Dengue (Mis) adventures

21 Jan
Woke up in the middle of the night trembling. I am never scared of the cold. Strange.
Woke up at 645 am with a bad backache and humongous headache.
Ate my MOS burger lunch and felt like throwing up. Meanwhile my butt, shoulders and hip bone were hurting badly. Fingers hurt too when I type. Fever.
Saw a doc, who told me he was 100% sure it's dengue when he heard I am staying at TK. Took a blood test.
Temperature at 38 degrees even though I took 2 panadols.
Went back office to finish some work and went back at 6pm.
Did some research and saw that TK Lorong L, M and N has 54 cases in January alone.
Very cold. Had a quick shower.
Managed to cook a huge pot of green bean soup (to cool heatiness).
Started to have a raging fever. Wet towel turned warm in seconds.

22 Jan
Woke up. Felt damn cold. Hobbled to the kitchen for water.
15 missed calls from clinic. Haha.
Positive dengue results of course. Normal platelet count of 260,000.
Had a word with doctor, who told me to go to A&E any time I feel unwell.
Mild fever the whole day. Generally weak with no strength to even hold my mug.
Whole body was aching, with twinges of sharp pain in the bones all over.
Headache.
Couldn't eat.
Number of cases in TK has gone up to 58 today.
Hid in bed and slept the whole day without aircon. Can you imagine a polar bear without aircon? This was a darn sick polar bear. Even the bed sheets felt cold. Tap water never felt so cold..
Miraculously all pain and fever was gone between 8-10 pm. Thought that must be 回光反照.
Actually my guess was not far from the truth. An extract from www.cdc.gov : The Critical (Plasma Leak) Phase: About the time when the fever abates, the patient enters a period of highest risk for developing the severe manifestations of plasma leak and hemorrhage. At this time, it is vital to watch for evidence of hemorrhage and plasma leak into the pleural and abdominal cavities and to implement appropriate therapies replacing intravascular losses and stabilizing effective volume. If left untreated, this can lead to intravascular volume depletion and cardiovascular compromise.
Ok, basically this means that when the fever subsides, there could be a chance to develop into Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever, which may lead to Dengue Shock Syndrome, and... Death. Tsk.
Survived on the pot of green bean soup.
Fever started again at 10pm plus. Went to sleep.

23 Jan
Woke up after sleeping for 13 hours.
Dragged myself to the clinic for another blood count test.
Doc went "Telok Kurau, Chinatown there right?" despite being so weak I laughed at him. It's District 15 you twit.
Pain in tummy. Wondered if it was gastric or internal bleeding from dengue complications.
Dengue cases have shot up to 68 cases. Faint. Am I living in a 3rd world country with a Dengue epidemic or what?
Went back to tampines.
Mum kept doubting if I really contracted dengue. Did you see the medical report? Why no rashes (symptom of dengue)? Why did they ask you to go for blood test every alternate day instead of daily (it's the norm) ?
Why so many whys??
And she insisted on bringing my report to her doctor whom she works for to take a look.
At this rate I don't need dengue to have a hemorrhage, just talking to her will suffice..
To her credit she tried to cook appetizing food for me. Sadly the salted veggie dish tasted bitter. In fact I could only taste sweet stuffs. Anything else taste bitter.
No strength to support my iPad on my tummy. Sigh. Tried to sleep, but Peanut kept coming to my room to whine for food.
Gave him some cookies and told him I would smack him if he continued to whine.
Rashes on my face.
Twinges of sharp pain in the joints of my toes, fingers and knee caps. No more backache but the whole back felt sore, like someone kicked me all over.
Some difficulty turning and lifting myself out of bed. Feeling like a 70 year old. Diarrhea.
Skin started to feel itchy and a sensation of needles poking me all over.
Fever still at 38.1C.

24 Jan

Feeling slightly better.
I could propel myself out of bed.
Sour taste in mouth.
Diarrhea again. I must remember to ask the doc about the diarrhea.
Blood platelet count dropped slightly to 210,000. Still within normal range.
Tummy abit sore. Wondered if I was having internal bleeding ( I've been doing a lot of reading up on dengue).
Telok Kurau is in the news today for having the most cases of Dengue. Okaaaaay, so what's the action plan for TK???
Mum cooked a delicious congee.
Tried to nap in the afternoon but mum kept pottering around the kitchen which is next to my room. The usually well behaved Peanut kept climbing up my bed to whine. Argh.
Pain in bones has gone off. Left with a backache. And the flesh on my back felt so sore when I showered.
Mum cooked a delicious dinner, but sadly no appetite.
Asked mum to cook congee for lunch tomorrow as I have no appetite. She said I have to be put on drip if I don't eat.
??? If I don't wanna eat then why would I ask for congee? I am still lucid ok.
Plain water taste terrible.
My plants have not been watered today..
Read scary real - life accounts from dengue victims on the Internet. Weeks for fever to abate, hair loss from high fever, months to regain strength, enlarged liver, needle-poking sensation for months etc.
9pm now. Fever is creeping back.