Yucky Drugs...Yucky Smell...

My doctor put me on the antibiotic Augmentin on Tuesday and warned me it could have yucky side-effects. Since I've been on antibiotics before without adverse reaction, I just hoped for the best.

Not so lucky this time. I did what she said to do and have been eating some (vegan) yogurt with live cultures, but my intestines have decided to sing the blues today. I downed another carton of raspberry coconut yogurt this morning and am again, hoping for the best. Maybe it's time to get that fiber Sassy mentioned. (Just hadn't had time since I was at a conference.)

The reason I'm taking an antibiotic is a possible sinus condition. But it really isn't presenting in a typical way. No fever. No pain. No yucky-colored discharge. What I do have is a nasty smell in my nose. It started last Monday and went away on Thursday, the day I started my trip. I was doing nasal rinses with the NeilMed squeezebottle.

This effort seemed to be working, I thought.

But on Monday morning, after being home one night, the nasty smell came back. (This is something only I can smell. I don't smell bad, nor does by breath, according to my brave DH who tested both.)

I had only missed one evening of nasal rinsing, so I started it up again and decided to see my doctor. Bad smell all day Monday, bad smell all day Tuesday. I got in to see her on Tuesday and took the first pill around 1 pm.

After describing my symptoms and the doc looking up my nose and in my ears, she announced, "Well, this one really stumps me."

So not the words I wanted to hear. This is what I wanted to hear...

"Oh, I know what this is. I've seen it several times. Here's what you do (or take) to get rid of it and this is what you do to prevent it."

Nope.

So instead, going on the assumption it's some sort of nastiness/infection in my sinuses, I am put on antibiotics. I am perfectly willing to do this because I too, am stumped.

I've tried to be very Nancy Drew about this and figure out what external thing could be causing this and eliminating things one by one. A new face cream. Sudden allergy to spinach. A scented candle in the bedroom. A new lip gloss. A scented deodorant I'd been using for weeks. I wasn't on any supplements or other drugs. On and on. It had better not be chocolate!

I'll keep you updated, and am happy to take suggestions or hear of other people's experiences. The smell really waned yesterday, but kept came back a little last night.

What does it smell like, you ask? There is nothing on this earth it smells like for me to give it a name. How I wish it smelled like maple syrup or a new puppy. It's not really a horrid smell (like dog poo or garlic breath), but it's definitely not a nice smell. It's a little sickening. And to having anything in your nose this long is just depressing and annoying. And I'm too close to menopause to have any more annoyances.