So today I was still sick, and like a responsible human who has been threatened by her husband if she doesn’t call the damn doctor already I called my doctor and went in to chat with her about this little problem where it’s become difficult to breathe, lately. To her credit, my doctor was a little alarmed about that.
As I sat there and bemoaned the fact that I have really been working really hard on getting fit this year, I’ve lost weight and started exercising regularly and STILL I seem to get sick all the time… she looked at her computer and looked at me and helpfully offered, “You should get a flu shot. Only, not today. Once you’re not sick anymore.” She was not even trying to be ironic. I think.
Anyway, it was determined that my asthma has gone rogue and maybe I have an infection on top of that and here, take these meds and oh by the way, I gave you this cough medicine before, do you still have some? I couldn’t remember if I did.
So she gave me that prescription along with the others and said, “Check to see if you still have some at home. If you do, great. If not, you can go fill this one.” I thanked her and went on my way. Then I went to the pharmacy for my Prednisone, because you KNOW how I love Prednisone! (Expect a fun week from me once I stop sleeping!)
I came home and found the prescription cough medicine. The bottle was full. I remember thinking: Huh, that’s weird. I wonder why I filled this and then didn’t take it. Oh, well. I took the cough medicine and sat back down at my desk to work.
That lasted about 40 minutes, at which time my prior experience with said Cough Medicine of Doom came rushing back to me. The last time she gave me that medicine, I took it, and then became REALLY REALLY SICK. So, like the bright gal that I am, I stopped taking it, but put it back in my medicine cabinet. So that I could take it again today. And get sick again.
(Good news! This time I threw it away!)
Anyway, it was a verrrrry looooong day, because the only thing better than not being able to breathe very well is not being able to breathe very well AND feeling like the room is spinning and throwing up your toenails is the next logical course of action. You’re welcome.
Eventually everyone came home, and I found myself swarmed on the bed by my family, and of course the dog has been keeping watch over me all day, as she does. With first one child and then the other and even my husband invading her space, though, Licorice decided it was of the UTMOST importance that she stand on my chest and insert her tongue into my sinuses as often as possible.
Chickadee watched her and declared, “Dog neti!”
Otto lit up and added, “Neti puppy!”
As soon as I feel like I can get out of bed, I’m trademarking that. It’s sure to be the next big craze, bigger even than the Chia Pet. Because who doesn’t want Licorice to come lick out their nose? It’s just good medicine!
Happy slightly late Love Thursday, everyone. I hope you have a neti puppy. Or whatever else makes you smile on a crummy day.
Uh, happy love Thursday. And, uh, eeewww, gross… Though my husband loves his neti, I’m blessed never to have needed one. But dog neti, yikes! Hope you feel better soon. I think I’m going to have to corner the market on tissues as the childcare babies have already started passing around the runny noses. And, it’s only September! Hugs!!!
Um erg. That was… graphic! Particularly to anyone who has owned a neti dog of their own (only mine was an Irish Setter who had a very, very limited concept of physics – tongue-size-vs-nose-size – but a great deal of determination).
I do hope that once the room stops the whole whirligig imitation you will also find that the cold has gone away.
Sucked right out of your nose probably….
Yes, well, thanks for that! Hope you are well soon. And I think I’ll pass on the dog neti thingie. You know cuz ummmm ick and double ick…..
Hope you feel better soon, Mir! Colds truly suck especially when combined with other stuff and it sounds like you have a double whammy. I bet the drugs kick in quickly, though.
I think you need to find a new doctor, you should NOT be on prednisone so often. My doctor said that at my age 36 (yes, I punched her) it should be avoided because it will increase the chance of osteoporosis. Inhaled steroids are much better because it is going straight to your lungs which means less side effects and it is a much smaller amount of medicine. When you take an oral steroid you are taking milligrams of the drug when you inhale it, it is only micrograms of that drug.
I like what Kristin said, my grandma is on pretty much constant prednisone for COPD and her bones are very weak and has lost almost all her teeth just within the last few years. If you can inhale it instead of taking it systemically, that sounds great. Although if you’ve already started taking it you’re probably stuck.
Oh, and I LOVE the Neti Pup! I do wish I had a Licorice, I am totally stuffy right now. (Not that I would actually want the sinus cleaning, I just would love a furry little bundle of love to snuggle with.)
You may be on to something… a neti pot shaped like an elephant would be a hit at my house.
Oh, was it cough medicine with codeine (sp)? Yeah, I have a full bottle of that in the fridge too. I took it once and immediately realized that coughing was much preferred to the 3-day-drunk-on-a-tilt-a-whirl feeling the cough syrup gave me. And I only took HALF THE DOSE. I was prescribed it a year ago and it’s still in the fridge. I have no idea why.
Oh, codeine does that to me, but with added hallucinations and vertigo!
There is a vast difference between a burst of prednisone and being on it long-term. Long-term is indeed full of very bad side effects. A burst, on the other hand, has many wacky side effects that end once the burst finishes. So yes, you won’t sleep, and your mood will swing, and I once ended up hospitalized because it made my blood chemistry go crazy, but it’s all over in a few weeks.
Being on a maintenance dose of inhaled steroids sounds like it might be a good idea to check out though, when you’re feeling better. Getting on the right combination of meds made a huge difference in my asthma, and I only end up on a burst of pred once every few years.
The last few times I was on prednisone it wasn’t for my asthma, it was for a skin issue, so the inhalant version wouldn’t have helped. But as Becca says, what she puts me on really isn’t that bad—pretty low dose, only 5 days at a time. It makes me insane but (theoretically) doesn’t increase my risk of all those things you mentioned. Eek.
Oh lord I hate prednisone. Every time I’ve been put on it for asthma I turn into the human equivalent of a hummingbird. I don’t sleep for a week, but I get a whole lot done because I can’t sit still.
Hope you feel better soon.
I’ll just point out that if you’re like me, you’re going to forget what happens when you take that particular cough medicine – so you might want to call the doctor and say – this cough medicine = making me sick quickly, so they can put a note in your chart. Just saying it might be a good idea… (Get well soon!)
Oh Mir, hope you feel better soon!
I kinda like that codeine stuff myself ;)
Oh sweetie. Love the neti puppy, but hope it’s necessity is short-lived!
Of course, that should have been “its”. Bah.
Glargh. Hope you feel better soon!
I hate to be Debbie Downer but I feel the ugly, germy, cold and flu breeding season has just begun. Hang tough mama.
We do not have a dog neti but we do have a little bundle who looks just like your Licorice. Bailey is well known for her nursing skills. She forces herself upon anyone not feeling well and makes them pet her. Somewhere in her tiny brain she has decided that petting a small furry bundle of love makes everyone feel better.
Codeine is E.V.I.L ! The only thing worse than being sent to ICU with pneumonia & having your husband sent home from Korea early because O.M.G. your wife is going to die- probably- is taking that lovely cough med with codeine in it prior to hospital admission and finding out it doesn’t react well with your system.. Vomit on top of everything else is just not fun. With that said, everytime I get sick now my dr first sighs that he can’t give me the good stuff (ie. codeine laced cough syrup) and then gives me a rx for cough pills.. I can’t recall the name right now but mention cough pills to your dr and maybe that will help? They’re little , round & yellow.. Kinda like the golden nugget that goes in that one soup mix only smaller.
I do hope you are feeling better. I have no idea what it is like to have asthma, but it doesn’t sound fun.
Usually when the room is spinning and I am throwing up my toenails is when someone snuck vodka in my diet 7-up all night, in fact I still haven’t caught that person! Whew… oh and dont forget the hotflashes that occur as you are trying to talk yourself out of buying a new buick AHAHHAH
hope you laughed!
Send the cough syrup to me…I’m not quite as …errr…”sensitive” to drugs…wheeeeeee!
If I start laughing the next time I netti and end up choking on all KINDS of things I don’t really want to think about, I am totally calling and blaming YOU. Feel better! (But not so soon that you miss out on lounging around during football. Priorities.)
You people are crazy. I’ve only had Prednisone once in my life and except for the very first dose (which made me jittery and cranky), I felt amazing. The energy! Oh, the energy I had … I got as much done in 4 days and I usually manage in a month. It must be what a manic episode is like.
And codeine makes me pleasantly high.
Yeah. I think if I didn’t have any scruples, I could totally become a drug addict. Pass the codeine:).
Ewwweeeuuuu yuk! Get Better.
I hope you feel better soon. being sick is the worst.
Prednisone sounds like my worst nightmare. I can’t even do caffeine AT ALL for fear of insomnia. Can you take anything to counter the prednisone? Xanax or something?
neti puppy. ;) feel better soon.
Sorry if I’m being obvious here and you’ve already taken care of this, but you must – no, let me rephrase that – you MUST call your doctor’s office and let her know about your reaction to the cough medicine, so she can add it to your records. Before you forget and she gives you another prescription… Subsequent reactions can be even worse.
Hope you are getting better.