Jaime Posted December 30, 2003 Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 Happy Holidays everyone! I am taking 0.2 mg of Florinef and ProAmitine (unsure of dosage) twice a day. I recently got sick and it is taking me quite a long time to recover. I have been on antibiotics for a week and I am still having fevers, ear aches, and now the bronchitis I had last week has apparently moved into a sinus infection. I went to a walk in clinic yesterday because I am still so sick. The doc asked me why I take florinef and when I told him I had POTS, he told me that he had never heard of it. Then he prescribed me a decongestant that has a side effect of tachycardia. The one time I didn't go over the info the pharmacist gave me before taking the new med. So now I am having a lot of symptoms since I took it. I called the doc back and they told me that there was nothing else they could give as a replacement. Sorry about the rant, but sometimes docs make me so mad! Well, I am wondering if anyone has had problems with getting sick more often and for longer periods of time. I work in a hospital so this could be a problem for me if the florinef is the culprit. Any help you could give me is much appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ethansmom Posted December 30, 2003 Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 I'm not sure about the Florinef, but I know that I definitely get sick easier and for longer periods of time than normal people. My family could have an illness, and be in bed for one day, but everything for me is twice as long and twice as bad!! It stinks, but just another one of the downfalls of having POTS. As for the decongestants, I've found that I prefer to suffer than take them, because the tachycardia and other symptoms get so bad- so I use a med called Corocidin- it's a cold and/or cough medicine that does not contain pseudoephidrine, and will be less likely to cause you to get tachy- although if I take it at night, I do get a little, but it also makes me drowsy, so I can sleep better. You can also take hot steamy showers (if you can tolerate them), sleep with a vaporizor on, and use Vick's...there are also a lot of saline solutions out there that can help with the stuffiness. I feel for you, because I have been in your situation a lot over the past few years- and that's why I 'm so terrified of getting the flu this year!! We just flew on an airplane this morning and there were people coughing and sneezing all around me- uugghh!!I hope you feel better soon!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EarthMother Posted December 30, 2003 Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 I also have a hard time rebounding from anything. I like an over the counter product called ZICAM. The company is making lots of different kinds now so read the labels ... one is for allergies, one for sinus congestion and one for colds. I've only taken the one for colds .... it's just zinc that you spray into the nostrils. Some studies have shown that it can kill the cold virus. So I actually take it anytime I'm around people who are sick. I also notice that for me it works like a mild nasal decongentent. So sorry to hear about the difficult time with the doctors. Sometimes our mission is really one of education ... we preach, we teach and we hope that the seed that we plant will one day sprout and help another patient the doctor sees later when he/she has become enlightened! ;-)Good thoughts your way,EM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MightyMouse Posted December 30, 2003 Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 Some steroids may impede the body's ability to fight off infection. However, with florinef, that's not a likely problem. The amount of steroid is miniscule. It's possible that the stressors on your body from having a chronic illness could be the problem--and other things may have an additive effect such as lack of sleep, extra stressors like seeing family at the holidays, etc. If you seem to regularly get sick, you should really tell your doctor as it may be something other than the meds or POTS.Nina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MightyMouse Posted December 30, 2003 Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 Oh, and my best illness prevention suggestion: Wash your hands often! I wash mine many times each day and keep antibacterial gel in my bag. Also, if you do shake hands with others, don't touch your face, eyes, nose etc. until after you get a chance to wash up.I sometimes wonder if my coworker think I've got some handwashing OCD thing, but hey, it's worked for me so far! Nina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Sawicki Posted December 30, 2003 Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 I second the hand washing suggestion. And Nina, my co-workers probably think I have some obsessive compulsive hand washing disorder too. But I think it is really gross when I go out to eat with some of them and I am the only one who gets up from the table to wash my hands before I eat. (Gee, I hope my co-workers aren't reading this...hehe!) Lever 2000 hand wipes can be great too. I keep them in my car and on my desk. Gee, maybe I am obsessive compulisive ...LOL! Or maybe my mother just taught me well...Michelle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pamyla Posted December 30, 2003 Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 Funny, my husband is always telling me I'm OCD on the hand washing too! I keep trying to tell him I have good reason I just wanted to add that I ask for a prescription of guafinesin when I need to decongest my sinuses. It doesn't affect your heart rate (that I know of). They do sell it over the counter, but it's expensive, and much cheaper to go through insurance ps - Nina- I finally ordered the neilmed saline kit Can't wait to try it out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MightyMouse Posted December 30, 2003 Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 Pamyla, If you want some helpful hints with the nasal rinse system, just leave me a private message here on the board-- or email me. I now make my own buffered saline solution -- works like a champ and is CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP! The premix that comes with your kit works great too--but over time it gets a bit pricey.One quick thing--make sure you don't have the water in the bottle too hot--you're better off with a little too cool. You'll know instantly if it's too hot--it'll really burn. Nina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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