Saturday, February 25, 2012

Diary of a Wimpy Julia

Image used with permission by sangrea.net

Ahh. Feeling much better today. Thanks for all your concerns, everyone. I can appreciate the fact that my experience with these dumb stupid infections is no different than yours, so your tolerance to my whining is very kind of y'all.

So as my symptoms ease from my UTI, it's been interesting to note that my energy levels have been slowly rising, too. It never ceases to amaze me how fragile my energy stores are -- of course my body needs energy to fight an infection, and when the infection becomes less of a problem my body can do other things -- but when I had normal energy levels, I didn't notice the fluctuation as much.

Other things noticeably tap my energy supplies as well. Sometimes having an animated phone discussion will leave me sweating with the effort. Or even after I eat a large heavy meal, it feels as though my body has to shut down for awhile simply to digest.

Of course everyone's body requires the same energy for those tasks, but now that my energy stores are so small, I become so symptomatic as those stores are depleted even a little.

Before AI, I had the occasional UTI. And aside from the discomfort, I was still able to go about my day and do all those things that I needed to do: work, exercise, take care of the kids, clean the house, do yard work, yadayadayada...

But now, even something as simple as a bladder infection leaves me so wiped out that I needed to take an entire day to sleep to recharge.

It's so frustrating being a wimp. I don't like it at all.

5 comments:

Amy Junod said...

That photo is great!
I've been battling the same thing for weeks now. Not fun at all. Having to explain the Sjogren's thing to set another medical staff has been frustrating too.
Do you think that Sjogren's has anything to do with UTI's?

FFW said...

Why is it the part of the comic I like best is the UTI sufferer is holding her crotch like my 7-year-old does when she forgets she has to pee until it's almost too late?

Shannon said...

I can totally relate to the no energy level issue! It's the biggest challenge of all for me, to figure out how much energy I even have. Let alone learn how to pace myself so I don't crash out all the time.

Basically I eventually do too much or stay on the computer too long and I have to go to bed and sleep to recharge. Except I wake up and never feel refreshed, of course.

Ain't it grand? (not) :)

Julia Oleinik said...

Amy - Not sure if there's a direct link specifically to Sjs, BUT many of the drugs that suppress our immune system make us more prone to getting a UTI.

Aimee - Well. OF COURSE you would like the stuff that reminds you of a misbehaving kid. I have my indwelling Bratty Inner Child Julia and I believe that you are suppressing, although not too successfully, YOUR Bratty Inner Child Aimee.

Think about it. It's true.

Julia Oleinik said...

Shannon - the energy equation is one that I haven't figured out completely yet, either. If you figure it out send me YOUR solution....

Oh, and Amy? Pinky sends his greetings. He is still hanging out on my front porch.

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