I'm hoping this will be one of two posts in the next day to basically catch everything up to where it is right now. Why did I drop off the radar last week?
I had just finished the ordeal with my ID card 2 Fridays ago (October 9) and gone to the dance class that the school offers the teachers (for free, which is a nice perk). One my way out of the school I noticed some of the workers watching the Ecuador vs. Venezuela game on a TV downstairs. I joined them and while I was watching the game I drank two glasses of the tap water (It's safe to drink here in Cuenca).
Near the end of the day I finally headed home and had a basic pasta for dinner with tomatoes, onions and tuna fish. I headed to bed...
1:45 AM a house alarm on the street started going off. As I came out of my deep sleep I could tell that I wasn't feeling well. I was pretty sure that I was running a fever. The alarm went off for 45 minutes (yeah, it sounded like it was just outside my room wince the window's here aren't that think) before I was able to go back to bed. As I fell back asleep I told myself that I would feel better in the morning.
8 AM rolled around.. And I was feeling just as miserable. I was able to get dressed and make it out to the living room, but no further. I told one of the other teachers that I live with that I wouldn't be able to go to school and went back to bed. My ordeal with my stomach bug had begun.
All told, between when I went to bed on Friday night and Sunday afternoon (just over 36 hours), I slept for about 27 of those hours. But one thing that I learned during study abroad is that my body is strange. With a stomach bug my biggest symptom tends to be a fever that comes and goes at random (I have no idea why). It's definitely not a symptom that their used to seeing.
I was able to make it to classes on Monday. I thought I was starting to feel better. My appetite still wasn't back, but I was force feeding myself bread to give myself the necessary energy to be out and about each day. Tuesday and was even better, but still only a small appetite and minimal energy. This whole time I was trying to figure out what, exactly, had gotten me sick. I kept saying it was the two cups of tap water that I had had on Friday night. I had myself convinced that this was the case... Until someone asked me what I had had for dinner and I told them, "pasta with canned tuna and... Oh. Tomatoes and Onions I bought at an outdoor market." It finally hit me. I had washed those things like we wash them in the states.. You run water over the for about 2 seconds. Here it's recommended that you either boil the vegetables or you actually use a disinfectant on them.
Here I had been, always being careful of the salads in the restaurants. Always knowing that you had to be careful for fruit and vegetables without a thick skin. And this time I had just completely forgot. And it took me about 4 days to even realize my mistake!
Anyways, Thursday I started to feel miserable again. After coming home to take a nap I could feel that the fever had come back. I made it to my first evening class, but couldn't even make it through that. I stopped at a drug store on my way home and asked for a pill that would help me sleep (it was only about 7 PM and I wanted to go to bed). I bought one pill (you don't have to buy the whole box here) and I spied a white chocolate Toblerone next to the register. It was the price of an entire lunch.. I bought it. I know what some of you are thinking about putting dairy in my stomach while I have a stomach bug. I didn't care. I had finished the entire bar before I had even gotten home. I tasted sooooo good.
The following day I got up early and was at the doctors by 5 minutes after 8 AM (they opened at 8). After standing in line to register I was sent to the Social Services room... To register in their computer system. Then back to the waiting area. I could feel my fever coming back. I felt miserable again.
After a short wait I finally got to see a doctor. I told him my symptoms. I tried to explain to him that the fever had happened before and that it had been a sotmach problem. After a brief inspection he wrote me a prescription saying that he couldn't be sure it was a stomach problem, so the pills would just help with my general sick/bad feeling. It wasn't what I had wanted, but I filled the prescription (10 pills were 50 cents and seeing the doctor had only been about $7.50) and headed home.
At home I hopped on the internet to try to figure out what he had given me. I didn't have to punch anything into Google though... It said 500mg Acetaminophen. He had prescribed me essentially Tylenol. I was furious. This would do nothing for my stomach and, I ALREADY HAD BOTTLE OF THE SAME THING IN MY ROOM. It's called Tylenol.
I wouldn't advise anyone to do what I did next.. I had brought Cipro with me from the States. It's a very strong medication for stomach infections. After thinking for a few minutes and thinking that this fever would just keep coming and going, I self-diagnosed myself and prescribed myself the Cipro.
Within 24 hours I was already feeling better (it's a 5 day course of meds). I guess that moral of the story is that I'll have to lie to the doctor in the future... Maybe that's not the best moral to take away from the story, though. I'll let you be the judge.
No comments:
Post a Comment