Flu lessons: Brand loyalty, the herb verdict and The Way
Well this was the first shaky-kneed day back for me. All day I felt like a wet chick. Val’s doing much better and is back at work. I’m wading through e-mails, washing pajamas, paying bills, thinking I’m gonna need to lay back down. I just wanted to thank everyone who commented and called. It is very nice to feel so connected. I love this crazy little blog.
I also wanted jot down my flu lessons learned:
1) Damn you, Vicks! I know I’m late to the party. The change happened in 2005, when in an effort to thwart the meth cookers, Vicks removed pseudoephedrine from the ingredients Of NyQuil. But I haven’t had the flu for a while. So, I’m laying there awake at 4 a.m. thinking about brand loyalty, feeling achy and betrayed, missing the blissful, numb knocked-out sleep I used to get with my beloved NyQuil, and vowing that the minute I could sit a keyboard again I would tell the world: World, the new NyQuil sucks! and in fact it is not NyQuil at all. I shake a clammy fist at you Vicks!
What a loss to flu sufferers! But the internets is a wonderful series of tubes and I have learned today that Advil Cold and Sinus and Tylenol Cold and Flu Severe Nighttime still pack the goods. And Vicks has created a behind-the-counter version, NyQuil D. Of course, I still can’t really forgive them for sliding this new stuff to me under the same brand name. And I’ll be giving something else a twirl next time around. (Which, I wish would be never.)
I also found these funny NyQuil links when putting together this post: Wired Magazine: What’s Inside: NyQuil, Fortified With Powerful Narcotics! An Ode to Nyquil: “As red, thou art, as the chilled blood of a cherry bat! …” Violent acres: What would happen if you bought 25 bottles of Nyquil?
2) My MD’s herbal suggestions paid off! She suggested echinacea tincture and elderberry syrup to shorten the duration of my symptoms and, sure enough, my bout of the worst stuff was two days shorter than Val’s! Nice. Because the bad stuff was bad; the aches were especially tough. You can get the elderberry syrup at any drug store under the brand name Sambucol. [btw: Disclaimer-wise, I'm no doctor, I'm just telling you my story. You should never put anything in your mouth that your own doctor doesn't know about and if you do, don't come crying to me.] I also had the benefit of Val’s homemade chicken soup, also recommended by my doc for its helpful compounds.
3) Non-flu. One of my favorite Buddhist authors, Thich Naht Hahn, writes in his book Peace Is Every Step:
When we have a toothache, we know that not having a toothache is a wonderful thing. But when we do not have a toothache, we are still not happy. A non-toothache can be very pleasant. There are so many things that are enjoyable, but when we don’t practice mindfulness, we don’t appreciate them. When we practice mindfulness, we come to cherish these things and we learn how to protect them.
Well, let me say how much I appreciate non-flu! And it is true, it makes me happy to be beginning to feel well. Wow, here is a non-flu moment! and another! ah. And now, I feel even more resolved to stick to my seasonal intentions. And, I’m feeling deeply respectful of people who have to live with pain.
4) A bright side of influenza. Nothing can make you feel more loved than being tenderly cared for when you’re wretched. Thank you darling husband! It is also wonderful to have nurse Laurie in your life when your Val’s fever hits 102° Thanks, Laur.
Paris Mark says:
Jeez, we fly out of town for a few days and the place falls apart.
I’m sorry to hear you’ve both been sick, but it did make for a couple of excellent posts. Kaye, I love the brand loyalty and the non-flu.
Michelle must be an empath. Even however many thousands of miles away, she’s begun to get the same symptoms here today. Me, Mr. Sympathetic, I feel great and continue to have an excellent time. Rome, Paris, everything’s beautiful. You know.
We’re just back from the Eifel Tower now. Michelle’s threatening to nap. She just took some Frenchy drugs, hoping they include pseudoephedrine, but neither of can make sense of the label. It’s all in French.
I’m enjoying non-chemo.
More later on our adventures, with photos. We miss you guys.
Paris Mark says:
Also, belated happy birthday, Val.
Deet says:
What, no Brandy?
kate says:
Wee! Paris Mark, hearing from you is the treat of the week! Poor Michelle! I have had the flu in Paris twice — once on the same trip as the blizzard. The Frenchy drugs have always worked for me. Once, when I had flu in Florence we got these glass vials of stuff you snap into hot water and inhale — seemed like something out to the middle ages — they were great. My only advice for Euro-travel sickness: stay warm and don’t be afraid to let Mark go our while you spend an entire day in bed watching incomprehensible tv.
Please continue to enjoy euro-non-chemo!
I can’t wait to hear all about it!
living vicariously, K
kate says:
PS: I really love the idea of you sitting in Paris reading The Night Note. Ah.
freda nicolosi says:
glad you are doing better K&V. sorry to hear that Michelle is feeling under the weather, what a bummer. good to hear from you Mark, I have been checking m&m to see if you guys would check in, so I was surprised to see you checked in here instead. We are in the middle of Mardi Gras down here, but I am not attending because I have pulled a muscle in my neck. the parades were called off the other day because of a huge storm that passed through, but today is lovely. I am still working on getting the house back in shape. can’t wait to hear all the news from Paris and Rome.
Paris Michelle says:
My parisian drugs have psuedoephedrine in them! hooray! tomorrow we go to the flea market, monmartre and if we can squeeze it in, the Musee d’orsay. tomorrow’s free at the museum, as it’s the first sunday of the month. Today we had perfect blue skies and i went to the top of the tour eiffel. it was coolest.
kate says:
Michelle! Bon santé! Hooray for your drug news and for your beautiful eiffel tower day. Wish we were all lunching at chez louisette tomorrow! Can’t wait to hear what you get at the Vernaison, what you eat, what you see at the D’Orsay …
freda says:
hey Michelle, so glad you are feeling better. I never did go up the Tour Eiffel can you believe that? I thought I would be in Paris much longer, but had to leave because my visa ran out and they wouldn’t extend it, it was a lot more difficult to travel and live overseas back then. One of these days I want to go back and do that. hope the rest of you trip is wonderful, can’t wait to hear all about it. You are going to the Louvre right? laisez les bon temps rouler