By the way, speaking of “cold and flu” products, before I got diagnosed and prescribed migraine meds, my last-ditch, home-remedy method for a really bad headache was a dose of one of the “Night Time” preparations. Most have alcohol and dextromethorphan (and often acetaminophen, so again . .) That knocked me out for hours. It wasn’t a terribly restful sleep, and I was zombie-ish in the morning, but it caused loss of consciousness, which is what I sought.
It sounds like possibly many meds are off-limits to you? The above is less than ideal. But worth a shot in the absence of better ?
I don’t have a cold right now, I had one about three weeks ago. So I’ve still got a little bit of cough and occasionally congestion, but my real misery is over.
Actually, I could argue that the worst part of my cold was living with my mother. She’s got memory issues, so from the first time that Dad coughed or sneezed (he was Patient Zero), she’d ask him if he was well, and what she could do to help him. (She’s also got mobility issues, so, no, her being helpful often isn’t).
Dad had it for a few days, then I started showing symptoms, then Mom did and said she was so “disappointed”– which is just such an odd word choice for having a cold, in my opinion.
At least Mom had it the least badly, which is probably better for all of us, even if also irritating.
I treated my cold with an abundance of cough drops and some Mucinex.
I hardly ever take acetaminophen as it doesn’t do much for me. Ibuprofen at a low dose does a good job and as far as I know is safe. The Claritin (no decongestant add-on as it raises blood pressure) is helpful and safe, so I’m taking a 24-hour dose.
I’m actually doing somewhat better today, after a ten-hour sleep last night. Still feeling blah, no energy, mildly achey, stuffy-headed till the Claritin kicks in, but overall modestly improving. I’m hoping this bug will follow the usual course of the colds I normally get, and be gone within a week or so of afflicting me.