An Inconvenient Headcold

For most folks, a cold is a nuisance. It means you need to carry a hanky or a packet of tissues. You might feel rundown and miss a day of work or two. Then the virus runs its course and you're back to your old self with the added benefit of being forever immune to that particular bug.

I used to say one of the benefits of hitting my 50's was that I'd already met so many cold viruses.

I don't say that any more.

Since I've been on prednisone for about 6 years, my immune system is suppressed. Even if I have made a virus's acquaintance, my antibodies don't exactly spring into action. They stroll toward the infection.

Right now I'm entering week 2 of the same cold my daughter and DH shook off in a couple of days. I'm doing everything I should--rest, fluids, fever abatement. My main concern is that I hope it stays in my head and doesn't migrate to my chest. With my lung condition, that could mean a trip to the hospital.

Fortunately, this is only the 2nd time I've had a cold this year. I'm pretty careful about hand sanitation, but there's not much defense against something that's airborne. When we visited Japan a few years ago, we discovered it was not unusual for the residents of Tokyo to wear masks in public. I wasn't ever sure if they were protecting themselves or if they had a cold and didn't want to spread it. Anyway, what's normal and accepted there would be viewed suspiciously here.

But don't worry. Even without resorting to a surgical mask each time I step outside, I'll kick this thing. It'll just take me longer than most.

And in the meantime, it's the perfect excuse to take a nap!

So how about it? Do you have any favorite home remedy that gives you cold relief? 

It's like when I was pregnant...

As my belly grew, I kept noticing other women who were with child. We were everywhere. 

Now that I'm on supplemental O2, I see people with canisters and cannulas every time I leave the house. And quite often, people ask me about my POC, about my diagnosis, whether I was a smoker (I wasn't.) and generally whatever pops into their heads. That's ok with me. I'd rather have a conversation with someone than a sidelong stare. So that's why I decided to start this blog--to share my experience with trying to catch my second wind in the hope that it will help someone else who's struggling with an O2 prescription. 

So my DH and I were at Walmart today and a lady stopped me to ask about my POC (portable oxygen concentrator). She'd just been prescribed O2 and was resisting the canisters and home fill paraphernalia. I knew exactly how she felt. When my oxygen provider wheeled in that big, loud, ugly monstrosity and expected me to refill those heavy O2 canisters, I wanted to cry. The machine made me feel old (I'm only 59) and tied to the end of that long green tube in my own home. My world suddenly seemed very small and I was so not ready for it to implode like that.

Then I started looking at portable oxygen concentrators. They pull air through a filtration system, toss out everything but the O2 and deliver a puff of the good stuff each time the user takes a breath. That sounded good to me, but I wondered if I'd be able to use a pulse system instead of a continuous flow. Fortunately, I was able to and then the only decision was which POC to buy. (Since my husband is retiring soon, like this week, it was important to me to own my system instead of having insurance pay for me to rent one.)

After comparing O2 settings, battery life, and weight of the unit, I settled on an Inogen One G2. I love it. I named him Herkimer because I wanted to be able to smile when I talk about him and a silly name helps with that. I can wheel him about. Put him in a backpack. Plug him in for long car rides. He is my mobility. 

I'm done feeling sad about my need for extra O2. It's like any other maintenance medication, like insulin for a diabetic, or blood pressure meds to ward off a stroke, I need it to keep going.

And, please God, Herkimer and I will be going a long time. 

Are you using O2 or have been prescribed it, but are resisting? Please share.