What? Again?...

There I was, staring at a full calendar of things I had cancelled when the dreaded four-week cold knocked me off my wheels...

I happily re-scheduled lunch with three friends, made it to a much-needed hair appointment, got the flat sorted and cleaned up, resumed physical therapy with renewed vigor, and was generally enjoying a return to relative normalcy. Sunday morning found me visiting the porcelana, face first. I do not drink, nor was I hung over or suffering from too much Saturday. I don't live that kind of life.

After calming my gastrointestinal region with a handful of "good bacteria," courtesy of my pharmacist, I made a half-hearted attempt to get the week's groceries before heading to bed. When I awoke the following day, the runny nose, congestion and dreaded cough were back and are still, though it appears, not as forcefully.

At this point, I should explain that these episodes of sickness have become commonplace for me over the last year or so, chiefly, I believe, because of the overuse of prescribed antibiotics. Many months ago, I began suffering from a condition all too common for some women--chronic urinary tract infections. This led to a medical professional suggesting that I stay on an antibiotic at a low dose permanently to avoid the problem.

Unfortunately, over time, I began to notice increasing heartburn, sour stomach, bloating and a host of other unpleasant gastrointestinal symptoms, along with greater frequency of nausea and vomiting. In the last seven months, I've had one emergency department visit for dehydration due to vomiting and been on no less than four different and progressively potent antibiotics because others haven't worked. My last three urine samples have been free of infection and the GP, who was not the one who started this mess, has finally taken notice. When I was last in her office with the dregs of the four week cold, she said that I might also have a sinus infection but that no antibiotics would be prescribed because I had had too many, a decision with which I agreed.

Some months before this, I had spoken with a friend who told me of his own travails in trying to shed chronic sinus infections and the subsequent overuse of antibiotics that led him to five different doctors looking for a cure for yeast rash that had begun to appear on his skin. Topical creams were used but never permanently rid him of the problem. It was not until my friend began doing his own research and using clinically developed products designed to staunch candida overgrowth internally that his health returned.

I too have researched this issue and have begun using the same product. Additionally, I am now taking probiotics in large amounts daily to re-stock my depleted gut of what is commonly referred to as good bacteria. This helps combat candida overgrowth and helps restore the seventy percent of immune function in the gut that helps maintain health. The process is slower than I would prefer, and I wish my doctor or the other individual who began all of this had been the ones to suggest it or monitor its progress, but this is not something covered in their medical education, nor do Big Pharma stand to make a buck.

Tells me a lot about the state of American medicine and it ain't pretty.