Antibiotics save lives. That’s why so many octogenarians are still around. The year I got blood poisoning was the same year that penicillin became available for physicians. Otherwise, I would have been a goner. So I’m not knocking antibiotics. However, physicians really need to be careful when prescribing them, because many have serious side effects. Warning! Big Pharma may disable you.

Our travail began last week when my husband went for a routine doctor’s appointment with a cough. It wasn’t a serious cough, but he’d had it for quite awhile. Therefore, his doctor prescribed a certain antibiotic which has also been a target of many lawsuits, if you look it up on the internet. In other words, it’s one of those risky ones. Not like taking the more widely used like amoxicillin. Most people don’t have to wonder if they’re allergic to something like penicillin. They know within minutes after they take it, get help, and never take it again. However, the side effects of some drugs aren’t so readily apparent.

On day two of taking this prescribed medicine, my husbands lips began to swell. However, he believed that his doctor knew best. So, on day three, he took another pill, and that’s when the dam broke. His lips and eyes were swollen, sore and bleeding. That was on a Saturday morning and we all know you are wasting time calling a physicians office on a weekend. We hoped that by Monday, after discontinuing the antibiotic, the swelling would go down. But it didn’t. It got worse.

WARNING! BIG PHARMA MAY DISABLE YOU. Side effects like a torn tendon may appear weeks after you take this antibiotic.

Thus began a round of steroids which cause a diabetic’s blood sugar to skyrocket. Which meant he had to have insulin shots, administered by me. The swelling and soreness is improving, so we have hopes that we’ll be back to normal in a few days.

Since then, I’ve researched the side effects of this particular antibiotic and found them overwhelming. It has caused permanent disabilities in patients, ranging from torn tendons to heart damage. . You have to wonder why it’s even on the market.

Warning !Big Pharma may disable you. But they’re willing to take risks with your health because they are reaping huge financial benefits.

Millions of people use this drug as an over-the-counter sleep aid. No need for a prescription, just pick up a pack from your local pharmacy or dollar store. But there’s a problem for anyone over 65, and especially octogenarians. The technical name for this antihistamine is diphenhydramine, and it can have serious side effects in the elderly. Stop! Don’t take that Benadryl.

I wouldn’t have believed it could happen to me. I’d taken Benadryl on and off all of my life, for times when I couldn’t get to sleep. Worked pretty well. Then, after retirement, I noticed it had some strange effects on my sleep patterns.. Actually awakened me off and on, during the night. I decided it wasn’t working for me anymore. But I’m a saver. Threw the Benadryl in the back of the medicine drawer in my bathroom vanity. Forgot about it.

Then came a health crisis. My husband was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia and other problems. At night, I tossed and turned, worrying about what was going to happen. The prescription sleep aid, Ambien, worked pretty well, but I knew it could be addictive, so tried to limit it’s use. What to do as his hospital stay wore on? Looked in the drawer, saw the old pack of Benadryl. Forgot why I quit using it in the first place. Surely, a common, non prescription drug would not be addictive and might help get me through the night. Popped one in my mouth before bedtime, and actually slept through the night.

Just one problem. I awakened disoriented, dizzy, and feeling a bit shaky. Drove to get my car oil changed, thinking the grogginess would soon fade.. An hour later, stopped to see my husband. The pulsing of the oxygen machine in his room pounded my head like a hammer. I had to get out of there fast. Barely made it home. By now, I was feeling nauseous and weak.

Then I got hit with the big scare. Had I caught the covid-19 virus? Masks were required, in the hospital. But maybe I’d gotten it while out shopping. After a sleepless night, I was literally shaking as I opened a test kit. What if I had the virus, and exposed my husband ? Test was negative. The next day I felt slightly better, but still nauseous. Another test the next morning before going to the hospital.. There are no words to describe the anxiety I felt as I swabbed my nose and waited for the results. Once again: Negative.

STOP! DON'T TAKE THAT BENADRYL. If you are elderly, it could make you so sick that you have to take a covid-19 test. — STOP! DON’T TAKE THAT BENADRYL. It can make seniors so sick that they feel they should take a covid-19 test.

The nausea and dizziness ebbed away as my anxiety subsided. Looked on the internet to see the side effects of Benadryl. The first thing I saw was a headline saying that no one should take diphenhydramine if over the age of sixty five. It explained that the elderly are especially sensitive to the drug, and can experience some serious reactions .. Stop! Don’t take that Benadryl if you’re an octogenarian. And throw out those old pills in your medicine cabinet.