Remember the Warning

I've been sick the last five days with a lingering head cold. I don't get sick like this often, and when I do, it doesn't usually last this long. I can thank Graves Disease for that. Sort of.

With all the sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, congestion, stuffy head, and slight fever, I went to the closest pharmacy to get the medicine that promises to treat all that and get me through the day without making me drowsy. Sitting down to take my first dose, I looked at the drug information to make sure I was taking the appropriate amount. That's when I discovered I shouldn't be taking this medicine at all!

The side of the box includes a warning for people with thyroid diseases. Apparently the problem is an ingredient that raises your blood pressure. One of the symptoms of Graves--and hyperthyroidism--is an increased heart rate. Add a stimulant to that, and the result could be...well, not good.

The good news is that since my treatment with radioactive iodine, I'm now considered hypothyroid (though I'm still an active Graves Disease patient; more on that in another post). Still, I didn't want to take any chances. I foolishly thought I could let the cold run its course in a day. That didn't work. Then I loaded up on zinc and vitamin C, as well as the nighttime version of the medicine I'd already bought (since it'll make you drowsy, it doesn't have the stimulant the daytime version has). Within a day-and-a-half, I was about 75 percent back to normal.

Fortunately all wasn't lost with the 32 DayQuil LiquiCaps I bought but couldn't take. I gave some to a friend who also has been dealing with the cold. I guess if I can't heal myself, I'd like to heal someone else. The biggest lesson through all this, though, is that I need to read warning labels carefully!