The cure is worse than the disease
Guess what - Flu season’s here! I was feeling alright on Monday when I went back to work. The coughing wasn’t too bad. I even planned on sweating it out at the gym the next day, but the fever at night made me change my plans. When I woke up Tuesday morning I felt like crap, and in no condition to get out of bed. I called in sick and went back to sleep - only to wake up shortly before noon. If my bladder wasn’t about to burst I probably could’ve added a couple of hours. Then I decided to put some food and fluid in my body. And added a couple hours of sleep in the afternoon, too.
I went to bed early that night, because I wanted to go back to work the next day, but every time I started to drift off… That’s when I got another cough attack, which would wake me up completely. I noticed that coughing caused my airways to hurt, and it reminded me of Bronchitis when I was little; they were pretty much the same symptoms. Between startling and waking up to gasp for air a few times, I managed about four hours of sleep. I showered, then called the doc. Unfortunately, he couldn’t see me in the morning. He could see me in the afternoon, so I went. Just walking from one end to the other of my little bachelor’s pad left me winded and wheezy, so I took my time walking over to his practice. After waiting an hour in the waiting area, it finally was my turn. I told him all the symptoms, and after listening to my rattling lungs he agreed I should get antibiotics. He also checked the oxygen level in my blood, and was slightly alarmed: it was low (which would explain several symptoms). He suggested I think about starting to use asthma meds.
I felt better the next morning and went back to work. Some time after dinner I started retching. Violently. I thought that maybe I’d eaten something bad - even though I had no idea what, since I had two home made veggie wraps with fresh ingredients. The next morning started with the runs. Coughing suddenly became a “delicate matter”. I called the doc and got his assistant, who asked me if, besides diarrhea, I was suffering from more side effects. Not that I know of. (She told me to continue with the antibiotics.) That was until the retching resumed and continued throughout the entire day. At work the restrooms are on the other side of the wing, and I was very fortunate I could tell when it was about to start, so I made it to a stall in time. The difficulty then was… trying not to poop while retching or trying not to retch while pooping.
Anyhoo, those are the worst side effects, but after a while all the retching not only hurts, it also affected my vocal chords: at times I sounded as if I was about to lose my voice. Long story short: I am going to quit the antibiotics and get regular cough syrup (with codeine). After I get back from my trip to the UK I’m going back to ask my doc about asthma meds.