My "uncommon" cold

Right now I have a cold. Or maybe it’s allergies. I don’t really know…but whatever it is, this nastiness has come straight from the devil himself. I’m sure of it.

I am so congested that I cannot currently breathe out of my nose, which (whenever I'm not sneezing...which isn't very often) is draining some sort of occasionally, yellowish goo….constantly. I have a headache and a sore, scratchy throat. My eyes are puffy and I have a deep, hard cough. So much so, in fact, that whenever I do have a coughing fit, I feel like I’m going to pee my pants.

It is the first time I’ve had a cold since I’ve had surgery. It is also the first time I am not armed with my go-to-cold med: Advil cold and sinus. (no ibuprofen allowed post-op) I was so tempted to buy it and take it anyways, but since I already have a tiny ulcer, I really don’t want to make things worse. I also wanted to get some Sudafed, but I wasn’t sure if I could crush it. I looked like death and didn’t feel like explaining my story to the pharmacist, so I just skipped it.

It is really frustrating to me sometimes that I can’t just take whatever pills I want. Being a nurse, I like to diagnose and cure myself with the meds I can easily get over the counter. But now, everything has to be crushed, chewable, or in liquid form. Half of things don’t even come this way, so sometimes I feel like “MacGyver” when I go to CVS.

Today I armed myself with children’s Benadryl, Nyquil, Dayquil, infant’s Tylenol, chicken soup, and anti-viral tissues. Nothing seems to be working as well as my ibuprofen/Sudafed, but I’m trying to make do. I'm not eating much, but I am making sure that I get those fluids in. God help me if I get dehydrated as well.

This whole thing has been going on since Sunday, but I’m hoping to cure myself by tomorrow night when I have to work. I don’t really have any sick time to call out, so everyone needs to say a little prayer for me and my congested nose! ::sniff sniff:::