wiped out in la suisse

[amw]

I know i need to write something to try to capture my thoughts and feelings over the past week, but i am utterly wiped out

Comments

[harbourwitch]

Yep, all of Switzerland is prohibitively expensive. And yep, when it comes to languages, the French part is proper French, the German part is proper German and the Italian part is proper Italian. 😄

[amw]

I had no idea! I was talking to some colleagues from Austria and Slovakia who have visited a few times before and they said the same thing. French Swiss and German Swiss, almost feels like two different countries. The funny thing is that when you are shopping in the supermarket even in Geneva, all the food is labeled in largest letters in German, only with some French in small font on the back. Very different to Canada, where the law mandates that English and French must be the same font size, so all the packaging has two logos on it, no matter where in Canada you are.

[ext_6109889]

I cannot give you medical advice, but I think you might look into an intestinal parasite test. In my job, I have encountered skin symptoms in patients directly related to an intestinal parasite. The skin is a reflection of what is going on in your gut. Best of luck.

[amw]

Thanks for the tip. I am going to make a list of ideas people commented on this post and try to explain them to the doctor when i visit. I hope the language barrier won't hamper the diagnosis too much.

[anais_pf]

It's Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (highest peak in the Alps). You might want to just take the cable car instead of trying to hike. You sound exhausted and miserable. I hope someone can help you figure out the skin issue and fix it soon.

French is the most ridiculous language I have ever tried to learn (though I continue to study it). I'll leave it at that.

[sweetmeow]

I'm totally feeling your pain with the itching. Been there. I'm clueless about the cause of your rash, but Shingles occurred to me because you said it both burned and itched. Shingles is a re-emergence of the Chickenpox virus, which is left dormant after one has had it. But - Considering the amount of time you've had the rash, I'd think (although I don't know whether) it would have resolved by now. So - maybe not. But, thought I'd mention it.

I feel so sad that you're not fully able to enjoy Switzerland because of this. It made me happy to hear your descriptions of European cities and wished I lived in this kind of environment. Might we in the USA learn from their example? (Pipe Dream) I also think that we in the USA are more obese because of this car culture.

[amw]

A friend of mine suggested shingles too, but i don't think it lasts for more than a few weeks. That's the real puzzle for me - if it was a virus, it should've come and gone already, and if it was an allergy, surely my multitude of life changes should've at least had some impact. The idea that it might be some kind of bacteria or parasite does feel more logical right now... as long as it isn't a new chronic condition that suddenly appeared

[carriea31]

I suppose you've probably already thought of it, but.... shingles? I had them last year and while they certainly weren't as horrible as what you described, I did suffer with it for quite some time before seeing a doctor and having them figure out what it is, and some (not all) of what you are describing certainly sounds similar. Even the path they are tracking on your body makes me suspicious of that.

[amw]

Yeah, as i mentioned to sweetmeow above, shingles was one of the first things suggested to me... i just think since i'm over 6 weeks in, it should've subsided by now. Shouldn't it?