The Cure

Aegrescit medendo.

Sometimes the cure does seem worse than the disease. At least that is how it is for me each fall when I start taking preventative medication to stave off the allergy season - most notably cedar fever. I have tried every medication, homeopathic cures, and every folk remedy I could find. So far, only one medication works for me.

I fuss, cuss, and delay taking it at all costs because it makes me even more hyper than I normally am. I really do not sleep for three or four nights because it makes me so jittery. Still, when I think how sick I am with a sinus infection, I decide the few days of extreme hyperactivity are worth the price.

If I ever let the cedar get a hold of my sinuses, it does not relinquish its hold until the last pollen grain is out of the air. That hold results in nearly constant congestion, sinus infections, fever, and general ickyness. Basically, it causes three months of misery that sucks the life out of all that i could be doing.

So four days of jittery sleeplessness against three months of full misery is not that great a sacrifice. Still the dread of the few days of discomfort comes around and gives me pause. This cure, while bad, is not worse than the disease, so I will take my medicine and be done with it.

Sinus Infection Hell

I get sinus infections.

It is part of who I am.

This last one wanted me dead!

I have been sick before and have felt really bad, but I don't think I've come close to this last experience. And the illness was only compounded by the antibiotic the lovely doctor gave me to fight it. For the first three days I experienced some congestion and a very hoarse voice, but I actually felt good. I did not sleep well because all the congestion made it difficult to breathe any time I moved in the night, but I was handling it and ignoring everyone telling me to take some medication.

I started taking Claritin D early this year because I saw that the cedar bushes were about to burst at any time and cedar is the worst reaction I get each year. I hate Claritin D due to the jitteryness and sleeplessness it causes in the first few days, but it is the only allergy medication I've found that does what it needs to do.

Since I knew cedar was on the way and was already on the Claritin, I scoffed at everyone telling me to go to the doctor. I knew I was feeling great and that my symptoms were minor and would soon pass.

That was fine until Friday about noon. That afternoon, we had a meeting about something (I honestly don't remember it). I sat at the end of the table away from everyone fearing I would give them whatever had caused the whole world to crash down on me. About 3:30 Friday I left the office, went home, wrapped myself in blankets and crawled on the recliner.

I began to move again late Tuesday night.

Monday morning I did make it to see the doctor (a fill in since my doctor was fully booked). He dismissed it as a sinus infection and gave me some poison he and the pharmacist called an antibiotic. When I finally read the full statement about the medicine on Thursday, I began to understand why I truly felt so bad. Side effects include potential disruption of the digetstive tract (as is common with antibiotics - they kill the good and the bad). Another potential side effect is the sensation that someone has buried the dull side of a hatchet in the center of your forehead, just above your nose: I have never had a headache sustained for so long.

On top of it all, the taste in my mouth made eating anything essentially unbearable. In just over a week, I've lost thirteen pounds and with the digestive issues, feel certain to drop a few more before the course of antibiotics is done. Unfortunately, they are all coming from the face, legs, and arms, not the mid-section where they need to be leaving. If an illness is going to have this effect, surely it should do it in a positive way. I look in the mirror and see a figure that reminds me of the images of a childrens drawing - a bloated round torso with stick limbs. Having a buzzed head also does not help when one is feeling bad.

Three more antibiotic pills to take and I'll be done with this course of treatment. Hopefully Monday I can start re-introducing the good things back into my body and I can get some energy do do more than pile the freshly washed clothes on the bed. Maybe I can actually get them folded and hung.