Three weeks ago, spent a weekend in bed from a collection of conditions that began with a headache, then exhaustion, then nausea and stomach problems. Today, the same thing happened, though I haven’t had the stomach problems (just nausea). For a while, I was afraid that I had caught the Coronavirus, but after a weekend in bed, I recovered and felt better than before.

Now, three weeks later, it seems like the same thing came back. One theory is anxiety and stress over the pandemic. Another, and more plausible reason is my medication for Rheumatoid Arthritis. I take MDARD (disease-modifying antirheumatic drug), Methotrexate (used for chemo in higher dosages). It causes nausea, exhaustion, and I’d imagine headaches, if you are prone to them.

In the past, at higher dosages, I had a lot of issues with it, but in the past few years, and especially at half the dosage I was previously on, I hadn’t had many problems. Sure, when my body’s immune system is done or it’s tired, I get mouth sores that I take care of with extra dosages of Folic Acid, but in general, I don’t have too many side effects anymore.

But I take my Methotrexate pills for the week on Thursdays. And last time, this happened on Saturday. This time, on Friday afternoon. It seems to add up.

As for the headaches, I tend to have headaches when I am dehydrated. And though I’m walking more and more, I’m not drinking as much water as I should be. From tomorrow on, I think I’m going to take a water bottle with me when I take walks.

6 Miles → 8 Miles

I kept my 6 Miles route for almost 2 weeks, not wanting to push myself too far too quickly. I’m injury prone, and the last thing I want to do is to damage my joints or ligaments when I’m trying to strengthen them to combat the effects of my Rheumatoid Arthritis.

For a while after I began walking 6 miles a day, my right knee would hurt when I walked. In the beginning, it began almost as soon as I stepped out of the apartment. Then after a while, it began at around mile 4. Then mile 5.

The past few days, the knee pain was more or less gone, so yesterday, I walked 7 miles, and today, 8.25 miles. I wasn’t sure how I will feel after the 8 miles (I did feel a bit tired), but after the nausea/headache/exhaustion after a few hours, I’m not sure if I should scale back down to 7. I’d imagine dehydration from the 2+ hours walk and physical strain contributed to my “relapse” with the physical symptoms.

I guess I’ll see how I feel tomorrow!

“The Friday before he died, he was healthy. By Wednesday, he was dead.”

I came across this article randomly, and all I could do was shake my head.

Coronavirus: Teenage boy whose death was linked to COVID-19 turned away from urgent care for not having insurance

This is such a #America incident. Medical establishments around the country is over-taxed, and I’m sure this is going to continue happening… But it doesn’t make it any less palatable.