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Hot in the City
Jul. 27th, 2005 01:43 pmI love WebMD. As I'm sure I've mentioned, I haven't been feeling very good lately. I'm not sick. I don't have a fever or upper respiritory problems, no snot or sore throat. I just feel crappy. I've been having severe headaches that make it difficult to watch TV, listen to music, or even stay on the phone for very long. I've felt light-headed almost every day. I've noticed my heart rate increasing dramatically while at rest in addition to occasional loss of breath. My daily bus ride has started inducing nausea, and when I get home I just feel totally exhausted despite working a low-impact desk job. A couple hours of laying motionless on my bed usually clears things up but it's still pretty scary and inconvenient considering that it's all occuring on a daily basis. Welp, according to WebMD I'm suffering from mild heat exhuastion, which is good to know but doesn't really help me since I seem to be doing everything that one can to alleviate the problem. Here's WebMD's checklist of stuff to do should you suffer from mild heat exhaustion:
Stop your activity and rest. Not something I can do at work but is always my third order of business after getting home each day. (First and second are turn on the AC and strip.)
Get out of direct sunlight and lie down in a cooler environment, such as shade or an air-conditioned area. Elevate your feet. Remove all unnecessary clothing. The only part of this I don't already do is elevate my feet. Perhaps that's what makes all the difference?
Cool down by applying cool compresses or having a fan blow on you. Place ice bags under your arms and in your groin area, where large blood vessels lie close to the skin surface, to cool down quickly. The AC blows directly onto my bed.
Drink rehydration drinks, juices, or water to replace fluids. Drinks such as sports drinks that contain electrolytes work best. Drink 2 qt(2 L) of cool liquids over 2 to 4 hours. You are drinking enough fluids if your urine is normal in color and amount, and you are urinating every 2 to 4 hours. Total rehydration with oral fluids usually takes about 36 hours, but most people will begin to feel better within a few hours. Hmm, this may be the problem. While I have been drinking lots of water I haven't been drinking THAT much. And I certainly haven't given any thought to electrolytes. Maybe I should buy some Gatorade on the way home tonight?
Rest for 24 hours, and continue fluid replacement with a rehydration drink. Rest from any strenuous physical activity for 1 to 3 days. Certainly can't do this. I work 40 hours a week. Sorry body.
My health insurence runs out in 4 days so I'm waffling as to whether I should go see a doctor about all this. Now that I wrok 9-5 it's difficult to find time for an office visit. The only time I could possibly go is Friday after 3:00. I'll probably call just to see if they can fit me in. If not, well...I'll just suffer.
Went out to lunch today with another group of co-workers Sharon, Cheryl, and Janet. They're all very nice and bubbly but over the past few days I've started falling into that scared new girl frame of mind as and as a result I've become more introverted. I wasn't as talkative or inquisitive as I would have liked to be this afternoon and I'm worried about how I may have come off. I don't want anyone thinking I'm boring or stuck-up or stupid because I'm simply too shy to talk. Thankfully I realize that I AM the new girl and a certain amount of timidity can only be expected. Afterall it took me about six months to get comfortable at NYIT. Remember my first few months there where I was always freaking out about how I didn't fit in? Well, it wasn't me, not completely. It was just being new. I know it'll take me a few months to get comfy here as well so I'm not beating myself up over my standoffishness. But it's still uncomfortable and I wish I didn't have to deal with that aspect of having a new job.
Stop your activity and rest. Not something I can do at work but is always my third order of business after getting home each day. (First and second are turn on the AC and strip.)
Get out of direct sunlight and lie down in a cooler environment, such as shade or an air-conditioned area. Elevate your feet. Remove all unnecessary clothing. The only part of this I don't already do is elevate my feet. Perhaps that's what makes all the difference?
Cool down by applying cool compresses or having a fan blow on you. Place ice bags under your arms and in your groin area, where large blood vessels lie close to the skin surface, to cool down quickly. The AC blows directly onto my bed.
Drink rehydration drinks, juices, or water to replace fluids. Drinks such as sports drinks that contain electrolytes work best. Drink 2 qt(2 L) of cool liquids over 2 to 4 hours. You are drinking enough fluids if your urine is normal in color and amount, and you are urinating every 2 to 4 hours. Total rehydration with oral fluids usually takes about 36 hours, but most people will begin to feel better within a few hours. Hmm, this may be the problem. While I have been drinking lots of water I haven't been drinking THAT much. And I certainly haven't given any thought to electrolytes. Maybe I should buy some Gatorade on the way home tonight?
Rest for 24 hours, and continue fluid replacement with a rehydration drink. Rest from any strenuous physical activity for 1 to 3 days. Certainly can't do this. I work 40 hours a week. Sorry body.
My health insurence runs out in 4 days so I'm waffling as to whether I should go see a doctor about all this. Now that I wrok 9-5 it's difficult to find time for an office visit. The only time I could possibly go is Friday after 3:00. I'll probably call just to see if they can fit me in. If not, well...I'll just suffer.
Went out to lunch today with another group of co-workers Sharon, Cheryl, and Janet. They're all very nice and bubbly but over the past few days I've started falling into that scared new girl frame of mind as and as a result I've become more introverted. I wasn't as talkative or inquisitive as I would have liked to be this afternoon and I'm worried about how I may have come off. I don't want anyone thinking I'm boring or stuck-up or stupid because I'm simply too shy to talk. Thankfully I realize that I AM the new girl and a certain amount of timidity can only be expected. Afterall it took me about six months to get comfortable at NYIT. Remember my first few months there where I was always freaking out about how I didn't fit in? Well, it wasn't me, not completely. It was just being new. I know it'll take me a few months to get comfy here as well so I'm not beating myself up over my standoffishness. But it's still uncomfortable and I wish I didn't have to deal with that aspect of having a new job.
