web-goddess: When Virii Attack

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Sick. Ugh. I felt kind of crappy and tired last weekend, but it never turned into anything so I figured I fought it off. Turns out that wasn't quite the case. Friday morning at work I suddenly became aware of a telltale tingling in my lip. Cold sore! Again! This is my second one this year, which is way more frequent than usual. I guess I was more sick and/or stressed than I thought last week. The problem is that as I've gotten older, my reaction to the virus has gotten more and more extreme. Having a blister is the least of my worries. The lymph nodes under that side of my jaw swell up and get painful and tender. If it's really bad, I get shooting pains (neuralgia) all the way up the side of my face. That leads to a headache. It's really pretty awful, and it can take more than a week to heal. Anyway, after my last one Dr. Chin gave me a prescription for an antiviral. The key, he said, was that I had to take it IMMEDIATELY when I noticed the symptoms. Of course, the prescription was at home and I was at work. I went to a drugstore at lunch to get some Zovirax and ask the chemist how long the window was for taking the antiviral. He said I could still take it that night when I got home, but the sooner the better. I finished up what work I could and then left early at 4pm. I grabbed the script at home and went straight to get it filled ($28 for three pills!). By then my lip was getting puffier and I was feeling more and more crappy. I took the antiviral, then doped up with lysine, vitamin C, and paracetamol. I basically spent all day yesterday in bed, which is pretty unusual for me. (I rarely nap.) The good news is that I think the antivirals have helped. The blister started disappearing yesterday and is now nearly gone. My glands are tender, but it's manageable with painkillers. And I never got the shooting neuralgia pains, which is a big relief. I still feel dizzy and tired, and I'm annoyed that I'm going to miss my long run for the third week in a row. Still, it feels like this is going to be a much shorter recovery time. Back to bed, I guess...

Comments

Oh No! How horrible. But what is this anti-viral you speak of? Sounds great. While I was stalking your blog yesterday I noticed you looking poorly on the couch. Poor thing. I do hope you feel better tomorrow.
» Rachel » 2009-06-28 19:52:33

The one he prescribed me is called Famvir. Judging by articles/studies online, it's been proven to cut a couple days off the healing time. It certainly seems to have reduced this bout. If my last one was a 9 on the pain scale, this one's only been a 3.

I'm definitely feeling human again. Just wish it had hit on a work day instead of ruining my weekend!
» Kris [www] » 2009-06-28 23:55:42

My husband is prone to cold sores, especially when he is stressed and tired. He has had good results, meaning no breakouts, when he takes a vitamin B supplement everyday. I hope this is helpful.
» Rhonda [www] » 2009-06-29 00:23:32

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