Small rant about peoples' need for doctors and medicine

[Arianwen1174]

Does this belong in TAO??

I've had a cold for about a week now, one that has been pretty mild as far as colds go. It's been worse in the past two days, people can actually tell I have one. I mentioned this in passing to a couple friends this morning and was told that I should 1) take medicine, and 2) see a doctor.

It's so annoying that someone thinks I need M*ucinex for what is essentially a scratchy throat, crud in my throat, and a case of the sniffles. And why on earth would I go to the doctor for that? A doc couldn't even do anything for me since there's no way I'd accept antibiotics or even a decongestant. It really scares me that people think this way. The friend who suggested the medicine (well, has been telling me all week I really should take it) seriously believes that pharmaceuticals (my word) are great and we should take them because they're there to help us. Yikes! She's not someone I would have a Big Pharma talk with, but she does know I prefer to deal with things naturally. Yes, I constantly feel on the verge of needing my inhaler but that's still not something some other med would help with.

Oy. Thanks for listening to my little rant. I'm so glad to "know" people who understand where I'm coming from. Tomorrow I'm doing the monthly grocery shopping and am buying what I need to make Master Tonic and hopefully any cold I brew after this won't ever last a week!

Sending healing thoughts to all who need them!

[Ornery]

I go through this as well. My family tends to not get sick very often (we're just getting over our first cold in a year and only I and the littles got it) so we luckily don't run into it very often.

I choose differently from my local social circle about so much in my parenting and in my life that I have learned to just smile and say something along the lines of "We're doing the right thing for us."

[Arianwen1174]

Originally Posted by Eclipse95

...I have learned to just smile and say something along the lines of "We're doing the right thing for us."

Yep! That's the sort of thing I say too. To my medication friend (lol) I said, "If things get worse I'll think about it." To my friend who suggested the doctor, I reminded her that the doc wouldn't be able to do anything about it, and she totally agreed. For her, I think it was just commiserating with me about my cold getting worse after almost a week. My DH's family is quite medically oriented and I've learned to take a tactful, diplomatic stance. And know when to keep my mouth shut. They'd go nuts if they knew about certain things, like my stand on vaccinations.

It's just very unfortunate that American society has come to a place where it's totally normal that we're willing to possibly harm ourselves in trying to make ourselves feel better.

[Doodlebugsmom]

The doctors I know wouldn't even consider prescribing anything for that!

[Redheaded_Momma]

I definitely wouldn't visit a Dr. for any of those symptoms but I sure would take something to make myself feel better. Most likely ibuprofen (pre-pg) and a decongestant if the ibuprofen didn't help make me feel better.

[Arianwen1174]

Originally Posted by Doodlebugsmom

The doctors I know wouldn't even consider prescribing anything for that!

If my doc did offer something for a cold, I'd be out the door--then writing a letter to her about my concerns. Thankfully she's never pushed abx or other meds and is receptive to my personal needs and wants.

Originally Posted by Redheaded_Momma

I definitely wouldn't visit a Dr. for any of those symptoms but I sure would take something to make myself feel better. Most likely ibuprofen (pre-pg) and a decongestant if the ibuprofen didn't help make me feel better.

Exactly!

At least the cold is quite a bit better today, so my "med" friend won't tell me to take anything. And I no longer constantly feel like I should take a puff off my inhaler, woot!

[Traceround]

The only reason why I would see a doctor with cold symptoms is in case I felt the cold travelling down into my chest as I am asthmatic and my asthma can flare quite a bit with a bad cold. My doctor sometimes wants me to take an extra steroid if the cold gets bad enough to try and ward off a worse attack.

That said, I generally don't medicate a cold unless I absolutely must have something to curb the coughing so that I can sleep or I have a headache.

M*ucinex and meds like that of the same type (plain R*obitussin, for instance) are nothing more than something that liquifies mucus so that the body can expell it easier. That is why women will sometimes use it to aide in trying to concieve.

Otherwise, hot tea with honey and lemon are about as good at curbing symptoms as anything on the market. Add a dollup of some kind of booze (obviously not for children) and now it helps you sleep too. Not unlike Nyquil in that respect.

[Doodlebugsmom]

Originally Posted by Arianwen1174

If my doc did offer something for a cold, I'd be out the door-

I've done that before! The doctors around here now (except for the ones at urgent care) will not prescribe antibiotics very often. I have a good friend who is an ER doctor and he says he hates urgent care work because all they do is prescribe antibiotics and send people on their way.

[Arianwen1174]

Yep, yep, yep.

It's interesting, in the past my asthma has been almost entirely exercise-induced (which for me includes things like walking, coughing, even eating ice cream) but with this cold I have definitely felt the difference in my lungs. I used my inhaler half a dozen times in the past week, which is a LOT for me. It made me retthe idea of taking something on-going, since we can't know when things will flare up. And an acute attack is so incredibly terrifying. Thankfully my asthma is not too bad, all told, but I don't ever again want that horrible feeling of not being able to breathe.

I did take a dose of cough medicine last night before bed because I was sick to death of changing panty liners, if you know what I mean. If it hadn't been for the dribbles, I would have avoided the yucky syrup.

(Traceround, so sorry about your three precious miracles!)

[Traceround]

Originally Posted by Arianwen1174

Yep, yep, yep.

It's interesting, in the past my asthma has been almost entirely exercise-induced (which for me includes things like walking, coughing, even eating ice cream) but with this cold I have definitely felt the difference in my lungs. I used my inhaler half a dozen times in the past week, which is a LOT for me. It made me retthe idea of taking something on-going, since we can't know when things will flare up. And an acute attack is so incredibly terrifying. Thankfully my asthma is not too bad, all told, but I don't ever again want that horrible feeling of not being able to breathe.

I did take a dose of cough medicine last night before bed because I was sick to death of changing panty liners, if you know what I mean. If it hadn't been for the dribbles, I would have avoided the yucky syrup.

(Traceround, so sorry about your three precious miracles!)

Thanks. I developed severe pre-eclampsia at 17 weeks and they had to take my three boys.

I wish there was some way to make the cough syrup not so nasty but aside from taking it in pill form, there isn't. Plus the syrup absorbs and works quicker. I pinch my nose and down it like a shot.

Do you have a peak flow meter? Sometimes that is the only way I know I am running into trouble with my asthma. The inflammation sometimes creeps up so slowly that I adjust and never notice the change until I get a cold and then all of a sudden I am in trouble.

Knowing what your baseline is for a peak flow is, IMO, vital to learning what your triggers are and when it is necessary to be more aggressive (adding a steroid, for example) in treatment.

[Arianwen1174]

Originally Posted by Traceround

Thanks. I developed severe pre-eclampsia at 17 weeks and they had to take my three boys.

I wish there was some way to make the cough syrup not so nasty but aside from taking it in pill form, there isn't. Plus the syrup absorbs and works quicker. I pinch my nose and down it like a shot.

Do you have a peak flow meter? Sometimes that is the only way I know I am running into trouble with my asthma. The inflammation sometimes creeps up so slowly that I adjust and never notice the change until I get a cold and then all of a sudden I am in trouble.

Knowing what your baseline is for a peak flow is, IMO, vital to learning what your triggers are and when it is necessary to be more aggressive (adding a steroid, for example) in treatment.

Oh, mama, I feel so sad for you! What a terribly hard thing that must have been to do.

I can see that I've been far too unconcerned about my asthma. I don't have a peak flow meter but this past week has shown me that I really should. Tomorrow I'm calling to schedule an appt with my doctor to get on a daily med of some sort, and also an EpiPen. Every year my oral allergy syndrome and asthma get a bit worse and one of these days it will catch up to me in a bad way. Thanks for the advice and encouragement!

[Traceround]

It was the very worst thing I've ever had happen to me. I wasn't sure if I would return here after it happened. Seeing my DDC was torture. I would have been due June 11th 2010 assuming I went full term. With triplets though I was gunning for at least May.

Sometimes insurance is reluctant to cover peak flow meters and even if they do, they can be hard to find outside of a medical supply store that carries respiratory supplies. Your average pharmacy usually won't have them.

One of mine was a freebie from some pharmacutical company that my doctor gave me. Ask if your doctor has any he/she can give you.

My other one I got when I was in the hospital following my crash section. I always have breathing issues after abdominal surgery (this was my fourth surgery) and I had been having huge breathing problems already when I was so sick with the pre-e.