Checking in from SBM.

[rivka]

I interrupted my first day at SBM for a three-hour jaunt to an urgent care clinic.

iamjw gets a gold star. My eye symptom turned out to be more or less unrelated to my cold - I have conjunctivitis. I was fooled because the decongestants I was taking for my cold were drying up the eye discharge, too - and because the pain and constant redness didn't kick in until quite late. A thousand apologies to anyone I have touched in the past few days. I hope you don't get it too. I am now washing my hands obsessively in hopes of not infecting the entire Behavioral Medicine scientific community.

I also have a viral ear infection. It sucks to be me, because this means that descents and landings on the flight home will probably hurt just as much as descents and landings on the flight out did. I resisted the urge to beg for antibiotics, given that I have just been funded to study irrational health behaviors.

Also? The telephone rep for Blue Cross/Blue Shield told me that California doesn't have any urgent care clinics. She wanted to send me to a "multispecialty medical clinic" in the suburbs somewhere. My panic induced by this conversation only lasted as long as it took me to reach the concierge desk, but still. Sheesh.

We arrived at the hotel late last night to discover that they had given away all their regular rooms and wanted to put us in a "parlor" - the living-room (only) portion of a suite. A murphy bed would pull down from the wall, and they'd bring in a cot for the other bed. They earnestly presented this to us as an "upgrade," because they rent the parlors for some ludicrous amount of money, like $600 a night. We explained that it might be an upgrade in terms of space and lavish appointments, but it was a major downgrade in terms of the only thing we cared about: comfortable beds to sleep in. After a long argument they comped us for their ludicrously expensive $30 breakfast buffet and promised a real room for tonight. This morning Steve told his wife, who is a vice president of a major bank, and within moments she had the hotel manager heaping apologies on Steve and promising to comp last night's room and send a bottle of wine up to tonight's room. Heh.

My SBM hasn't been that much fun yet, to be honest with you. But! I discovered that next year's will be in Montreal, so I have high hopes for that.

I miss you all.

Comments

[erikted.livejournal.com]

It sucks to be me, because this means that descents and landings on the flight home will probably hurt just as much as descents and landings on the flight out did.

The last time this happened to me (after a landing during which I was certain that blood was going to pour out of my ears any second), I was advised to seal my ears canals shut with my fingertips for the entire duration of take off and landing. Like, until 10,000 feet up and then from "We've begun our initial approach down."

My arms got tired, but OMG did it help the pain Not Happen.

And it seemed to me a thing that people do, as the flight attendants gave me sympathetic smiles and nobody passed comment.

[kate_nepveu]

Do you think that silicone earplugs would serve the same purpose? Like these: http://www.macksearplugs.com/product2.htm

[iamjw.livejournal.com]

*sticks gold star on forehead*

I have spent too many years with little kids and woken up way too many times with my eyelids stuck together not to recognize that particular symptom. I;m glad you're getting some help with that, at least.

I hope the rest of the trip goes more smoothly than the beginning has.

[kate_nepveu]

Urgh. Sympathies.

[irismoonlight.livejournal.com]

I resisted the urge to beg for antibiotics, given that I have just been funded to study irrational health behaviors.

My apologies for amusement at your misery, but that line very nearly got my monitor coated with a very sticky beverage.

Hope you feel better soon and the infection eases enough to make the flight home painless.

Um... and also? I don't know you well enough to say this, but...um...three unrelated illnesses in one body screams nigh-collapse levels of stress to me. You might wanna think about that when you get home. And feel better. And have time. No. Make time. Please? *scurries off now*

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Not quite three unrelated illnesses, I don't think. A viral ear infection is a fairly common accompaniment to colds - it just means that the icky cold fluids are piling up behind my eardrum and making it bulge and turn red. (I'm guessing that I severely exacerbated it by flying.)

And he did tell me that conjunctivitis usually starts out viral (thus possibly related to my rhinovirus), and then the victim makes matters worse by rubbing their eyes and transferring staph bacteria from the skin (where there's normally a little staph hanging out) to the conjunctiva.

But yes, point well taken about the rest.

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

Well crap. That wine seems like a good idea right now.

[therealocelot.livejournal.com]

I'm curious if there's something about the cold virus du jour that makes it more likely to migrate to the ears, or if I'm just noticing more people complaining about ear infections because I had one recently myself (second in my life, first in at least 20 years, so very unusual for me).

I hope it improves before your return trip. My ear aches in sympathy.

[oursin.livejournal.com]

Ugh, sympathies. It's quite bad enough having this current lurghi and hanging around at home.

I was once at a conference on the History of Public Health in the city that appointed one of the first ever Medical Officers of Health, and attendees were going down like flies with some kind of gastro-enteritis. Suspicion fell on the food, but it turned out to be an airborne virus. It still felt all very self-reflexive, especially the subsequent debrief by the local Public Health office.

[papersky.livejournal.com]

If they don't give you a bed next year, you can stay here. Actually, why don't you stay here anyway?

Get well soon. That sounds really horrible, especially with flying.

(I have a migraine. But I won't have by next year. I'm at the point of reminding myself of things like that. They have always gone away before, eventually.)

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Well, there is something kind of appealing about the idea of a luxurious stay in the Hotel Inter-Continental that's paid for by the government. (I have travel funds built into my grant.) But I certainly hope to spend a whole lot of time with you. Michael and Alex will probably be accompanying me, which means that I won't be trying to spend as little time as possible away from home.

The dates are April 22-26, 2009.

I hope your migraine is much better by the time you see this.