Staying Sick

I first showed signs of coming down with a cold on the evening of May 28th and it's now June 16th. I'm still coughing and bringing up phlegm. This is almost three weeks since the onset. It seems likely that I have a condition called walking pneumonia that is described on this site as: 

Walking pneumonia is a mild form of pneumonia. Pneumonia is a lung infection that causes your airways to swell, the air sacs in your lungs to fill with mucus and other fluids, a high fever and a cough with mucus. If you have walking pneumonia, you may feel well enough to walk around and carry out daily tasks without realizing you have pneumonia. “Walking pneumonia” is the common term for atypical pneumonia.

The same site goes on to say that:

The main differences between walking pneumonia and “regular” pneumonia are that walking pneumonia is milder and it usually doesn’t require bed rest or hospitalization. Anyone can get walking pneumonia. You’re more likely to get walking pneumonia if you are two years or younger or are 65 years or older. Walking pneumonia is common. The number of cases fluctuates, usually spiking every three to seven years. Walking pneumonia can occur at any time of the year. However, it occurs most often during the fall and winter. If you have walking pneumonia as a result of a virus or another cause, you have to let the illness run its course. Walking pneumonia is mild and can usually go away on its own without treatment. Walking pneumonia may last from four to six weeks. A cough is usually the longest-lasting walking pneumonia symptom.

This diagnosis seems to conform with my symptoms, the origin was most probably viral and brought home from University by my granddaughter. She recovered quickly as did my wife who was also infected but who is still under sixty. However, my ageing immune system has been battling to fight off the infection.

Naturally I'm concerned that my condition may worsen once I arrive in Melbourne on the 21st June and have to confront the depth of the city's winter. Hopefully my current cough will have disappeared by then. International air travel however, is stressful and puts a strain on the immune system but a recrudescence is possible. 

On the positive side, I have fashioned a new stretch band to replace the one that disappeared and I've resumed my leg exercises. I've also been walking most days and so things aren't so bad.

Caffeine Addiction

My thymoma, that I've mentioned in earlier posts, was causing problems again and so psychic help was sought. During a tele-healing session, I was advised to refrain from tea or coffee consumption for a period of about four days while my condition was monitored (remotely). In the meantime, I was to drink nothing but warm water. This came as something of a surprise but I nonetheless agreed to abide by the recommended restrictions. 

I'm somewhat unusual in that I seldom consume straight water. All of my fluid intake comes normally from the consumption of coffee in the morning and tea for the rest of the day. Both coffee and tea contain caffeine and I didn't realise the drastic effect that the changeover would entail. Yesterday was the first day and I spent most of it sleeping, having been overcome by a profound lethargy. 

Having missed my morning cup of coffee, I never really woke up. When I was not sleeping, I was in a very irritable mood and had a thick head. Later in the day, a dull pain in my hip joints set in and refused to abate. It persisted throughout the second day during which I decided to take a pain killer in order to obtain some relief. I checked on the Internet to find out if caffeine withdrawal could induce such suffering. Indeed it could. This one site titled HOW I BROKE UP WITH CAFFEINE (AND WHY I DESPERATELY NEEDED TO) said:

“The cessation of daily caffeine consumption produces a well-established withdrawal syndrome comprised of subjective symptoms and functional impairment, including headache, tiredness/fatigue, decreased alertness, decreased energy and difficulty concentrating,” he said. “These effects are likely to be more severe depending on the habitual caffeine intake (i.e. a larger or longer addiction results in greater withdrawal effects).

“Caffeine is an adenosine receptor antagonist, so when caffeine is removed, the effects of adenosine are magnified. For example, cerebral blood flow is increased when caffeine is withdrawn (acute caffeine administration decreases cerebral blood flow velocity) resulting in headaches. Aside from vascular effects, we also know that caffeine withdrawal can alter central nervous system activity.

“Given the spread of adenosine receptors throughout the body, and the importance of adenosine for the functioning of most cells, the consequence of withdrawal from large habitual doses of caffeine (i.e. >600mg/day!) will result in a broad array of symptoms.”

Like the author of the previous article, I had no idea what a grip the drug had on me. He wrote:

As Associate Professor Desbrow assured me: “The good news is that even in the most severely affected, symptoms typically subside within a week.” He was spot on. A week had now passed since Matt’s unintentional gauntlet-throw. I was waking up fresh (not drinking alcohol probably played a part there), I felt normal again, I’d discovered an excellent organic, caffeine-free tea that more than resembled my usual go-to, and most importantly I felt like I had my brain back again.

In fact, not only did I have it back, but I felt as if I was able to operate at a higher level than usual. Most notable was being able to stick to one task through completion, and my productivity (particularly at night – again, hello whisky) was remarkably better.

I’m still quite uncertain about whether I can recommend quitting caffeine. Without embellishing in the slightest, the withdrawal was one of the most rubbish experiences I’ve put my body through. I’ve experienced plenty of post-ride fatigue, but this happily took the worst of it and factored it by five. The very marrow of my bones hurt, and that’s without beginning on the crushing headaches.

I have been highly critical of people who take antidepressant medication (as over three million Australians do) but I now realise it was a case of the kettle calling the pot black. I was no better. It's taught me to get my own house in order before criticising others.

The following video does a good job of explaining the effects of caffeine:

The commentator in the video makes the important point that giving up tea and coffee can be damaging to health because of the risk of decreased hydration. People just don't drink enough to replace the water that was in the coffee and tea that they drank.