Waves,
I just re-read your post re OTC cold stuff. Thank you again.

Earlier tonight I bought something with active ingredients Dextromethorphan and Guaifenesin.

(I had a friend who was a nurse who used to take this when she had a cough and explained to me once why the combo was good.)

After I took a dose I did a quick Internet search
Among other non-comforting info, I found that Dextromethorphan appears not to be efficacious. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11045895

I'm amazed that for 20 years I have been ok about taking meds from pdocs and yet am a little freaked out about OTC cough syrup.

Right now I am eating some hummus and Sun Chips because apparently both meds can cause nausea and I ain't in the mood for that. . . Drinking more water than I normally would before bed too.


On Friday -- I have to find a new mdoc and make an appointment for a routine check up. My current mdoc is useless. (I'm counting on the cold symptoms being gone very soon.)

Maybe I need to take my night meds (could use the Klonopin ).
I'm getting anxious about making my own med choices --- I would have been comfortable with an mdoc prescribing the cough syrup but don't feel so comfortable doing this on my own.

. . . feeling a bit like a wimp. . .


M.

Dear Mari,
I hope that you were able to sleep last night/morning...
Had you put a call into your mdoc to ask about the OTC meds?
You could probably call and ask their nurse and would get an answer but perhaps you have already done that...
guefinisin is good that used to be a prescription med if I recall correctly.

I love hummus especially with a bit of red pepper and garlic! then again I love garlic in almost anything.
food talk is making me hungry.
we will be out of town for a couple of days...hope you are feeling better and back to yourself soon.
beth

Hi Mari,

i was going to bump this to check on you.

btw, just a note, what your accupuncturist suggested was good for a variety of reasons - and even if you only take 250mg vit C daily that's better than none. also i will add, if you are doing the probiotics the best is away from any food (20 mins before, or at least 2 hours after.) they do assist in immune function and are particularly important in certain cases, especially if one has had lower intestinal distress where these flora may have been depleted.

but as for that cough syrup....

what the heck brand did you get???
scary to find THOSE TWO ingredients COMBINED in a single syrup.

dextromethorphan is an antitussive - cough suppressant. never heard about its not being effective, new one to me. beware it can also make you sleepy.

guaifenesin is an expectorant. and with quite some controversy regarding dosages. i have read a bit about guaifenesin and, at least from the studies i have read of its effectiveness and dosages required, commercial products appear not to include enough of it to make a field mouse expectorate.

Personally, i use.....

as an antitussive:
- lavender flower tea (1/2 tsp brewed covered for 7 mins am & night)
if you need an antitussive, this is a very safe alternative. lavender also has calming properties... used in aromatherapy for this purpose.

as expectorants (one of, not all of)
- raw garlic (1 raw clove chopped WITH my 2 main meals) plus other foods that are gastroprotective. Note, aside from garlic breath LOL, the garlic is also harsh on the tummy so not everyone could do that.
- bromhexine-based OTC product (n/a in the US). this is harsh on intestines anyway i've noticed.

WITH ANY EXPECTORANT - LOTS AND LOTS of water, plain water, regularly.

if you have a dry cough that is simply from throat irritation, or is "left over" from a productive cough but is no longer producing anything, then a suppressant is useful.

if on the other hand you have phlegm, which, despite coughing, will not come up or only with difficulty, then an expectorant is useful.

in any event, there is not much point taking a suppressant when one takes an expectorant. i don't know which you need.

medicating a cough inappropriately (suppressing a productive cough, or taking an expectorant for a true dry cough) is a bad idea.

i suggest you go and have your body checked by your mdoc and let her give you whatever - if anything - she feels you need for your cough.

i gotta go make bread for dinner... be back later....
~ waves ~

ok i got a chance to read the abstract again... note this bit:

this bit doesn't exactly suggest it is INefficacious. the study itself does not prove it IS efficacious, overall; rather, it remains inconclusive on the basis that only one parameter of those measured showed a difference between control and medicated subjects.

also consider that multiple doses may be useful (i do not know).

lavender infusion (prepared as i described earlier) takes 2-3 days to make a noticeable difference, although there may be a very minor effect right away. also, it should be taken 2-3 weeks for prophylaxis of dry cough.

~ waves ~

Sending you some hugs, I'm not one to have a clue how to help
on the cough.

I have no Ideas how to help my own at times. The last doctor
that prescribed for me gave me something that didn't work.


So I went out and bought the last thing that did work for night
sleep. ITs a tussin cough drop that you swallow. It worked really
well. And it is what I have learned to trust.

But I usually have little bubble type yellow perrels drops.

Derrick's ped prescribed it for him, and its about all that worked
for either of us for a while.

Donna

HI, Bizi,
My mdoc is useless and maybe worse.
When I called with original symptoms on Wednesday / May 6, the office people (thinking Swine Flu) told me that they would not see me and I had to go to the ER. Urgent Care told me to go to the ER as well.
ER doc said to follow up with primary doc if symptoms relieved by Monday / May 11.

Mdoc's office was helpful to me at one time but that was years and years ago. It would take me pages to explain how awful they are.

I am reluctant to find new mdoc -- can't explain -- it is emotional.


HI, Waves,

It is Robitussin Cough and Chest Congestion / Non-Drowsy.
http://www.robitussin.ca/cough/cough1.asp

I was anxious about the stuff and the cough and did not go to bed /stayed up until 10:00 am. Tired now.

If I go out today, I am going to buy some honey. We have a little bit in the apt and it seemed to help temporarily with the cough last night.

Symptoms: dry (mostly) cough, runny nose.

M.

Honey in this study was shown to shorten duration of colds:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/di...olds-days.html


Honey Works Better Than Cough Medicine for Children: Study at Penn State College of Medicine
http://www.livescience.com/health/07...ney-cough.html

Dear Donna,

I am sorry to hear that you suffer from coughs.

M.

I'm very grumpy about this. I think I might take some honey and go back to bed.

Honey is GREAT. What a dufus, that i did not think to suggest that! I'm glad you thought of it... it is like the number 1 thing. Also have lots and lots of water. Not like a quart at a time but keep a bottle near you, and drink frequently. You seem to do a good job in general about keeping hydrated so i probably shouldn't even fuss. if the cough is mostly dry something soothing like honey is probably the best bet. besides, it is not a suppressant and if there is anything which needs to loosen and come up, it will help with that. good call.

If you can, get raw, unfiltered, honey. Then it has antibacterial and antiviral properties as well.

I'm sorry your mdoc is useless. that sucks.

Runny nose is good since you have been sick - you are purging. if you were stuffed up, that would not be good.

~ waves ~ wishing you well

I can relate to that. And the not being able to explain.

i could not find the Product you specify in the page linked to see the formula. but for a "non drowsy" effect with dextromethorphan in it, i suspect they toss in some pseudoephedrine as well, lol . well, if your nose stuffs up, you can always use it as a decongestant (check if it has it in there). Did you actually take any of the stuff?

Anyway, I'm on board as far using GOOD OL' PLAIN HONEY!

And a huge advantage is, you while you do not want to consume a jar a day, due to all the sugar, you do not have to worry about doses so much. You can have a teaspoonful more or less as you need it. Eat it very slowly off the spoon so it really coats your throat, for best effect.

Sheesh! I still cannot believe it did not occur to me . I use that (as well as the other things I mentioned)! We even have a curative kind from an herbalist with essential oils specifically for respiratory afflictions. (That stuff however has to be taken as directed... essential oils are potent.)

Do you like spices/tea? Would you like a recipe for hot honey lemonade? I make that sometimes, it only requires regular honey. But I'm not sure if you're up to making stuff.



~ waves ~