The powers that be

Well, well, well... After wrestling with a suspicious "cold" for the past weekend I have learned something very valuable! Do NOT underestimate the power of pollen and other allergens. It all started Wednesday when my throat was acting up and I was getting a bit more phlegm than usual.I was like...hmm..must be some reaction to the drastic weather change but no big deal. Ignore.
MISTAKE NUMBER 1: Ignoring signs of your body
I go along looking forward to a super JAMPACKED weekend full of fun, activism and adventures!Friday comes, I'm coughing a lot so I decide to take a Mucinex to break up my phlegm so I can get better.
MISTAKE NUMBER 2: Taking Mucinex and mixing it with an immune booster.
I take it maybe an hour to forty-five minutes before I'm about to go out well when I get to the Metro I'm high as a kite. Feeling woozy and a little to close to the tiles but hey..me canceling on fun with friends..HECK NO!! The fun must go on! So, we have a fun evening. I'm high of meds and my crazy friend is supertired so her restrictions on her actions are ... lacking to say the least. It all amounts to a hysterical night with video documentation of some of our craziness. BUT OO NOOO...One of my guyfriends who was out with us was kind enough to bring me home since I wasn't in the most coherent state lol. And then the evening takes a turn for the worst. I have an allergic reaction to the medication I took. I start spazzing out, all my senses start firing, hot, cold, feeling sick, digestion system feeling out of whack, feeling about to pass out..and the list goes on. Thank God, the guy was nice and he was very attentive and got me home safe while keeping a list of hospitals in the back of his head.

All this to say: DO NOT MIX stuff! It might seem harmless but by the reaction I had. I learned a good lesson. I rode the effects out the whole night. Second, I checked with my nurse friend and she cautioned to check expiration dates on even your OTC medications. And, lastly I discovered on Monday after spending two miserable days in bed missing my kayaking trip among other things which as you can sense I'm still a bit "bitter" about that this was all due to a bad case of allergies. As soon as I took Zyrtec I was back to my old self again! (At least for the most part)

So learn something from this "misadventure" down medication lane. If you're miserable (health-wise) right now, Check if you have allergies and don't ignore your body! It's what you live in and your most prized possession! Take care of it!

copyright picture Alex and Laila/ Getty Images