Not pleased !!

Last week I had a head cold .. sniffles, blocked sinus etc so went off to the pharmacy to get some "Nurofen for colds and flu". I have had it once before .. last year .. and it worked well .. so thought this time it would do the trick. I needed to stop the cold before it turned into genuine flu ... I don't much like flu .. so try and avoid it !!!

It's an over-the-counter medication .. ask and you get. To put you in the picture, I have been suffering from yo-yo'ing blood pressure since the beginning of the year and my doctor - last month - increased the blood pressure tablets. I don't take a high dosage anyway, so the increased amount is still not a lot.

I didn't take many of the "Nurofen for colds and flu" - probably for two days and then only at night for about two nights after that.

Over the weekend my metabolism went wonky .. anxiety was the result .. the whole weekend. It continued yesterday so, off I toddled to the doctor, who examined me thoroughly .... again .. as he had done about a month ago. My blood was normal. I had taken a calmative which he had prescribed for me about a year ago when I was given an anti biotic for flu, by another doctor as I was 'dying' over a weekend and my doctor was off that weekend! The calmative was working, but I still felt I needed reasurrance that I was OK.

Having told him about my cold and all the rest of the 'stuff' that went with last week (hubby going in for biospy and subsequent relief that all was well) as well as the 'Nurofen for colds and flu' - he said it's the ingredient - Pseudoephedrine - that has caused the anxiety. I should never have been sold this stuff over the counter with my history of hypertension. The drug causes heart pulpitations, increased blood pressure .. and all the things that are bad for me !!!! But of course, the chappie behind the counter doesn't ask any questions like "do you suffer from hypertension etc etc" - he just wants to sell the goods.

Now it has to take time for this stuff to get out of my system ..... so I am popping calming tablets to keep me sane!!!

Went off to the dentist today (my normal 6 monthly appointment - yes, we are very good with our teeth and our bi - annual visits!!!) - was a bit of an effort but kept telling myself that "I am normal ... I am normal ... I am normal .... and .... I can do this .. I can do this ... I can do this" My dentist always asks how I am (naturally) and whether my hubby is here or away (he is usually away on business when I go for my check-ups) I told him about my problem and he said with shocked expression .. "but that stuff should never be sold over the counter - pseudoephedrine was taken off the market a while ago .... it looks like "they've" brought it back!"

How many more people have suffered like me, I wonder?