Dengue Fever in Chiang Mai, Thailand

I know there was a large gap in time that I was not writing on the blog and I hope you all were very worried about me ;).

Last Thursday night I came down with a very high fever. I rolled around in bed all night sweating and shivering and moaning. Friday I had an advising meeting, so I woke up early and rushed over to see my advisor. I told him about my fever, and that my head was just too sick to talk about academics.

I returned to my room with the intention of sleeping away my illness. The fever continued to climb all day long, and I started getting really bad pains in my kidneys and legs. When I was in Guatemala last April I had suffered a similar illness. I thought maybe I had problems with my kidneys. Maybe I was drinking to much coffee. Maybe I was really dehydrated. Maybe I had a kidney infection.

However, I was a little worried about my situation because my roommate had gotten dengue the week before. I was stubbornly determined that I did not have dengue. I am afraid of hospitals and did not want to spend days lying away dying.

Friday evening I took 2 I.B. Profen to bring down the fever. I felt ok for a couple of hours, but by Saturday morning I could tell I was getting worse, not better. Two of my friends coaxed me into going to the hospital to get checked out. The man who runs our hotel graciously gave me a ride over to the Chiang Mai Ram Hospital.

(Sick in the Hospital with Dengue)

I filled out some paperwork and then waited…and waited…and waited. Finally a nurse took me into a small room, took my temperature and blood pressure, weighed me, and asked a few questions. The doctor repeated this procedure. Then I was shuttled over to get blood drawn and pee in a cup. And before I could protest the nurses were shoving me into a wheel chair and admitting me into the hospital as a patient. I was not happy, but my high fever rendered me unable to protest.

There isn’t really a treatment to cure Dengue Fever, so the most they can do it treat the symptoms. I was hooked up to an I.V. to keep me hydrated. I guess hydration is the most important factor in surviving Dengue. Throughout the day they loaded me up with antibiotics, fever reducers, and stomach ulcer medication (I don’t really know why the stomach ulcer medication was necessary).

And so I thought I was going to die in a hospital bed from brain hemorrhages. I had a pounding headache behind my eyes and my entire body felt like it was being smashed underneath a steam roller. All I could do was lie there, aching and watching old Tom and Jerry cartoons.

I spent four days in this state. The hardest part about it was that I was incapable of doing anything. I hate being incapacitated, and worried about finishing my schoolwork and readings for my coming classes. I was sad that I was missing the field trip to the mountains and a Buddhist meditation retreat.

On the fifth day my fever had broken and I needed to get out of the hospital. My blood platelet count was at an all time low and the doctors recommended that I stay for a few more days. I couldn’t do that. I called in a nurse and begged her to take the I.V. out of my hand. The hospital finally realized that I was leaving, whether they liked it or not.

I have been out of the hospital for about a week now. I still do not feel totally well. My head is still rather fuzzy and I have developed a ringing in my ears. I do not have body aches anymore, but I feel weak, and get exhausted easily. I know that sometimes Dengue Fever cause hemorrhages in the brain, which causes brain damage. I am hoping my dizziness and hearing problems aren’t from brain damage. That’s all I need.

I always had the feeling that I would get Dengue one day. It is like playing Russian Roulette every time I get bit by a mosquito. I am always that person who has 50 mosquito bites, and no one else is bitten. Mosquitoes are harbingers of imminent doom.