Things to do while sick

Things to do while sick

I'm still sick.  I feel like I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I have a ways to go.  The antibiotic I was on didn't seem to be fighting my infection, so I went back to the doctor yesterday with the goal of getting a different type.

A little background is needed here.  I had an infection more than a year ago that required an antibiotic, and the first medicine didn't do the trick.  The replacement medication was amazing and kicked the crap out of whatever had taken hold of me.

So, on my way to the doctor, I stopped by my pharmacist (whose dispensary is in the same building as the doctor's office) to ask which medication I had originally been prescribed last year; and which medication had been used as a replacement.

I was able to confirm that the medication I was on now, was the same one that had failed last year.  With this knowledge, and the name of the medication that worked last time, I got the new medication.  I'm only two doses in, and already can feel my body getting better.  I'm glad I didn't wait until the end of my original prescription to go back.

Sensitivity to commercials

I use a PVR to record programs for future viewing.  I can avoid most commercials that way.  Today, sitting home sick with a lung infection, I was watching the Hillary Clinton Benghazi hearings, live on CNN.  A commercial aired about a product called Opdivo.  Opdivo is a drug that is prescribed to patients who have been fighting various cancers, where chemotherapy is not doing the job.  This very upbeat commercial proudly proclaims that Opdivo was able to "reduce the risk of dying by 41% during a clinical trial".  That sounds amazing until you read the fine print (half the patients were still alive at 9.2 months, vs. only 6 months for chemotherapy).  Potential side effects are monstrous (including death itself).  As a recently approved drug, I'm certain it's expensive and equally certain that few, if any, insurance plans would already be providing coverage.  I can't even imagine the mindset of someone SO DESPERATE for a few more weeks of life that they would consider using this drug.

If you haven't seen the commercial, you can catch it online here:  http://tinyurl.com/opdivo-ispot