k2bdeutmeyer Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 Today marks 14 days of this never ending illness I have. I went to the doctor last week (Friday) and was diagnosed with bronchitis and a sinus infection. He put me on Zithromax and gave me an albuterol inhaler. Prior to the cough and congestion (sinus, not nasal) setting in, I had a terrible sore throat, but only in the glands - no razor blades when swallowing - along with being exhausted and the all over achiness. On Monday, I had a crazy episode of SEVERE vertigo & called the doctor's office. They decided to pull me off of the Zithromax and put me on Amoxicillin instead. I started that yesterday (there was a screw up at the doctor's office and I took no antibiotics Monday) - 1000mg twice a day! I was up all night last night coughing and generally just feeling lousy. I have been taking Robitussin (for over a week), Sudafed, ibuprofen, and my antibiotics. I've used the inhaler once, but the minimal benefits were not worth the jitteriness I felt. I've gone through almost an entire large bottle of Robitussin in about a week. Yesterday, for the first time, my nose started running and I was sneezing (up until then it was all sinus congestion). I've gone through a box and a half of kleenex since then. So.....what else can I do?? I'm so miserable. I need to be functioning. We have no clean clothes. Help!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest IdahoMtnMom Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 because of some medical issues, I can't take robitussin like (with a D especially), anything with acetominophin, and ibuprofin, etc.... I have a wicked cold and saw my doctor this morning. He told me to buy eucalyptus essential oil and add 3-4 drops to water. Let it boil and then inhale it through my nose to clear it out!!! Said its better than vicks or whatever. He also said to use lemon, eucalyptus, and lavender essential oils in my cold mist humidifier. Oh, and Similisan all Natural Cough and Sinus really help.... and don't forget the tea with lemon and honey!!! That is about all I do :-( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarlaB Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 Honestly, just wait another 24-36 hours for the antibiotics to kick in for you to feel better, but the coughing may last for a while. Nothing can cure a cough, and IMHO trying to suppress it may only make things worse. I'm just getting over bronchitis (nursing pulled rib muscles from all the coughing, which is another kind of agony). Here's what I did: The only meds I took (beyond inhaler and z-pak antibiotics) was mucinex and tylenol to get my temperature down so I could sleep. Mucinex really helped to break up and loosen the junk in my chest so I could cough it up and (nasty info ahead) spit it out. I sucked on Ricola, cough drops & vitamin C drops as well. VICKS on my chest & at night I put it on my feet with socks on. I think the 'slathered on feet' helped more than on my chest. It didn't stop coughing all night, but seemed to give quick relief for a few hours. Drink a lot of liquid- hot tea, water, anything! I think it helps loosen everything up- sinus & cough. Simply thins mucus. A warm mist humidifier REALLY helped a lot at night as well. In daytime, get over/in some steam at least 2-3x a day- hot shower, hot tea, boiling water on stove etc. ETA: Also, for sinus infections I use colloidal silver nasal spray (which I swear by at this point) and use a neti pot/bottle rinse several times a day. Like I said, after 48 hours on z-pak, I finally felt started to improve. My fever was gone, I had some energy back and started to recover. But the night-time coughing took some time to get relief from, and I was sick enough that there was no 'immediate bounce back'. Sorry you feel so poorly. :( Hang in there....and if you AREN'T feeling any better in a day or so, call your dr again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaillardia Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 I think some people have a sensitivity to eucalyptus. I have several suggestions, and I don't know how close you are to an herbs/vitamins shop or what your finances are...but here goes. Traditional medicinals Throat Coat. Mullein tea. Marshmallow tea. Red raspberry leaf tea. These I highly recommend. Drink with a little lemon and honey in it. Steep them for about a half hour. Make a big pot of it, two teabags of each. Even walmart is carrying throat coat now. I also recommend peppermint tea. If you have an herbs store nearby, quite often they carry herbal products for such illnesses. I've always had success with using them. Keep a vaporizer or humidifier going 24/7 until you're better. This is weird but we've successfully used this method when nothing else was working. Rub the feet with olive oil. DO you have other essential oils? The eucalyptus would probably help there too. If you have garlic cloves, press them and add the juice to your olive oil. We also used onion juice. It opens things up. Then put socks on. I've used slippery elm powder in tea, as well as putting it in oatmeal. Drink a lot of water. Don't drink or eat dairy products, knock off most refined foods, eat as much raw food as you can. I can't assume you know this anyway.;) Some people put essential oils in vaporizers. I use a diffuser. There are many oils and blends for helping with sinus and bronchial issues. Your herbs store may have them also. I hope you feel better soon. I was sick the first two weeks of school and now allergies. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 If I took all those meds you listed for the past 2 weeks, I would be sicker from the meds than from the actual illness. My body doesn't seem to 'process' meds (esp. combo type meds -- sinus & pain relievers mixed in one, ...) very well. If I take sinus stuff for more than 2 days, I feel worse from the effects of the medicines than anything else. I would keep taking the antibiotic, but not anything else (or choose only one thing extra, max). Your body may need 'detox' time from medicine overload. (No, this is not scientific evidence, I'm not a dr. or pharmacist, nor have I researched any of this extensively. This is just my gut feeling based on my own similar experiences.) Also, if I'm stuffy, have a scratchy throat, etc... eating lots of the hottest salsa I can stand helps me. Yes, chips & salsa. Water too. Maybe not the most orthodox 'home' remedy ;):lol:, but one that works well for me. :grouphug: & I hope you're feeling better soon. I hope a laundry fairy visits too. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle in AL Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 We had the same illness here. In both my girls it ended up in pneumonia. I've also had many pts in the hospital with it (the pneumonia part). We tried Zmax and albuterol too and it didn't work. Avelox finally worked for my 17 yr old. Kids can't be on Avelox, so my youngest (15) got better an Augmentin. Try Mucinex D around the clock and afrin nasal spray for 3 days. Hope you get to feeling better soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 Neti Pot. Use a Neti pot at least 2 times a day to help clean out the sinus cavities. Take a teaspoon of raw honey as often as needed to help soothe the cough and sore throat. Take a clove of garlic, chop it up and let it sit for 10 minutes. Then swallow the garlic. That will help your immune system. I have heard that putting Vick's Vapor Rub on the bottoms of your feet and covering with socks helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 Someone on the board posted this link recently. Maybe it has some helpful info? http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2009/10/stocking-your-natural-herbal-medicine-cabinet.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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