Relative Something

I am one of those people who doesn’t take much in the way of medications. If I get a headache, I figure I should drink more water and maybe rest a bit. It rarely occurs to me to take a pill for it. Symptoms of a cold have to get pretty severe, or interfere with my ability to function at work, before I reach for the throat lozenge or cough syrup or decongestant. But after a required physical to get clearance from my doctor to participate in a high altitude trek, I was informed I needed to treat a partial airway obstruction. Of all things, it involved a twice-daily dose of medication. I figured that since this was directly related to my breathing, and I would be needing all the breath I can muster on my planned adventure, it would be logical to follow through with the prescribed regimen.

It has been 10 weeks now and I have been tolerating it pretty well. Maybe even noticed the improvement, although I was quite unaware before all this that I was experiencing anything less than optimal. The information provided with the drug indicated that some people experience positive results right away, but it is more likely that it will take 2-4 weeks for the medication to begin to work its magic. My experience has been undefined in the timing of ultimate sustained positive result, but it has been gradually becoming apparent to me that I am developing side effects. And, that they are increasing in number and intensity.

I dug up the literature and revisited the details about side effects. I was a bit surprised to see how many applied. Not all of the listed possibilities, so that is good, huh? But, oh my, look at that. Eleven very recognizable issues, all listed under contact your physician immediately. Not the kind of thing that helps me reduce anxiety of preparing for my big trip.

Didn’t get any specific trip-planning tasks accomplished today, but not because I wasn’t working on anything valuable. Filled out the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament bracket. I’m pretty sure I got all the correct teams. Now I just wait for the side-effects of that effort.