Getting the cold is expensive

I’m the kind of person that refuses to admit I am sick and am notorious for blaming symptoms of illness on anything other than actual sickness.  Obviously since I can’t even admit I am sick in the first place, I don’t get treatment until I get to the point that I’m completely miserable and making everyone around me miserable as well (once I admit defeat I turn into a pathetic mess of whimpering, needy helplessness).  I got to that point last week. 

I spent at least a full week blaming my cough, headache, and fatigue on the weather, the time change, the volume of the tv, the brightness of the sun, and pretty much anything else I encountered with the exception of the bug that had taken down at least three of my coworkers.  But early last week, the congestion set in and I ran out of excuses.  So with my white flag raised and my head feeling like it was about to pop I hit the cold and flu aisle at the drugstore and got the medicine a coworker recommended.  The first meds didn’t work as well as I hoped and the congestion got worse so back to the store for something different. 

After another day of increasing pressure and another box of tissues I went back to the store for the heaviest thing they have: Mucinex D Extra Strength.  It was ridiculously expensive for an over the counter cold med but so worth it.  Not only did I start feeling better quickly but I apparently really enjoyed the buzz as well, telling S that I felt fuzzy like our cat and laughing hysterically at every joke in a movie we watched.  After taking it for two nights and spending all of Saturday in a Mucinex induced haze I woke on Sunday feeling better than I had in weeks. 

All in all, I think I took four trips to the drugstore and spent at least $50 on meds, tissues, cough drops, and orange juice.  I can’t imagine how much this simple cold would have cost me if I had gone to the doctor and gotten a prescription med as well!