pollen is expensive? It’s affordable here. Sorry it’s expensive :/ but yes, it DEFINITELY works! So maybe you could give it a go at least, to test it. Medicine can be expensive too. Think of it as medicine xD but yes, fellow IBSie, be careful with the dosage. For me, I actually went about a month on one tea spoon (and not heaping at all) and then it sort of… combusted. Pardon the pun xD after that, it’s much more sensitive. So if you try, maybe just try half a tea spoon, something like that. Although I am uncommonly tiny (49 kilos), so more might be alright for you, cause I assume you’re bigger than me – EVERYONE IS XDDDD

Flouride free toothpaste! Oh my. You might be onto something. It wasn’t half as bad for me until I started using one again, cause… well nevermind the reasons, but I will have to look for one. Gosh, you’re the most useful friend in the world 😀

Edel’s gravatar

I am also sick right now! And in a weird depressive state. I notice that when I get into a depressive mood, I do not blog and I do not visit other blogs. I am so low energy and getting the flu does not help at all. I’ve never tried Ricola before… I will keep an eye out for it.

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