I resist….

Ok….being chronically ill is hard enough.  Then along comes cold and flu season.  Ugh…I would bathe in hand sanitizer if I could.  No matter what I try, washing hands, hand sanitizers, avoiding sick people, taking immuoboosters……I still get sick.  This time, however, was a real learning experience.  I started feeling sick 7 days ago.  I thought I would try to go to the doctor on Friday, but my dog was really not right.  I canceled and took her to the vet instead.  At the time, her condition was way more serious than mine.  I also figured that they wouldn’t give my immunocompromised self antibiotics after only 2 days of not feeling well.  It is crazy that I still have to fight for antibiotics.  Anyway….

So Saturday my primary doctor is not open, so I went to a walk-in clinic.  The doctor looks at me and seems shocked that I didn’t know that I had both a sinus infection and bronchitis.  To be honest, I felt sick but I wasn’t “super sick”.  I normally take Z-pack but have noticed that it takes me a long time to get better when I take it.  So the doctor convinced me to take a strong antibiotic called augmentin. Now, we’re all familiar with augmentin.  It’s that super strong antibiotic that is a combination of amoxicillin and clavulanate.  I hate it because it messes with my stomach, so I always try to avoid it.  This time, I decided to take the stronger medication in hopes that I would recover quicker.  The doctor wisely told me I would feel better after the second dose.  That sounded fantastic.

Well, the second dose came and went.  I still felt lousy, but on the third day, I suddenly spiked a fever.  Not overly high 100.8, but enough to add to my misery.  Suddenly the body aches exploded and my sinuses decided to release.  The chills and sweats were horrible.  I ended up taking the next two days off of work because honestly, I was a total wreck.  Walking upstairs to use the bathroom was too hard, so I had to crawl.  I couldn’t eat much but I was drinking.  I felt worse than I did prior to starting the antibiotics. So I forced myself into the shower and drove back to the clinic.  Now why didn’t I go back to my regular doctor?  Well, she does not like that I go to a walk-in clinic and honestly, today, I couldn’t take the judgment I knew I would get.  I see the same nurses and doctors at the clinic.  They make me get a chest X-ray to rule out pneumonia (which was my fear…thank goodness unfounded).  What is the diagnosis??  My bronchitis and sinus infections got worse. Apparently, augmentin did NOTHING for me except help me get sicker (excuse the grammar, I’m fuzzy).

So now I wonder, is my body resistant to antibiotics?  Could be.  I’m now on levaquin, steroids, and inhaler, a nasal spray, and tessalon perles.   I’m not coughing like crazy due to the perles, but I’m WIDE AWAKE due to the high dose of steroids I’m on.  *SIGH*  I’m also home from work for the rest of the week.  I’m annoyed about that because I know I will fall behind, but I also know that a speech-language pathologist working in a room the size of a closet with a hacking cough, sweating from fever and chills, with laryngitis is not what my students or colleagues need.  Hell, it’s not what my body needs.  Thankfully my RA and fibro are playing nice right now, otherwise, I’d be in a way sorrier situation.

I probably shouldn’t be blogging and trying to get some rest, but I’m still in shock that a tried and true antibiotic doesn’t work for me.  Could it be this strain of bronchitis?  Could it be I’ve built up a resistance to it?  Honestly, I take antibiotics maybe twice a year, if that.  Nothing else seems to work….

Alright, enough pondering.  The dog’s snoring is starting to lull me to sleep.  At least her antibiotics have helped her get better and she is eating again!  I hope you are all faring cold and flu season better than I am.  Be well friends.