The sickest you have ever been

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

We’ve had a few threads about worst injury, or closet to death, but I can’t reacall (in recent memory) a thread about just plain old being sick (of course, now that I say that the first five posters will link to about twenty old threads about being sick, the most revent of which probably having a last post date of yesterday)

Anyways, one of two instances stand out for me as the sickest I have ever been. The first was three years ago, my freshman year. It was february, I think, and I came down with a chill that day, so I avoided things like class and so forth. Come nightfall it was a little worse, so I took a nap at around 8, woke up at 11 (just in time for whatever fun was to be had to be had) and walked downstairs into the dorm lounge. Everyone there just kinda stared at me…the consensus? I looked like shit. I felt kinda like I had a fever, but not really too bad. One of the girls took my temp…over 105 degrees! Holy shit, I should be dead!

So I decided I would take their advice and go back to sleep. Well, that night, I had to go to the bathroom about ten times to throw up, and had such crazy hallucinations from the fever. Between the hallucinations I thought about waking up my roommate or one of my friends to take me to the hospital, but I decided that living wasn’t that important (a high fever kinda affects your reasoning) and I stayed in bed. The next morning I awoke with nothing more than a slight cold and sore throat. Go figure.

The other time was this past christmas, I had Death Illness. The Sunday before Christmas I woke up feeling kinda ill, but decided to go to my Aunt’s Sunday brunch. Upon arriving, I realized my mistake. Between the smell of the food and the warmth of thirty relatives, I quickly realized I had to get home, fast! I got the keys to my mom’s van and I was off! I made it halfway to my house before I had to pull over and vomit…that was number one. I got back to the house, and quickly vomit “sessions” two, three, and four occured within an hour. I say session cause each time was about four or five heaves, mostly dry (a little bile in there) since I got rid of everything by the second session. Throughout the day, I did nothing but lie in bed for fifteen to twenty minutes, then run to the bathroom to vomit or…well…have stuff come out the other end in a disgustingly similar fashion. This lasted from 8 AM until 10 PM. At least three times an hour I had to be bent over a toilet, I kid you not. At around 10, I finally got what I was actually expecting all day long, and that was blood in my vomit…off to the hospital we go (the hospital is 45 minutes away, BTW, so a couple pukes on the way over.) Got there, was given an IV to rehydrate me and dispense an anti-vomit medicine. the doc said the blood was from my throat, not my sotmach digesting itself. Woke up a couple hours later (the stuff makes you drowsey) feeling less vomity and went home. Between then and christmas I still vomited or had other gastro-intestinal problems a few times a day. And, of course, the moday after I had it, both my dad nad brother-in-law got sick, too. They had it for a shorter perios of time, though, less than a day. My brother, mom, and sister somehow remained immune. When I got back to college, I think I ended up giving it to about half of the twenty people I live with. Man, that was the least fun I have ever had bent over a toilet.

2

Back in February. I had a flu bug which spawned directly from satan himself. 104 temperature for 3 days and I was having halucinations. Watching my ceiling go by was never so interesting. They were so bad one night that even laying in my bed, I thought I was in a tent outdoors. I just wanted to go home. My whole house seemed like a strange place. Really weird shit. I’ve never felt like that before. For most of a week I wished I were dead.

The strangest part was that ever since I recovered, I havn’t felt like drinking alchohol. And trust me, I was a BIG fan. It’s like I just forgot about it entirely. I walk right past the beer cooler without even looking. It’s been seven months and I still can’t interest myself in a beer.

Strange.

3

Bronchitis with a super infection one month after the birth of my oldest by c-section almost 17 years ago. That’s the worst illness.

More recently I had a very difficult time a year ago spring recovering from a stomach surgery that was supposed to be about a 6 week recovery. I didn’t feel “right” for almost a year and I still get tired easier. Not sure if it’s my age or still lingering after effects of the surgery.

4

Mine was the first kidney stone I got. The sudden stabbing pain and nausea was overwhelming. The irritating infections that followed were awful, and I had NO energy. Then came the first lithotripsy. I had nausea as a reaction to the anesthesia, and a splitting headache.

5

Testicular cancer.

6

I had a 105 fever, then my liver failed. Then my kidneys. Then I had a cardiac and respiratory arrest. And then it got much much worse. Life support machines, the torture of constantly, every second of the day, obsessing to get a drop of water. Every single second, every time I saw a second click by on that wall clock. Every single beat of my rapidly beating (180 pulse) heart. Hands tied to the bedsides, and not being able to pull out the respirator. Never ever ever getting that drop of water I wanted more than life itself.

I never knew why I couldn’t get that drop of water. Delusions, severe pain, stretching of skin on a vibrating bed, IV tubes digging in my back, nausea, hot and cold sweats, internal bleeding, unbelievable bloating, racing heart beat, and remembering everything. All nothing compared to that never ending thirst.

Later, I found out I could not have that drop of water because of the respirator. Pull out that respirator to get even one drop of water? Easy one. One drop of water wins hands down over suspended animation of life supports.

I fully recovered, but never ever ever want to be resuscitated again.

7

Sickest I’ve ever been was the result of a secondary infection stemming from a horribly-botched appendectomy. I was in the hospital for two weeks on high dosages of morphine, skimming along the rooftops of consciousness. I remember very little of those two weeks except for the occasional blinding pain of having the bandages changed, the vital importance Clint Black took on because his greatest hits was the only CD I had with me, and a brief visit from my best friend who brought me a case of Coke because she knew that the hospital wouldn’t give me any themselves (she has horrible asthma and has been in and out of more hospitals than she can even remember to count). She said later that the visit scared her because I was even less coherent than usual, and apparently I offered to let her listen to Paul Simon on the jukebox.

The second-sickest I have ever been was last winter. I got bronchitis which turned into pneumonia, and since I had no health insurance I refused to go to the doctor until I was so weak my mother had to pick me up and take me to her car and drive me. I went to work throughout most of my illness, because they didn’t have anyone else trained to do my job. A couple of times, one of the managers sent me home early; the other two kept me at my station, standing behind the counter waiting on customers and running off photocopies while I hacked, coughed and wheezed with every breath so loudly that the customers themselves would ask me if I was alright. Two of my coworkers kept forcing their albuterol inhalers on me, as I had run out of Ventolin in my own and they insisted it might help. The last straw was the day I went in, unable to walk more than a couple of feet because I couldn’t breathe enough and it hurt to try, and the manager refused to send me home because they were understaffed. Amazingly, he did get me a rolling contractor’s chair from the furniture department and let me sit at it. All my customers that evening were astonished that I was being kept there in my condition, but I did manage to do my job. The next day Mom dragged me to the doctor’s office, against my protests of poverty.

8

Super Bowl Sunday, 1994. Intestinal bug (after eating pizza like they were going to outlaw it on Monday). Both ends gushing 'til there isn’t anything left to gush and you think to yourself, “You know, the next time I throw up, I’m going to turn myself inside out. That’ll be cool to see.” After hours of this, my wife called the ambulance and I ended up in the hospital with a rehydrating IV and drugs to fight the vomiting. I haven’t eaten pizza since.

9

This past April I had a bad case of dehydration with a bit of food poisoning thrown in for good times. Late on a Friday afternoon started feeling not so hot. Nothing terrible, just really run down, a little achey, kind of warm. I decided a little dinner and then going to bed super-early would be the best idea for the evening.

As soon as I got home I landed myself on the toilet. I felt better instantly and figured that’s probably what it was, just a little intestinal distress. Later that night I woke up about 4 times feeling SO HOT that you could have melted ice on me. My side of the bed felt like a human-size hot water bottle had been laying there all night. And I’m a “cold all the time” kind of girl so this was rare. I even rubbed Noxema on my body to help bring my skin temp down so I could sleep. When I woke up early to help my mom with a yard sale, I knew something was very, VERY wrong. Still feeling hot, stomach not right, but also very dizzy. I went to try to sit on the toilet again and that’s the last thing I remember. I passed out cold in the bathroom (which luckily happened on the bare tile and not on a rug, because the noise of my fall woke up my hubby and he came in to investigate) and hubby called an ambulance when I didn’t come to. At the emergency room I had a 102.5 fever and lots of dehydration, constant diarrhea, and by this time I was FREEZING. They pumped 3 bags of saline into me and I got some antibiotics. I have a feeling a lunch of chicken teriyaki from an unknown catering company that my workplace hired was the initial cause of the whole debaucle.

10

The most ill I have ever been is probably when I had meningitis. Although I don’t remember it as I was to young.

I do remember having a fever once that as so bad I was hallucinating.

The most ill I’ve been recently was after a night of drinking. Took me 2/3 days to recover. The morning after I was throwing up from 5am ever half hour to about 10am. I haven’t gone drinking since.

11

I’ve been sick a lot throughout my life - lots of time in hospital. But the only time I got scared was when my tongue swelled and my throat was swelling shut.

Before that, it was complications from a epidural pain pump. The skin on my back was ripped open from the inside. Very painful and it looked like I was being flogged. Lots of long scars now, but at the time, they wouldn’t admit it was the pump - “if you hurt, just push the button”. Every time I pushed the button, the meds would stream out under my skin, blister and explode. Nasty.

12

After Steve Garvey hit that home run in the NLCS back in 1984. That made me sick. (Fellow Cubs fans will sympathize…):frowning:

13

I have only been seriously ‘ill’ twice in my life. I had been sick many times: chicken pox, tonsilitis, flus, colds, et cetera; but nothing compared to the measles and the TOTAL THROAT DISEASE ™.

The first happened when I was around 4 years old or so. I got the measles and was hold up in bed with a fever for about a weak. I don’t remember much about it. Except that I had really weird dreams. The most wierd (and disgusting) part about it happened on the last night. Appearently when I was younger I REALLY liked grape soda (I can’t stand it now). So, when I got sick, in order to help make me feel better, I got about as much grape soda as I wanted. At least whenever I had to take the medicine I did. On that last night though, the fever got especially bad (like 104) and for about an hour I couldn’t stay awake. Like I said, I don’t remember much (most of this is from parents retelling the story), but I disctinctly remember waking up, with my bed and pajamas completely purple. Yes, that’s right. All that grape soda got thrown up and stained everything.

The second time was when I was 17. I had a really bad throat infection (it was the second time I had tonsilitis), but for some reason the antibiotics weren’t working this time. After about 3 days of suffering with a fever, the infection got MUCH worse. I couldn’t swallow or anything. After twenty minutes of convincing my mother that I ‘really’ couldn’t swallow (I hated taking pills, so she thought I was faking like I did when I was 8) I go to the hospital. They shoot me up with drugs and steroids and after a day or two I get better. Not especially bad story mind you, what was bad was the actual infection. When I went in to the hospital we called an ENT Specialist in who was a friend of the family, and one of the best in the country. After examining me he explained the extent of what happened. Apearently, I got a cold, which weakened my immune system, and gave me an ulcer on my uvula (the dangly thing in the back of my throat). They ulcer got infected by some bacteria (probably strep but he was unsure which was the initial infector). As it became infected, my body tried to heal it, but it wouldn’t heal. The ulcer just started moving around my throat. It infected my tonsils, my pharynyx, and several points in my esophagus. By the time I got to the hospital and got the biopsy thingy I had like 9 different infections and my throat had swolen almost entirely shut (they had to tube me so I could breath normaly). But at least the Demoral + fever was fun.

14

The sickest I’ve ever been was a bout of influenza my junior year of high school. I woke early in the morning feeling feverish and wrong. My grandmother took my temperature (which was 104) and sent me back to bed. What followed was seven days of a high fever, hallucinations and delirium. I couldn’t eat, I had to be forced to drink liquids, and I had no idea what was going on. I remember that my hair was in the same ponytail for the entire week, and my grandmother had to help me comb my horribly matted hair when I finally recovered.
Another time, I was at work and starting to feel kind of funny. I was alone and there was a huge line of customers. I was helping them as best I could, but feeling worse and worse and worse. Finally, as I assisted a woman and her two children, I realized that I was going to throw up. I excused myself from the counter, and went out back behind the store. I puked my brains out in the alley and went back to the line of customers. I was fine for the remainder of my shift, but the rest of the night was me either on the toilet or leaning over it. It was horrible. I puked and shat out EVERYTHING in my system and lost about 6 pounds. Ugh.

15

I had some sort of prickly heat rash as a toddler that was the result of strep throat going untreated too long…NOT my parents’ fault, they didn’t know my throat hurt because I never told them. I guess they just thought I had a fever. Anyway, I think what I had was a forerunner to scarlet fever, which noone gets nowadays. Needless to say when they discovered the rash on me (while I was happily splashing away in the bathtub, unaware that I was sick I guess) they took me to the doctor.

I got severe heat exhaustion when I was 10 while on a day camp trip to the amusement park. It was about 100 degrees that day and they wouldn’t let us have enough water because they were too busy making us go on rides. I remember feeling like I was spinning and nauseous out of control. They let me off at my babysitter’s house at the end of the day and she knew what was wrong with me right away. My parents were REALLY pissed off at the camp people for that.

As an adult I guess I would say it’s this weird flu I got 2 1/2 years ago. Not only did I feel so sick I had to miss 3 days of work, but it caused swollen glands in my throat AND an ear infection. I had a 103 degree fever at the worst of it. I took antibiotics for a week and was fine, and the day after I stopped my throat swelled up again and the ear pain came back. This continued for three more weeks.

Amazingly, I haven’t so much as had a stuffy nose since.

16

I think the sickest I have ever been was 2 weeks after I got married I contracted mono. My throat was so sore and my mouth wasn’t producing salavia. It hurt to suck on a life saver but I had to to keep my mouth wet. My side was in much pain. I had dizzy spells and was bedridden for 10 days.

I had to take many horse pills a day to recuperate. It took years before I felt back to normal again.

17

Endometrial cancer with primary ovarian carcinoid cancer at the same time, or else the recurrence of the carcinoid as a plate sized tumor on my stomach and liver.

The worst day of pain/illness? The day after the stomach/liver resection, when a tech LEANED ON the incision site.

ANd what’s fun is that, according to others with this cancer, it WILL get worse.

18

Dead - OK for under a minute, but dead (or whatever term is appropriate). No heartbeat, no respiration. Not sure of brain activity. I do not want to go into the circumstances however.

19

I had scarlet fever when I was ten years old, and I remember wishing fervently that I were dead.

I get bronchitis twice a year, usually in March and September. But these days, I recognize the symptoms and hie myself off to the doctor posthaste.

But when I was 19, and living on my own for the first time, I got the Black Death, or so it seemed. I was all alone, my roommate had gone away for the weekend, and I couldn’t even get up long enough to call my mom and cry about how sick I was. My roommate finally returned after two days of me dragging myself about the house in Fever-Dream-Land, took one look at me, and nearly screamed. I’ll never forget what she said to me:

Roommate: “Have you ever seen Amadeus?”
Me: “Yeah, why?”
Her: “You know that part at the end, where he’s about to die, and his face is all white, and his lips are blue?”
Me: “Yeah, I remember that.”
Her: “You look slightly worse than that.”

All my other memorable illnesses were really self-inflicted–drinking, undercooking chicken (how many people do you know who can say they food-poisoned themselves?), the usual.

20

I still to this day have no idea what it was…

I went on vacation… first day I was there… i went swimming… I got back to the house… and started to feel sick… so I went to sleep… the next day… I had swolen tonsils… and sores on my toung that got worse and worse throughout the day… by 9:00 that night I was in the hospital… They were not sure what it was… but loaded me up with antibiotics… none of which I responded to…
so for 2 weeks… my throad had about a half inch opening… my tounge was peeling off… and I did not have the energy to move…
I obviously couldn’t eat… I managed to get down some ensure in the second week…
I lost 25 lbs and I was already pretty skinny…

that was about 6 years ago… and will hopefully never happen again!!!