So, in a nutshell, Scotland hasn't been the best country for my health. I arrived here in the beginning of September and have been "ill" (that just sounds much more concerning than "sick") about 3 times in the past month. That's just not right! Considering I was hardly ever sick with a cold/cough/sore throat in Africa.....I at least had the "I have some sort of exotic tropical bug I'm fighting" card to throw around. Here I just blame it on the weather (that's a whole other post in itself I'll talk about!).
So, what to do? It's not like I can just skip class to sleep, or can I??? I will admit I did cut class twice but it was not a core course, more like review classes of how to write and survive at master's level. Then there is the issue of actually finding OTC (that's over the counter in case you weren't sure) meds in the UK. They don't sell them in the grocery store which is highly inconvenient at times!
I bravely hoped on the bus to the local "shopping area" aka "mall" and went looking for a pharmacy. Of course I got distracted in the phone store (but learned some very valuable advice) and the shoe store (and bought a comfortable, but more than I wanted to spend pair of shoes) and then managed to find the pharmacy. Yay! I walked into the store and felt like I had stepped into the make-up counter at Macy's. I'm still a bit overwhelmed in stores, which is odd since I have been in them since being back in the States. Anyway, thought I would look for some hair gel - since my hair often resembles that girl in the movie "Brave" and it needs some taming! I gave up after reading about 5 different bottles and looking at the plethera of products that all had something to do with hair control.
On to the drugs! Not much better than the hair products since I had forgotten how many of the same thing are available in developed countries. I kept thinking that it was a good thing I am a nurse since you need a college degree to figure out what medications you want! Sheesh. I think I stood in the same spot for about 15 minutes reading boxes and trying to decide if I wanted something to "loosen" my cough, "thin secretions," or help a dry or wet cough. Granted, my cough is pretty minimal at this point so I couldn't pin-point what "type" it was. The good thing was that all of the cold/congestion medication was a 3 for 2 deal. I guess that tells me I should expect to be sick!
I picked up some goods (I had the Walgreen's one from the States), took the bus home and took a dose of cough syrup. Guess that stuff is stronger than I thought since it put me to sleep for an hour! I tried working on my essay after waking up again and then went to bed early, after lathering myself in Vick's VapoRub and swallowing 50mg of Benadryl. I think I could have put a horse to sleep with the meds I took in that 8 hour span! Naturally, I slept until 10am today and then took a "nap" from 1230 to 1600. Yep, think I needed sleep. This does not bode well for the rest of the year......especially since I came down with this cold right after finishing the first draft of my essay! Ugh!
Welcome to grad school!
2 comments:
Great you're blogging again. In the UK, you can ask the pharmacist for advice. This is useful especially if you're feeling unwell and don't have the energy to tackle all the choices of products. Not only is it convenient, but they are qualified to tell you/look up all the interactions with other meds, etc...which you might already know but, since the med names might be different from the US, might be helpful.
Yay for the 'comeback blog'! BTW, somebody mentioned gale force winds and I thought....they have NO idea what gale force winds are. :o)
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