Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Not yet dead.

I've been ill. Nothing too deadly but seriously inconvenient.

It started with a cold which, it soon became clear, had ambition. It turned into flu. Not very serious but I couldn't stare at the screen so I stayed away from the computer. Since it refused to leave on its own, no matter how much whisky I poured over it, I broke the habit of a lifetime and went to see the doctor.

He was surprised to see me. Apparently he thought I might have died years ago.

Anyway, he gave me antibiotics, Now, I have just enough knowledge of that subject to be dangerous, gleaned from hanging around with microbiologists in universities. I knew that antibiotics had no effect on viruses. I knew I had a virus. So I didn't take them.

What I didn't know (but do now) is that the antibiotics have another purpose. They prevent secondary bacterial infections moving in where the virus has left a mess. Naturally, the bacteria took note of my reluctance to take pills and swiftly moved in.

After much head-shaking by the doctor, I relented and took the antibiotics. It was at that point I discovered I am allergic to penicillin. So the medication made me worse. It was small comfort to point out to the doctor that I had been right not to take them after all.

I'm almost back to normal now. I'll catch up with messages over the next few days.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

What an ordeal!!!!

Except for being cold everywhere I went, my summer of US travels was MUCH more enjoyable! Lucky me!!!
And now I'm back in my warm paradise! Lucky me!!!

astrologymemphis.blogspot.com said...

So sorry to hear you've been under your lousy weather, and thrilled to hear that we won't need infrared film to discover your whereabouts. You've been greatly missed.

Romulus Crowe said...

Thanks - I'm still feeling worn out and generally rough, but recovering.

The good part is, I haven't smoked anything for three weeks. Here's hoping I don't lapse...

Anonymous said...

Ah-ha!!! So it's REALLY nicotine withdrawal - and here I thought your wer 'sick'!!!!
not really - get well and get back to us soon

Romulus Crowe said...

Actually, I didn't notice any withdrawal symptoms but that might just be because I felt dreadful anyway.

Throat still hurts. The real test will be when it feels better. If I can stay off the cigars then, I'm cured.

astrologymemphis.blogspot.com said...

Hang in there. I don't want you to have to quit the way I did.

Do y'all have Chantix over there?

Anonymous said...

huh? what's that southern?

astrologymemphis.blogspot.com said...

Hey Jude. What's what? Chantix? Google is your friend. It's a med that affects receptors in the brain that supposedly help people quit smoking. The biggest drawback seems to be the expense.

Romulus Crowe said...

We have something called Zyban in the UK which is probably similar.

No drugs for me though. I've had quite enough of those recently. I'll fix anything else myself.

Nobody's messing with my brain. It's what I use to make money!

opinions powered by SendLove.to