Sleeplessness
Matt Seinberg

Have you ever had one of those nights, that no matter how hard you try, you just can't get to sleep. I had one of those nights, on Tuesday. I had what I thought was at the tail end of a cold. To stop the coughing, I took some prescription cough syrup that had worked for me the last time I was sick.

Usually, this stuff makes me a little drowsy, so I can't take it during the day. I took it around 10:30 pm, hoping to be asleep by 11:30 pm. The opposite happened, it kept me awake, tossing and turning until 1:30 am. At that point, I had some water, and started to read a Clive Cussler novel. That lasted until 3 am, when I finally felt relaxed enough to actually fall asleep.

One thing I'll sometimes do to help me get to sleep is recreate dreams I've had in the past and add on to them. I tried that the night I wasn't feeling well, but it didn't work.

The next day, I was exhausted at work and almost fell asleep. That was my cue to leave early. I got home around 5:30 pm, and was asleep by 6 pm. I slept for about two hours and it felt great. I still wasn't feeling one hundred per cent though.

I muddled through work on Thursday and felt fine on Friday. At work on Saturday, I felt all the effects of what I thought was long gone, come rushing over me like a tidal wave. I usually don't get just a cold, but much worse like an upper respiratory infection or bronchitis. I couldn't breathe or stop coughing.

I wrote about that in the past. No further details needed, on the physical aspects. I called my doctor’s office, only to find out I wouldn't be able to call until Monday to make an appointment for Tuesday.

As it turned out, there is a new walk-in physician’s office just a few blocks away from work; it’s open on Saturday until 5 pm. It’s a "Doc in the Box"; it’s is a catchy nickname, which people mock, a great deal. That is until you actually need one.

I left work around 4:20 pm, since I couldn't stop coughing and my chest hurt. All I needed was to get a couple of new prescriptions and I would be fine. Within fifteen minutes, I filled out all the needed paperwork. I was then taken to an exam room.

I was seen by three different people that asked about medical history, took my temperature and blood pressure and what was the matter with me. Finally, the physician showed up. I told her all my symptoms and how I get them this time of year. I asked for an antibiotic, Levaquin, and an inhaler of Albuterol.

Dr. Reda said she only gives Levaquin in "special cases." This is the only one that works on me and I need it for 10 days otherwise I can have a relapse. One of the side effects of this medication is that it can harm the Achilles tendon. That means no running, jumping or doing anything stupid that can harm it.

I have the perscriptions filled, get home, take them and fall into bed. I decide not to go to work the next day. This way I'll be rested and ready to go on Monday. Wish me luck.