Flibbertigibbet

In Which We Learn an Important Lesson about Self-Medicating

I am not a fan of medicine. I generally think that if I have the sniffles, it's better for me in the long run to just let my body fight it off. It's that whole "that which does not kill me" thing. Besides, there really isn't much one can do for the sniffles except treat the symptoms.

Anyhow, many people (not doctors) have said that based on my symptoms, I might want to consider the notion that I have allergies.

I've never had allergies, but it's never too late to learn.

So, thinking this could be the case, I decided yesterday to try Claritin-D. After an hour or so yesterday, my sore throat seemed to be better and my nose wasn't running nearly as much. I still had a cough, though, and I developed a killer headache.

Last night, I didn't sleep well and I had much coughing and congestion.

Given that, I think it's safe to conclude that Claritin-D really isn't helping me. But then I started to worry about possible adverse side-effects on my blood pressure. As you know, I'm about to drop dead of a stroke any minute anyway, so I do not need medicine that will make it worse.

So, I did a litte Google and what I found was worst than I suspected. I've highlighted items of interest.

More common side effects may include:

Coughing, dizziness, dry mouth, fatigue, insomnia, nausea, nervousness, sleepiness, sore throat

Less common or rare side effects may include:
Abnormal heartbeat, abnormal skin sensations, acne, altered taste sensation, altered tear production, back pain, breathing difficulties, chest pain, conjunctivitis (pinkeye), constipation, convulsions, depression, diarrhea, difficulty speaking, distended abdomen, earache, eye pain, facial swelling, fatigue, flu-like symptoms, flushing, frequent urination, gas, high blood pressure, inability to urinate, increased sputum production, increased sweating, indigestion, itching, leg cramps, migraine headache, mood disorders, movement abnormalities, muscle pain, muscle stiffness, nasal congestion, nervousness, nosebleed, painful menstrual periods, pneumonia, ringing in ears, sinus problems, swollen mouth, thirst, toothache, tremor, upset stomach, urinary tract infection, vaginal swelling, viral infections, vision problems, vomiting, weakness, weight loss, wheezing

And thus we learn an important lesson about just taking medicine without knowing what the problem really is.

Unfortunately, I have to wait 24 hours to get the Claritin-D out of my system before I can take real cold medicine, lest I suffer through some unfortunate drug interaction.