Annnnnnndddd: it’s not COVID.
Seriously. Last night I got the news from the Doctor’s Hottie that my ‘Rona test had come back negative. And so much for that.
What I actually have — WE THINK — is a simple, nonspecific upper-respiratory tract infection, so today I start a Zithromax “Z-pak” treatment regimen which as explained to me is like shooting fish with a scattergun in that the drug targets “infections of the lungs, sinus, throat, tonsils, skin, urinary tract, cervix, or genitals.”
If we exclude “skin, urinary tract, cervix, or genitals” for obvious reasons (none of those bits hurt, or I don’t have them), that means that this little pink pill should address my sore throat, congested lungs and full-to-bursting sinuses, and about damn time.
And I’ve had that pennies-in-the-mouth taste over the past three days for nothing.
And I’ve also been feeling shitty for the past week for nothing — without the ever-popular COVID blocking the national consciousness, this would probably have been properly diagnosed on Day 1 had I said to the doctor — as I’d said to New Wife — that I’ve been dealing with this shit for most of my damn life.
Posts have been set up for the weekend (normal fare, btw), so I’ll see y’all on Monday.
Goddamn and fuck.
Closeup view of my throat, this morning:
Zithromax seems to work pretty well for me. I even talked my doc into a couple of extra scripts to put in my SHTF box. Its hard to kill zombies when you’ve got a respiratory infection. The coughing throws your aim off.
Old timers will remember the military cough medicine affectionately known as “GI gin”. I was told it contained an expectorant called terpen hydrate (some guys said turpentine ), codeine, and alcohol. It would give you a great buzz. It seemed to work and you really didn’t care anyway. Another old time remedy was Vicks Vapo rub. My mother bought that by the five gallon buckets. Did it work? Probably not but mom felt that the cure made me feel so miserable that I was eager to get out of bed and go back to school.
I hope this does the trick for you and you’re healthy again soon.
The antibiotic is a broad spectrum antibiotic. That’s why it treats infections caused by a large variety of microbes that can get into various body parts.
You’re right, this probably would have been a first step treatment pre-Hong Kong Fluey. Now everything is Communist Chinese Covid. Doc, I fell down the stairs and my leg hurts I can’t move it. Ok let’s get a COVID and a flu swab. WFT doc how about pain meds and a trip to the XRay folks?
JQ
This sounds like good news
Absent the awful Covid protocols, you’d be well by now
I always ask the doc (or PA or NP) to give me something they would prescribe to a cow with the clap, and they usually give me a Z-pack
Hope this does the job quickly, brother
Your throat must not be too bad. I don’t see any flames, or mushroom cloud.
Seriously though, I know where you’re at. I was dealing with most of the Covid symptoms for over three weeks (no doctor intervention, as three Covid tests came back negative ant there was no way I was going to share my germs with the other sick people at Urgent Care.)
You will be feeling better soon, and back to being your feisty self in no time.
I’m intrigued by your reference to the Doctor’s Hottie. Please elaborate.
What??? .. Your Doctor doesn’t have a hot Receptionist / Assistant / 3rd wife ?? — I thought they all did. You need an older male American Doctor.
My doctor is a woman, and she’s been taking care of me and my family for years. I’m sticking with her, thanks.
I’m assuming you mean my primary care physician. As a Man of a Certain Age, I have multiple doctors. And in many cases, the practice has multiple doctors, but I’ll give you a gender breakdown of the doc or PA that I usually see.
Cardiologist: Male
Dentist: Male
Dermatologist: Female
Gastroenterologist: Male
Hematologist: Female
Optometrist: Male
Primary care: Female
Pulmonologist: Female
Urologist: Male
Vascular specialist: Female
I get along great with all of them, but I tend to prefer female doctors. In my experience, they have more empathy and a better bedside manner. And all of my doctors are younger than me. It would be weird if they were not. Most doctors who are older than I am have already retired.
Those anti-biotics massacre your healthy bacteria in your gut.
That population must be immediately replenished.
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Why is this essential?
Research indicates over 90% (ninety percent) of the human immune system lives inside these gut bacteria.
Without them, any number of opportunistic diseases can take hold.
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Opportunistic?
The most obvious — with immediate manifestation — is UTI caused by fungus.
The least obvious — with increasingly-bizarre manifestation — are fungal infestations in the brain.
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What would I do to re-populate my gut with healthy bacteria?
1) take multiple probiotics in commercial capsules.
I would take several different manufacturers, I would take the box recommendation of daily capsules — usually one — at each meal.
2) eat plenty of prebiotics, the food for our healthy gut bacteria.
My preferred prebiotics include:
* casava
* plantains.
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Other prebiotics:
A few people still eat potatoes (a member of the highly-inflammatory ‘nightshade’ family) and rice (an empty carbohydrate with little nutrition).
Each of those can be cooked then cooled to be a food for our healthy gut bacteria.
This looks like a rice pudding or a potato salad.
Eaten hot, or warmed after cooling, eliminates any prebiotic benefits.
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3) eat living fermented foods such as sauerkraut and similar living fermented vegetables.
At the grocery store, living fermented foods are only in the cold-case.
The fake stuff on the room-temperature shelves usually stimulates the living fermented foods with vinegar to approximate the sourness.
I avoid the fake simulated deceased product.
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A course of anti-biotics can save a life, or save the hearing if the ears are infected, or save the respiratory function from further scarring if the lungs are attacked.
Just remember to re-build the immune system after the crisis.
Without a healthy immune system, the crisis becomes chronic.
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And I would do that Lion Pose.
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These would be my choices.
You are capable of deciding about your health.