Better living through science

I'm not big on medications except for the occasional Aleve or two. I get every horrible side effect that a drug can produce, ones that usually outweigh the original symptom. But, every spring, I'm hit with horrible hay fever for the 30-or-so days that the Live Oaks pollinate. I don't even have to be outside. If I see a live oak with its huge clusters of yellowish pollen I'll immediately start sneezing, itching, tearing up, etc. Anyway. This year is the first time in the last three pollen seasons that I've not been prego or nursing so I decided to take a little Benadryl to help me through the day. Wrong! After three days of taking one measly Benadryl per day I was completely stricken for 24 hours yesterday. It wrecked my stomach, gave me a fever(!), palpitations, dizziness, extreme drowsiness (fun with two kids!) and joint aches and pains. We thought it might be the flu, but I stopped taking the Bendaryl and bam! all side effects gone. However, all the allergy symptoms have come back, so I consulted with my friendly neighborhood pharmacist and now I'm trying some OTC loratidine, aka Claritin. It doesn't work quite as quickly as Benadryl did, but I don't feel like I'm dying either. Yay OTC scientific breakthroughs!

And don't think for a minute I'm exaggerating about the dying. M took one look at me when he got home last night and VOLUNTARILY stepped in to handle bath & bed time for the kiddos. I have to be really bad off for that to happen. I only recall three other times, actually. And two of them were before A was born. So, I was able to sleep for two whole blessed hours and then rallied to catch American Idol and most of Lost. I still can't believe that during what was probably the most interesting, mind-blowing and revealing episode of Lost ever, I managed to fall asleep for the last 7 minutes. Thank goodness for TiVo.