Bleah

[pameladean]

This cold is not moving along as fast as I want it to. My throat got so sore last night I made the momentous decision to take some ibuprofen. I haven't had any since shortly after the hypertension was diagnosed. Raphael was still up and about and brought me the pills and a whole-wheat roll on a little plate, which was comforting.

I've been sleeping upstairs by myself; the nights in question were some I'd have ordinarily spent with David, but the waterbed, while very nice for achey illnesses, isn't so good for vaguely-too-hot not-quite-running-a-fever ones, and is difficult to prop oneself up in, and is far from the distractions I want when I can't sleep.

The ibuprofen did in fact make my blood pressure go up somewhat, but there doesn't seem to have been any lasting harm. I can't find any contraindication to taking cough medicine with any of my drugs, as long as it hasn't got decongestants hidden in it, but I'm very wary anyway. Put enough chemicals together, something's bound to blow up. Maybe I'll have hacked up most of the gunk by this evening. I don't mind coughing during the day.

I'm usually quite grateful for my antihypertensives -- one of my grandmothers walked around for years with blood pressure in excess of 200 over 100, because the only drugs available were barbiturates and she didn't care for being a zombie all the time -- but sometimes I am not grateful at all, I just want it all to be magically okay. Whine whine whine. Whine.
Feh. At least I'm not living in a war zone.

Pamela

Comments

[corinnethewise.livejournal.com]

True, feel better though! I hate these cold fronts/warm fronts of spring, they wreak havoc on the immune system. Ick. ::sending healthy thoughts your way::
Corinne

[pameladean]

Aw. Thank you. I got off easy all winter, too, which has spoiled me. But yeah, abrupt alterations in the weather will often startle the immune system. Another reason not to live in Minnesota, I suppose. But there are far more to stay here.

Pamela

[noveldevice.livejournal.com]

Can you take aspirin? That's what Ranj takes--he's on an ace-inhibitor that is also an anti-hypertensive, and aspirin is fine with them. He takes one a day anyway, to try and stave off another stroke, and an extra for a headache now and again doesn't hurt.

[pameladean]

I'm allowed and encouraged to take it, but no matter what I do, whether it's buffered or not, whether I take it with food or whatever, it upsets my stomach a lot, and I figure that's a sign I shouldn't ignore.

Is Ranj aware of the preliminary research suggesting that ACE inhibitors prevent stroke and heart attack in excess of the effect attributable to the degree to which they lower blood pressure? I found that cheering, if mysterious.

Pamela

[noveldevice.livejournal.com]

Hm. That's a bad sign, and I'm sorry. :(

Several of Ranj's doctors mentioned that ACE inhibitors seem to protect awfully well against stroke and heart attack--in fact, that's the main reason he was put on what he's on instead of the standard anti-hypertensives. His high blood pressure was to a large degree situational (boss trying to work him to death and nearly succeeding) and because of his smoking, which he quit cold turkey the day of the stroke and heart attacks.

I remember reading in ..what is his name? Here we are, Tim Skeen, in one of his poems that lisinopril is derived from the poison of a South American snake. I find things like that delightful. Who first decides to eat the poison of a South American snake, in case it might keep him from having a stroke? How many other things had he eaten that *didn't* help? :)

[papersky.livejournal.com]

Can you find Buttercup Syrup? It's truly disgusting, but it's a cough medicine, it works, and it doesn't contain decongestants, or alcohol, or anything on any lists of things to avoid except for me -- "squill liquid" (that's distilled buttercup) and capsicum liquid (that's distilled red pepper) and sugar. carandol and zorinth have been using it for coughs for years to very good effect.

[pameladean]

I've never tried, but at least it has a cool name. I'll ask around at the coops; thanks.

I'm not sure it's likely to be that much more disgusting than artificial cherry flavor, but perhaps I lack imagination.

Pamela