Phenylephrine: overpriced placebo
That's one of the lessons of the last few days. I didn't have any pseudoephedrine (the nasal decongestant that actually works) and was in no condition to go out for a few days. So I was using the substitute that one need not sign for as it was all I had. I might as well have not bothered. I knew it was less effective, but the past couple days showed me it's just plain ineffective. Doing a bit of research, there are pharmacists who claim the original approval studies were flawed and at the recommended dose phenylephrine is about as good as a placebo. And there's no information showing safety at higher dosages.
Today I felt good enough to go out again. I bought the biggest box of pseudoephedrine I could so I won't have to do that again for a while. I can breathe again!
Everything else seems to, finally, be under control. I'm still weak and a bit achy, but my appetite is returning and consciousness is no longer limited to a few hours here and there. I made a mistake a couple days ago when I thought I was getting better and had some appetite. I overate, which was really easy to do. The result was rather like trying to start out... in fourth gear. *CLUNK* I was much more careful today. I've probably eaten more overall today, but it was much more spread out.