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Hello everyone,
Been awhile...see many newbies.
Well I braved a flu shot 3 weeks ago thinking I'd do well with it and I guess I did...been in remission of MC since September of 2012 now. So I thought my body would handle the shot okay....but 2 days later got a sore throat...guess it weakens your immune system for awhile? Sore throat went away then got a little cough and now the congestion is becoming unbearable. I broke down and took some Claritin Reditabs (hate taking meds when you think you might react to all). The Claritin dried me up pretty well but something in it got me bloated...but was very mild. I had just gotten the bloating under control a few months' ago so knew it was the Claritin...took it for 3 days and slight bloating every day. So stopped that thinking maybe I'd try an expectorant. Well had to get the liquid kind as the Mucinex pills looked too big for me to swallow (issues there). The liquid had anydrous citric acid in it like the Claritin Reditabs and I got bloated off that as well. So I'm thinking it must be the citric acid so stopped taking that as well. So next on my list is Coricidan liquid gels..supposed to be GF. Will see how I do with that. But I really think I need a combo antihistamine/nasal decongestant in one pill. Does anyone know a safe one to take? I can handle soy but not Gluten or Dairy. I knew there would come a day when I'd have to take something for a cold..coming sooner than I thought. I'm hoping I don't have an infection as antibiotics totally scare me. I can't take decongestants by themselves as it'll raise my heart rate.
So if anyone knows a good antihistamine/decongestant to take, please let me know. I think it's safe to take them together but not allowed to take just the decongestant per my cardiologist.
Luckily no issues with D so am very thankful for that. All norms with a cold...got lucky with that this time. But this cold needs to go away already. Had forgotten what one felt like. I feel okay just so congested.
Thanks,
Terri
My first cold in 6 years...what to take?
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My first cold in 6 years...what to take?
Diagnosed with Lymphocytic Colitis in July, 2012 then with Celiac in November, 2012.
I don't have a decongestant to recommend, but your story sounded familiar. I hadn't experienced a cold for 6 years, till last flu season. I had a cold then. Thankfully it short lasting, going only a few miserable days.
What helped me at preventing colds, as at one time in my life I used to have one or two a year, was avoiding wheat/gluten plus also taking vitamin D3. I guess the sunshine vitamin, D3, is good at flu prevention. The other week I recall even seeing an article about a firm working on developing a "universal" flu shot that from the sounds of it worked in the body much as vitamin D3 does. Should be interesting to see.
D3 is suppose to be good at prevention, but once a cold takes hold it isn't as helpful from what I've read. Recently I saw an unusual German idea at lessening colds. It involved the use of dropping a couple drops of 3% hydrogen peroxide into the ears. I happened to mention the idea to my parents in passing one day, and to my surprise both were familiar with it. As kids their small town doctor would drop 3% hydrogen peroxide into their ears for cleaning and flu prevention. So with that I picked up a bottle of 3% peroxide. Hopfully I will not need it, but figure if I do come down with something it will help.
Some info. on the peroxide idea. Hope you recover quickly!
"Hydrogen Peroxide for Colds and Flu"
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/artic ... t-one.aspx
What helped me at preventing colds, as at one time in my life I used to have one or two a year, was avoiding wheat/gluten plus also taking vitamin D3. I guess the sunshine vitamin, D3, is good at flu prevention. The other week I recall even seeing an article about a firm working on developing a "universal" flu shot that from the sounds of it worked in the body much as vitamin D3 does. Should be interesting to see.
D3 is suppose to be good at prevention, but once a cold takes hold it isn't as helpful from what I've read. Recently I saw an unusual German idea at lessening colds. It involved the use of dropping a couple drops of 3% hydrogen peroxide into the ears. I happened to mention the idea to my parents in passing one day, and to my surprise both were familiar with it. As kids their small town doctor would drop 3% hydrogen peroxide into their ears for cleaning and flu prevention. So with that I picked up a bottle of 3% peroxide. Hopfully I will not need it, but figure if I do come down with something it will help.
Some info. on the peroxide idea. Hope you recover quickly!
"Hydrogen Peroxide for Colds and Flu"
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/artic ... t-one.aspx
Hi blueberry,
thanks for sharing! Very interesting! Well I got lucky this time...cold/allergies...whatever this is is finally going away. Thank goodness as I hate taking cold meds of any kind. I've been off gluten for over a year now...yay...and my D3 is around 80...so doing good with that. But, yes, have heard that about Vitamin D. will never give that up! I really think the flu shot weakened me some but on the mend now. But one day would be nice to know what I could take that was safe. I will just have to play around with it. Maybe Sudafed?
Thanks for your response and again, very interesting about the Hydrogen Peroxide. I have some friends that make Vitamin C...hard to explain it but it contains soy in it and they drink like a glass a day of it or if they feel a cold coming on they'll drink it. They haven't been sick since they started with that stuff. Don't think it's something that we could drink tho.
Terri
thanks for sharing! Very interesting! Well I got lucky this time...cold/allergies...whatever this is is finally going away. Thank goodness as I hate taking cold meds of any kind. I've been off gluten for over a year now...yay...and my D3 is around 80...so doing good with that. But, yes, have heard that about Vitamin D. will never give that up! I really think the flu shot weakened me some but on the mend now. But one day would be nice to know what I could take that was safe. I will just have to play around with it. Maybe Sudafed?
Thanks for your response and again, very interesting about the Hydrogen Peroxide. I have some friends that make Vitamin C...hard to explain it but it contains soy in it and they drink like a glass a day of it or if they feel a cold coming on they'll drink it. They haven't been sick since they started with that stuff. Don't think it's something that we could drink tho.
Terri
Diagnosed with Lymphocytic Colitis in July, 2012 then with Celiac in November, 2012.
Terri,
FWIW, I note that the onset of your "cold" symptoms coincided with the unusually late start of fall pollen season. Ragweed pollen was very late this year in South Texas, due to drought conditions during the late summer. In fact, some of the giant ragweed was dying until it was saved by significant rainfall on the 20th of September. I live roughly 150 miles west of you, and around here, about a week after that rain, the ragweed started to bloom, and it's been trying to make up for lost time, ever since.
Every time it rains though, we usually get a day or 2 free of pollen, before it starts blooming again. Today is a good day, for example, because we had an inch of rain during the night. Tomorrow I'll probably have to start taking an antihistamine again, as the air dries out.
Tex
FWIW, I note that the onset of your "cold" symptoms coincided with the unusually late start of fall pollen season. Ragweed pollen was very late this year in South Texas, due to drought conditions during the late summer. In fact, some of the giant ragweed was dying until it was saved by significant rainfall on the 20th of September. I live roughly 150 miles west of you, and around here, about a week after that rain, the ragweed started to bloom, and it's been trying to make up for lost time, ever since.
Every time it rains though, we usually get a day or 2 free of pollen, before it starts blooming again. Today is a good day, for example, because we had an inch of rain during the night. Tomorrow I'll probably have to start taking an antihistamine again, as the air dries out.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Hi Terri,
That's wonderful to hear, with the flu bought being short lived! That's what I experienced too when I had my cold last year - it was short and intense. Well, I suspect the intense part was more in my head since I hadn't experienced the flu in a good long while. It was awful though. Likely too the shortness was in part due to the high vitamin d3 levels and eating gluten free. At least that is what others report when having high D3 levels.
Odd about your friends drinking vitamin C that has soy in it. I hadn't heard that before but don't doubt it. In a previous life I worked in the food industry, and recall at that time most vitamin C was being made by a plant in China with the source material being corn. Not sure of the manufacturing process, but recall hearing about the famous Chinese vitamin C plant a few times. Overall, I'm here in the mid-west at the moment in the heart of soy and corn country and it's remarkable with everything that can be made from these two crops.
I guess too, from what I've read vitamin C helps fight infections in the body by manufacturing hydrogen peroxide. It's an interesting chemical, loved or hated by different health articles I've seen. Hopfully I won't be needing my ear drop bottle of peroxide but if I do will be interesting to see if it works as advertised.
To mention also don't believe I've tried Sudafed since developing MC. Don't know if it is safe for me. It probably is, but I'd likely find myself washing off the artificial coloring from the tablet.
I'm loaded with different ideas of late! but with air allergies as Tex is mentioning, I have a nephew that suffers badly from aireborn allergies. My sister has taken him to several doctors about the problem. He's symptoms have improved thankfully from treatment, but he still has some problems and needs to carries an Epi pen. I had read a number of times that earthing/grounding has been found to help lesson airborne allergies sometimes significantly. So I bought my nephew some grounding sheets he can sleep on recently. Fingers crossed that this improves his condition.
That's wonderful to hear, with the flu bought being short lived! That's what I experienced too when I had my cold last year - it was short and intense. Well, I suspect the intense part was more in my head since I hadn't experienced the flu in a good long while. It was awful though. Likely too the shortness was in part due to the high vitamin d3 levels and eating gluten free. At least that is what others report when having high D3 levels.
Odd about your friends drinking vitamin C that has soy in it. I hadn't heard that before but don't doubt it. In a previous life I worked in the food industry, and recall at that time most vitamin C was being made by a plant in China with the source material being corn. Not sure of the manufacturing process, but recall hearing about the famous Chinese vitamin C plant a few times. Overall, I'm here in the mid-west at the moment in the heart of soy and corn country and it's remarkable with everything that can be made from these two crops.
I guess too, from what I've read vitamin C helps fight infections in the body by manufacturing hydrogen peroxide. It's an interesting chemical, loved or hated by different health articles I've seen. Hopfully I won't be needing my ear drop bottle of peroxide but if I do will be interesting to see if it works as advertised.
To mention also don't believe I've tried Sudafed since developing MC. Don't know if it is safe for me. It probably is, but I'd likely find myself washing off the artificial coloring from the tablet.
I'm loaded with different ideas of late! but with air allergies as Tex is mentioning, I have a nephew that suffers badly from aireborn allergies. My sister has taken him to several doctors about the problem. He's symptoms have improved thankfully from treatment, but he still has some problems and needs to carries an Epi pen. I had read a number of times that earthing/grounding has been found to help lesson airborne allergies sometimes significantly. So I bought my nephew some grounding sheets he can sleep on recently. Fingers crossed that this improves his condition.