Three weeks ago I got sick. I felt sluggish, had a high fever and wanted to sleep the day away. That proved slightly more difficult with a 16 month old under foot, but it seems he caught the same bug and wanted to lay around for most of the day too.
A day later my son was back in action. His fever had vanished, he seemed alert, awake and other than a slightly runny nose better than ever. Unfortunately, the same was not true for me. My cold turned into a full blown sinus infection that will not go away.
I went to the doctor after a week and received antibiotics, but they didn’t work for me. Interestingly enough if you Google sinus infection and antibiotics you will find that antibiotics rarely clear sinus infections. Rather than taking another round of drugs I decided to see how things would play out.
Well here I am three weeks later and I’m still not feeling quite myself. I’m tired and sluggish and still can’t get rid of the pressure in my head or my runny nose. The good news is that my sore throat has disappeared, but otherwise my symptoms are roughly the same.
I’ve amped up the humidifier, started gargling with salt water and use the netti-pot more times then I would like to admit in a day.
I realize that it is a lot more difficult to rest with a toddler running around all day. Now that he’s down to one nap I don’t have a lot of down time and I still find myself choosing to go to bed much later than I should.
I’ve considered going back to the doctor but I’m not sure that antibiotics will help me. So the question is how long do I try over the counter remedies and homeopathic rituals before giving in? It’s been two weeks since I last stepped into the doctor’s office? Should I return?
I’m not worried about the money. I just hate finding a sitter, waiting around in a doctor’s office and being told I really just need to give it more time.
I just got over a terrible cold (sore throat, head/chest congestion, cough) that lasted about two weeks. I would give it another week before seeing the doctor again (or just call your doctor to give them an update and see if you need to come in). As long as you don’t have a temperature and your mucous is not turning color (green, brown) later in the day, you probably don’t have a bacterial infection (which antibiotics can help–they won’t do anything for a virus). Try to sleep/rest as much as possible (can any relatives/friends watch your toddler to make it easier for you?) and drink lots of hot liquids and chickens soup. Hope you feel better soon!