When your tolerance level for certain activities is incredibly low, blowing past that tolerance level becomes an everyday occurrence.
Yesterday all I had to do was go and get my monthly injection at the pharmacy and then go visit my boyfriend. As per my routine, I got to the pharmacy early, with my book, grabbed an apple cider, had my injection, and waited for a while - reading - to make sure my throat didn't swell after the injection. This particular medicine I have been getting every month for just about four years. The needle is so long that they cannot actually insert the needle all the way in or it would hit my bone. And my throat has swollen (not shut) a couple of times after this particular injection, so I have to be super cautious.
Anyone else cringe?
Yeah. It hurts like hell.
Anyways, so I read my book for a while then headed home to spend some quality time with Dex.
Then I went over to my boyfriend's place. I cannot tell you how happy I feel to just BE with him. Just a low-key visit puts me in the best mood.
Here's the problem.
At some point I completely blew past my tolerance level. I can't tell you if it was from driving in traffic, or sitting at the pharmacy, or maybe something as small as the elevator ride up to his apartment.... But somewhere in there, I passed my point of tolerance.
What does that mean?
It means that I spent the rest of the night with chills and cold sweats, stomach discomfort and pain, nausea untouched by heavy-duty anti-nausea meds, coughing, sneezing, cold/flu-like symptoms, and an inability to sleep properly (hence the 4:30am blog post).
But going through everyday life, you can't always succumb to your body's failures. Sometimes you have to push through and kind of 'ignore' that tolerance point in order to have a better quality of life... Even though completely ignoring the pain is virtually impossible.
Would my night have been easier if I had just stayed home after the injection? Possibly.
Would I STILL have become ill had I just stayed home?
Possibly.
Am I glad that I spent time with my boyfriend no matter what the fallout?
Yes absolutely.
I have so very little control over how my body reacts to everyday occurrences that sometimes I just need to push through the pain to feel like myself. I refuse to ALWAYS stay at home and become a recluse for the sole reason of being in pain.
Let's just hope that I can get it more under control for tomorrow.