The Black Lung

It’s 1:30 in the morning, and I’m up with Little Man. He’s laying on my lap, I’m stretched out on the couch waiting for him to (please hurry up!) finish his bottle so we can go back to bed. He apparently is savoring every drop of his formula and doesn’t appear to be in a hurry like I am.

Anyway, I cannot believe how horrible I feel. And I cannot believe it’s getting worse, not better. I’m considering calling in. It just sucks to do that. I have to drive up to work to get ready for a sub if I do that…and then, when I do that, I’ll feel like I’m already there, I may as well as stay. We’ll see how I feel in a couple of hours when the alarm goes off.

So, my father has walking pneumonia. And I saw him and hugged him right before he got sick. Just for curiosity’s sake, I decided to google the symptoms.

According to http://lungdiseases.about.com/od/pneumon2/a/mycoplas_pneum.htm

Headache

Fever

Chills

Excessive Sweating

Dry Cough

Chest Pain

Sore Throat

Nausea or Vomiting

 

Other signs and symptoms of mycoplasma pneumonia may include:

Skin lesions or rash

Eye Pain or Soreness

Muscle Aches, Joint Stiffness, Fatigue

Neck Lump

Rapid Respiratory Rate

Ear Pain

 

I have nine of the symptoms. So, I have self-diagnosed myself as indeed having walking pneumonia.

Plus, it says this:

The onset of walking pneumonia takes approximately 1 to 3 weeks, beginning gradually, with the earliest sign being a decrease in energy. Soon thereafter, cold-like symptoms begin. You will be able to distinguish the difference between walking pneumonia and a common cold because walking pneumonia will get worse over 2 weeks.

It fits my case to a T! (What does that expression mean, anyway?)

Do you think that I need antibiotics for that? Or will it go away on its own? Oh–it covers that too. Yeah–it says I need antibiotics. I hate spending money on medicine and doctors! It’s so expensive!

If I feel as badly as I do right this second in four hours, I’ll stay home and go see the doctor.

   Tagged: doctor, health, ill, money, prescriptions, sick, substitute, symptoms, teacher, walking pneumonia, work