In Case Anyone Is Wondering

If past experience is any kind of teacher, I'm guessing that a few readers, especially the regular ones,  of this blog may be wondering why I've not posted anything new for a spell. To save you the bother of sending me an email, as some have done during other dry spells, I decided to explain myself.

The problem this time started this past Monday. It had all the familiar earmarks of a run-of-the-mill cold--sneezing, a little hacking, feeling a tad feverish at times, and some minor aches and pains. Rather than let it get a foothold on me, I immediately launched an attack. My go-to response always is Coricidin HBP, which I've used for years--basically, dating back to when I was first diagnosed with high blood pressure. It normally does the trick, and this time was no exception.

After three days of treatment, I was turning the corner, but then came a surprise. I got hit with a case of acute prostatitis, brought on, as some of you already may have guessed, by the Coricidin HBP I had been taking. Yes, the precautions on the container spell it out that people with an enlarged prostate might want to think twice before starting this medication. However, I've never let that warning stop me in the past, because the family doctor always tells me at physical time each year that mine is only slightly enlarged.

For some reason, however, this time around proved to be a wake-up call. My slightly enlarged prostate ballooned far enough to deliver a double-whammy. I have the usual pain all victims of prostatitis incur when passing fluids, and as a bonus, I get to deal with a feeling like I need to take a dump all the time. Don't you know I'm praying for at least some of that swelling to disappear soon. It goes without saying that this is one "bonus package" I easily could do without.

And, as if this situation isn't bad enough, I'm still waiting for what amounts to the usual finale to any cold to hit--you know what I mean, blowing my nose nonstop and coughing up phlegm for days on end. Neither of those two things have reared their ugly heads yet, so I'm left to wonder if whatever invaded my body in the first place has just taken up permanent residence, or maybe it's just waiting for me to get past this double-whammy and then sock me with a vengeance.

Who knows how this will end? All I can tell you is that I certainly hope it doesn't take much longer. And P.S.--Here's hoping none of you find yourself in the same predicament. Instead, go catch a big fish and send me the details, so I'll have something new to write about.

Oh, and by the way, I'm on a thousand-milligrams-a-day dosage of an antibiotic to nudge this double-whammy out of town.