Re: what to take for a cold?

August 15, 2003

Hi ,

I would stay away from ephedrine-containing products. My pharmacist told me

I should not take any nasal decongestants with the PTU. I think I'd opt to

tough it out if possible -- get plenty of rest and water. If I need a

decongestant, I use flonase. Tylenol for headache.

At 03:22 PM 8/15/2003, you wrote:

>While our family was on vacation, I came down with a very nasty cold.

August 15, 2003

Hi ,

I got it too. It seems to hang on forever, it's been 9 days and I still am

not completely right, although from other people I've talked to, I'm doing

better than most! Several have bronchitis at this point. One thing I always

do is load up on vitamin C, but take it in hourly doses. I've heard

recommendations up to 1000 mg. an hour, until you get diarrhea, at which

point you back off. I don't go quite that far, but when the cold is coming

on or acute, I do take a little bit every hour that I'm awake. Chinese

herbs are also very helpful, but which ones to take depends on your

symptoms. If there's an herb store around you with an herbalist on staff,

you can describe symptoms and get something. They are generally (at least

that's what we use) pill form for treating viruses. Here's a brief rundown:

If you have a bad sore throat you take yin quao san (this one is great to

have on hand, because for most viruses, if you take it the second you start

feeling a sore throat and continue for 3 days, it will knock the whole thing

out and you never get the cold--but this virus is virulent and for me it

didn't work), if you have no sore throat but lots of mucus bi yan pian, to

help you get through the cold faster gan mao ling, and if it starts going

into your chest, sang ju yin. There have been times with this cold I took

all of them. The nice thing is that nothing in them will affect you badly,

no matter if you take them all at once (and generally the dose, depending on

the brand, is 5-8 pills 3x a day). There's one more, fritillaria extract

pills, that I take--that one keeps me from waking up strangling with

coughing in the middle of the night, and I take it one hour before I go to

bed. That one I've also taken routinely when I have GD induced post-nasal

drip/cough symptoms, which goes on more than I'd like to admit.

there are other ones to take with different symptoms yet, but these few are

the basics. There is absolutely no contraindication for them with GD.

I don't remember where you are. this info may be totally impossible for you

to act on, but then again, Whole Foods has a Chinese herbal pill section so

maybe other health food stores are starting to. And all of these are

generally available there.

Good luck and feel better soon!

Terry

> From: wasteoftym@...

> Reply-To: graves_support

> Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2003 15:22:53 EDT

> To: graves_support

> Subject: what to take for a cold?

>

> Hi Guys,

>

> Yikes!!!! I went out of town for a couple of days, and the board just

> exploded with posts. :-) I'm slowly trying to catch up and hopefully will be

> au

> currant soon.

>

> While our family was on vacation, I came down with a very nasty cold. And I'm

> sure it is a cold and not a reaction to the ATD's since my hubby followed me

> into this living hell a day behind me. Poor guy....but at least he can take

> regular cold meds. What can I take? I looked at a bunch in a little drugstore

> while we were out of town, but most of what they had contained some form of

> ephedrine (sp?) and I know enough to keep away from that. So I ended up with

> some

> Tavist allergy stuff and some honey lemon throat lozenges. But they aren't

> exactly really helping with the miserable symptoms I'm having, especially once

> the sun goes down and those little germs get more active. Can someone tell

> me...if the cold is really bad can a squeak a few pills containing the dreaded

> ephedrine in, or is that just an absolute no-no? I'm feeling like crap and I

> desperately want relief. What do you all take when you get a cold? Are cough

> syrups

> ok?

>

> I did also go to my health food store, and the gal there said to get some

> garlic capsules and double or triple the dosage of those while I'm feeling

> crappy. I didn't recall garlic as being bad for my hyper immune system, so I

> went

> ahead and bought them. Let me know if I goofed! Oddly enough, she still tried

> to

> steer me into echanasea and goldenseal and some other immune boosting things

> that I know are bad while you are hyper....she said they had lots of thyroid

> patients, not just hypo ones taking that and that they swore by it. I politely

> declined and said I just wasn't comfortable with any of those in light of the

> research and reading that I have done.

>

> Thanking anyone in advance who takes a moment to read this and offer some

> help! You all are the best. :-)

>

August 15, 2003

Test YOUR ability to take Vita. C very carefully.

It is a hyper trigger for some of us.

One type of Benadryl is OK. Your doctor should be able to tell you which one

or a skilled pharmacist only.

Other than that, my advise is to sleep, drinks lots of water, chicken soup,

and nothing else.

Taking a bunch of crap may be what built up over the years and was part of

the reason you are here in the first place. The body CAN heal itself IF we

allow it to.

-Pam L-

3 1/2 years Graves', TED, and PTU. Remission due to SLOW reduction of PTU

(despite an incompetent endo ! ), improved lifestyle, excellent nutrition,

herbs, and looking at the big picture.

Pills alone only help the symptoms. We must help our bodies to heal.

August 15, 2003

*If* vitamin C is not a hyper trigger for you, then take a bunch of that.

And if your numbers are close to normal and you've been taking copper for

awhile, take some zinc. Lots of fluids, chicken soup, rest, etc.

One thing I discovered last cold I had - and it worked GREAT was Coldcalm by

Boiron - it's a homeopathic medicine and I didn't follow the directions... I

took one instead of two and then just took another one when my symptoms

returned - the next day.. and that was it. I think it says take every two

hours or so... whatever works I guess. It did seem to make my nose run a

little stronger than it was for about 20 minutes - then after that nothing.

Feel better soon

Pam B.

August 15, 2003

Hi julie,

My doctor prescribed the following things for me when I have a cold.

1. rest and fluids.

2. Lots of hot showers, and breathing of steam.

3. plain benadrill.

4. affrin nasal sprays.

5. a vaporizer and or that vix stuff.

IIt seems to help me a lot.

The affrin comes in ttwo or three kinds, stay away from the one that has

decongestants in it.

The others work really well.

take care,

I hope that this helps.

R. Green

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August 16, 2003

,

Thank you so much!

There are things here I had forgotten.

Will look into the Affrin, as I have never used anything like that, but it

sounds like a possibility.

I am going to also back up here and make a note on your suggestion Pam B, as

that seems interesting too.

I recently had my first cold in oh... maybe 15 years. Should have heard me

whine. Did NOT receive any verbal sympathy at all from those that get them

on a regular basis. And like the new , I tried very hard to focus on

how GOOD this was. My immune system must be getting closer to normal.

Yes... , Small comfort, but a very important on in MY world. We are all

different, but the fact that I do not get colds makes thin important to me.

Fact is, I went out to my other home, and cared for my sick 'family' because

I knew I would not catch the cold. Boy... they were really sick.

But I ended up getting it much worse, and longer. Making up for previous

lack of build up of immunity ???

Though, my comment about lack of sympathy is not totally right. My wonderful

man did come to my place and simply hold me while I slept and sweated.

It was nice to know someone would be here to tell them the identity of the

body. ;-)