On Tuesday, I woke up feeling great. I had a spring in my step all day, I sang all the way into work, I was incredibly productive, I chatted with everyone, I sang all the way back home, and then I went for an unprecedented after-work run. I put this down to the effects of a relaxing long weekend followed by a day of sunshine and cherry blossoms.
On Wednesday, I woke up with a weird dry patch at the back of my throat that no amount of water, juice or tea could quench, but felt otherwise fine. Pretty damn good actually.
On Thursday (today), I woke up at 2am, unable to breathe through my nose, and with a killer sore throat and plugged up ears. I got back to sleep with the help of my old friend and saviour Vicks Vapour Rub, and will soon drag myself into work with the greatest of reluctance and a purse full of pills. (We have a full building evacuation fire drill this morning (I’m a floor warden) and another installment of the excellent course I’m taking this afternoon, so I really can’t stay home).
Wednesday and Thursday are not very interesting at all, just a common cold, I’ll be fine in a few days. It’s Tuesday that interests me.
It’s not the first time that I’ve felt just amazing the day before starting to come down with a cold. Just really really happy and energetic and productive. (I should have known on Tuesday that I’d be getting sick today, but I was in too good of a mood to acknowledge it).
I’ve mentioned this phenomenon to a few people, but no-one else seems to have experienced it. Google and PubMed have also let me down. I’m not an immunologist, but I’d put my money on an immune system ramp-up in response to an as-yet asymptomatic viral infection. Cytokines or something. Endorphins maybe.
Any ideas? And can someone please bring me a hot lemon with honey?
I am usually feeling tired already a few days before I come down with a cold. On the rare occasions that I’ve had a virus infection though, I’ve felt great the day before it got really bad. Even if I already had high fever I was feeling great.
Interesting… what kind of virus, if not a cold virus?
I don’t know whether I feel great just before getting sick (will have to watch that some time) – but I do know that I usually go for a run when I can already feel the sore throat coming on, ‘cos I’m in full-on denial…….
feeling amazing before coming down with sickness? nahh… I must say that I usually feel tired and “dazed” days before sickness.
But sure, some people might ramp up the old body to fight the infection before it actually breaks out?! Me personally, I get sick after those intense weeks when stress has kept the inflammation at bay. The minute I relax, wham bam – sicko!
I’m with Asa- I usually feel dazed and dead tired the day before a cold’s coming on. You’re (potentially) really lucky Cath, though next time you have a day like that Tuesday, you’ll probably be bracing yourself? Richard W recommended Hot and Sour soup for a cold, but I haven’t tried it yet.
Steffi, once I’m actually symptomatic, I am all too happy to drop the exercise and eat chocolate instead. “Feed a cold”, right?!1
Åsa and Sarbjit, that’s a drag… and sounds like it makes more sense than my situation. I am obviously a freak, not that I’m complaining. I’d like to know why though! And I refuse to waste a good happy energetic day on wondering if I’ll be getting sick soon ;)
Hot and sour soup is definitely good for a cold – anything spicy, really. I might have some tonight. Sushi with plenty of wasabi works too.
1 No amount of evidence that you present to the contrary will ever persuade me to abandon this belief
I’ve never come across this phenomenon before either. Maybe you had a runners endorphin high on top of a pre-cold ramp up and the sunshine worked on the old serotonin, extra O2 from the singing, then more endorphins from wasabi (or other spicy) indulgence? That sounds like one good day to me!
OR I’m just a freak of nature.
I should replicate all of your above suggestions when I’ve recovered and see if I can recreate the feeling!
I vote for “freak of nature”! =)
I usually get sick in summer, when nobody else is sick. I never get sick when I’m really busy and active, always in a down period right after. (That might be related somehow to it usually being summer.) At least twice I’ve been sick when I had visitors over who stayed at my place and with whom I went on a short trip so they could see more of Canada, but always at a point of their stay when I had the opportunity to crash (so, not when I had to pick them up from the airport or something.) I always had to work extra super hard right before they came, and was forced to not work when they were around. It’s something about the hard work and then taking a break, but as long as I keep working I never get sick.
I often get sick in the downtime after a stressful period too.
I’m scheduling sick time right now – my husband is back in early May, sickness is sure to follow. I’m guessing second week of May…
I’m no immunologist either; but I wonder whether your immune system was winning the battle against the virus – until you went for your run. Is strenuous exercise part of the pattern?
Steffi, travelling is definitely another trigger, as are changes in weather patterns, and any contact at all with young children (I was with two of my nephews at the weekend).
Lee, my run was not exactly strenuous. I only started a few weeks ago and I’m doing interval runs, so my 10 minutes only involved 5 minutes of actual running. But it’s a start… I have already found that running is much more pleasant when
a) it’s voluntary
b) it’s not in a big muddy field in Yorkshire
c) there’s no evil PE teacher sitting in the middle of said field on a deck chair, with an umbrella and a cup of tea
d) no-one is blowing a whistle.
Cath> c seems likme something out of a book.
I might need a reference to that programme since I need to get back into running… have been lazy the last couple of weeks. (tried to take up jump rope in stead – long story). Is there something for a “non-iphone person”??
Yeah, I tried that too. Great workout but it’s hard on the calf muscles!
I think there are some digital watches that you can programme to beep on certain intervals. I’m really not the right person to ask, but I can ask Mermaid for you (she’s the one who recommended intervals to me).
I have been looking for someone like me. I feel as you do. I feel like a million bucks the day before. The real question I think may be did I always use to feel this way and maybe my body is fighting some other infection all the time? I have talked to my doc about it but he has no idea what I speak of. How do you feel day to day when you are healthy? Do you feel a bit run down all the time?
I feel like I don’t get enough sleep through the week, but then so does everyone else I know! Other than that I’m pretty healthy and active most of the time, hormones allowing… sorry, that’s probably not much help!