Those of you who read this blog probably know that I have suffered from a mild cough for about 6 weeks now. During the last week of January, I developed a really bad sore throat. Thinking maybe the air was dry or something I let it slide for a few days but then developed a cough the next week. I tried over-the-counter cough syrups and cough drops to no avail. I went to the doctor who said I had a cold, but he would prescribe a cough syrup so I could sleep. He also gave me a nose spray to help with the swelling in my sinuses and ear canal. After a week or two, I showed no signs of improvement. This time the doctor prescribed antibiotics over the phone so I did not have to go in to see him, he diagnosed me with bronchitis. The antibiotics made me feel better, but with only a 5 day supply the symptoms didn't go away completely. They did, however, go away long enough for me to enjoy my birthday weekend for which I was very appreciative!
I would later find out from my pharmacist that the 5 day antibiotic is a "go home" drug - meaning it's not too powerful and doctors basically prescribe it to get rid of minor infections and get the patient THE HECK out of their office.
So a week after my birthday my cough returned and so did the ear ache - though neither really ever went away, they just became easier to deal with. Back to the doctor who told me I must have a touch of asthma and gave me two inhalers. Used them for two weeks - nothing. Back to the doctor AGAIN. Notice a trend? I'm getting tired of paying copays and taking time off of work to go to the doctor only to be told it's nothing serious. He sends me to a radiologist to get a chest and sinus x-ray, which comes back negative for infection. So the doctor then says that I must have allergies, not asthma, so he puts me on Allegra D - which of course is not covered by my insurance so he changes it to the regular Allegra and told me to add regular over-the-counter Sudafed with it (essentially the same thing as Allegra D when combined). After a week of that not working, I finally went to Urgent Care. I needed a second opinion. CLEARLY. The urgent care doctor tries to prescribe me two antibiotics, one I've never taken and the other is the go home drug, but prescribes two doses so I would take both for 10 days.
Here comes the shocker.
The pharmacist at Target says that the two antibiotics interact negatively and could give me heart problems (please, I have enough problems), so he called the doctor - keeping in mind it's 8:50pm and both the pharmacy and Urgent Care close at 9pm. So by the end of the night they're leaving me on the antibiotic that I've never had before and luckily I didn't have any negative side effects. The hope is that I'll feel better before hopping on the plane to Hawaii, otherwise the next step is getting a CT scan of my chest to see if there is something more serious going on.
If you made it this far I want to apologize for how long this post is!
2 comments:
dude, that's ridiculous!! I, too, hope it turns around!
When do you guys go to Hawaii?!? Jealous :)
How long that post was? I can barely keep a comment under 500 words. Feel better, damnit. Hawaii is no place to be sick.
dishead- (this one is almost too easy) 1)one who constantly makes fun of other people 2)a pejorative for side show performers who spin flatware 3) another word which offends Sarah Palin because she can't spell or define it.
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