Bad Cold and my meds are NOT working

Today is the 10th day that I have been sick (and of course, it feels like the worst cold ever!).  Throughout this, I have found another "quirk" from this surgery.  First of all, the choices of medicines are greatly diminshed.  The first 4 days, I had a horrible sore throat.  The only thing that gave me any relief was liquid Motrin (which we are not supposed to have).  I finally went to Urgent Care on Sunday, begging for something because I was taking way too much Motrin.  The only thing they gave me was Hydrocodone syrup.  It put me to sleep, but gave little sore throat relief.  Now, my symptoms have changed to constant coughing and nasal/chest congestion for which I have found several liquid meds for (sometimes, they don't feel too good going down through the pouch).  I finally got a prescription for liquid Zithromax - I was soooo happy to hear that a Z-pack came in a liquid form. The weird part with all these meds is, I really think there is a real absorption problem.  When I take any of these meds that should last 4 hours, I only get about 2 hours of relief.  Even with the Zithromax, I always feel 90% better by Day 2-3.  I am on Day 4 and only feel marginally better.  It makes me wonder how much we are actually absorbing.........it's too bad that we don't know exactly how much, so we could adjust our meds accordingly. Has anyone else every experienced this??????  I called my surgeons office and they very quickly told me to call my general care MD. I am just sitting by waiting/hoping that the next day will be better.

Sorry your feeling so bad. Your situation is very interesting about the absorption. Did Dr.K's office say anything about  adjustments in the meds?. How would your General MD know about the absorption with out consulting with the surgeon? Other wise, Hope your doing. It's count down for me. I see Dr. K and Jodi this coming Tuesday. Start my liquid diet on the 26th. Keep in touch. Reenie

Hi Elizabeth, I went through the exact same thing almost verbatim.  This "thing" that is going around is horrible and hits us worse because I believe our immune systems are down from having this major surgery.  That said, it i****ting others equally hard and I know folks out of work an entire week!  I hate to tell you this, but I was sick (really sick) for 6 solid weeks.   I pray your's won't be so bad. Love, Diane

I can't comment on the absorption of meds, but I know that in my blood work last Friday, they found that my white count is low.  My Primary Care nurse told me that it showed my immune system is low.  Maybe that happens to us, too? Oops - edited to add - Have you tried the Zycam (sp) nasal swab?  Because you absorb through your nasal tissues, I don't see how the surgery would impact it's usefulness.  And even after you've had a cold for a while, it can help with the symptoms.  It's pretty good stuff.

Oh.. I so feel your pain.  I am sick as a dog right now and NOTHING seems to help.  I may have to call my PCP this week to see if I can be seen or something if I don't feel better soon.  I hope you do start feeling much better.

 

 

Thanks for your concern everyone........  Jenn, I hope you are feeling better soon.  Each day seems to be a little better, just not nearly quick enough. I had finally motivated myself to get exercising more and eating better (not just what tastes good), and now this sickness has squished that feeling.  I am back into survival mode. Thanks again for the support!