Apparently what I’ve thought was a sinus headache that’s lasted 4 or 5 days so far was really a migraine. I already have 7 different drugs in my system (antibiotic, prescription antihistamine & decongestant, my daily prescription of migraine-preventative, OTC cough syrup, OTC decongestant & OTC expectorant — which the doc said were all okay to take along with the prescription stuff), so I didn’t want to take an Imitrex also. But I hurt so badly this morning that I took one, and within 90 minutes my headache was barely a shadow of its former self. Guess I should have tried that sooner.

I did get the doctor to prescribe me some codeine cough syrup last night, and I actually slept 8 hours straight! I had some truly odd and vivid dreams, but otherwise it was good, restful sleep. However, I’ve discovered if I don’t take the cough syrup every 4 hours on the dot while I’m awake, the horrendous coughing fits return. Luckily codeine doesn’t affect my functioning the way it seems to in most people, so I can take it round-the-clock without worry.

The pharmacist recognized me when I went in to pick up the cough syrup last night. I hadn’t even gotten all the way to the counter when they waved the bottle at me, saying, “Phone order, right?” That can’t be a good sign…

(And yes, I got a neti pot on Monday. Lyse told me about them quite a while ago, and by Monday I was feeling so horrid that I was willing to try damned near anything, even putting salt water up my nose…which is a very objectionable thought for me, as I’ve come too close to drowning more than once. But it does seem to help, at least temporarily.)

Last Tuesday I started coughing, out of the blue. One hour I was fine, the next I was feeling like hell. The next day, I started feeling better — well enough to cancel the doctor’s appointment I had made for that evening. Over the weekend, however, it got worse…and by Monday morning, I was in such bad shape that I only managed to stay at work for a couple of hours, and I made another doctor’s appointment that I did go to.

I didn’t get to see my regular clinician, the amazing Madeleine. Instead, I was stuck seeing an old guy who diagnosed me with a sinus & respiratory infection and refused to give me a prescription for my cough; he just prescribed antibiotics and an antihistamine, and said I should be able to get relief for my cough from over-the-counter medication.

Thirty hours later, I am having coughing fits several times a day that last about an hour each — with each cough triggering an intensely painful stabbing sensation through my skull — leaving me exhausted, sweat-drenched, and with a voice so ragged & hoarse that I have no idea how I’m going to manage at work when I go back Thursday. Last night, I woke up Claire during a 4am coughing fit — you know it’s bad when you wake up your next-door neighbor!!!

Sure, I called the clinic back and let them know how badly off I was. The receptionist said she’d pass along my information to the advice nurse, who would be calling me. That was over 3 hours ago; I haven’t heard from the nurse yet. When I called about an hour ago, I was told by a different receptionist that the message had been given to the nurse, and I just had to be patient. I wonder how patient she’d be if she was entirely miserable from coughing for an hour straight, with a head in more pain than most migraines.

I don’t know how I’m going to muddle through work on Thursday. It’s not as if I can rest my voice! I don’t know what I’ll do if I don’t get a good prescription cough syrup before then. The only (pitifully small) bit of good news is that I have Friday and the weekend off, to try to recover.