sick!

yeah, i haven't written a post in a while.

but i've been really sick this past week, and in a way that goes beyond most anything i've experienced.

it was either food poisoning or this weird virus that's been going around school (norovirus). i can't figure out which, since the symptoms are roughly identical for both, and i exhibited them in high degree.

i woke up wednesday with severe nausea, indigestion, and abdominal cramping. i almost threw up just getting out of bed. i realized it was really severe when i blacked out in the shower and woke up to find myself on the bathtub floor with the water running over me--apparently i collapsed and became unconscious while soaping myself. i found myself so weak i couldn't even get my clothes on. it took me forever to get to class, and i don't think i was really safe to drive.

thursday the cramping subsided, but was replaced by a high fever and chills. things got a little better on friday, with the fever going away, and this morning i'm starting to feel okay--at least, well enough to consider getting back to work. but my abdomen is still distended and i'm so far beyond bloated that i look like a tanned Swedish-Asian version of the proverbial beer belly redneck.

needless to say, i didn't get in any workouts at all. and i pretty much just went through the motions with work. and i spent most of my time at home curled up in bed and sleeping. i found things seemed to get better if i consumed acidic nutrition, particularly since i found myself craving sodas (i'm guessing my brain was giving me signals of thumbs-up for the carboxylic acid) and sour foods (as in sauerkraut...yes, sauerkraut)--these did wonders for my nausea. although, i should note, i really have not appettite for anything right now, with the thought of food just not being very pleasing.

like i said, i can't figure out if it was food poisoning or norovirus.

at first i thought maybe it was the norovirus that's been going around USC (it infected more than 400 students at last count...officially they said 330, but then an email from the university put it at over 400, reference: USC Daily Trojan Norovirus), particularly since i've been in contact with so many people in the past few weeks (training and also waltz lessons with the Ballroom Dance Club...i know, so cheezy, but i've always wanted to learn, and unfortunately it means mandatory multiple dance partners during the class, and so put me in close contact with 8-10 different partners).

but now i'm thinking it may be food poisoning. Trader Joe's tilapia citrone, to be specific. the main reason i said this was that i was feeling fine until i ate this tuesday evening before i went to bed...just a few hours before waking up wednesday in this situation. and i notice the smell of it induces a return of the nausea i was feeling, making me think my mind is giving me a signal that this is the culprit. i took a bite of it last night to be sure, and it seemed like the gastric discomfort and abdominal distension relapsed again, doubly confirming my suspicions. but this is all weird, since i've eaten this a lot before and never had this problem. maybe it's just a bad box.

whatever. all i can say is that right now i still don't feel 100%. i still don't feel like working out. and i still feel weak, dizzy, and bloated. especially bloated. like there's something in me that has a life of its own and just won't leave. as in the movie(s) Alien(s).

ugh.

this sucks.

i'm guessing you all have similar stories to mine? then you know how i feel.

yucky!