Along the Autumn of 2009 I had spells of feeling poorly but they'd always pass after a day or so and I chalked it up to weather and exhaustion and ignored it. Christmas came and I still had bouts of a day here or there and this continued on into January and February. The, around the Middle of February, I got sick. I didn't feel bad, I didn't have a bad couple of days, I go consistently and persistently sick with fever and chills and intestinal discomfort and aches and pains and mucus the color of the rainbow spewing from my body.
The flu, right? It'll pass. And then I was sick a second week, and a 3rd and a 4th and every time I thought I'd turned the corner I would just get sicker.
An intelligent person would have gone to the doctor in November or December, maybe waited until January, but only a complete and utter moron, like me, would have waited until the middle of March to go the doctor, get examined and diagnosed with pneumonia or bronchitis or severe sinus infection or whatever, and pick up a prescription of antibiotics.
I am not a person who takes a lot of medication. I take naproxen sodium (brand name Aleve but I ain't paying for the brand name) when my arthritis really kicks up and I will chew on some antacid tablets a few times a year or take some Pepto-esque stomach coating stuff as I have to. So when I have to take a prescription medication, I do something silly; I read the warning documentation for reactions and affects and cautions.
I was prescribed Levaquinn, the 500 MG tablet, once per day, seven days. To date there are only a very few medicines to which I have had reactions. Anything in the ibuprofen class gives me severe reflux. Both Celebrex and Viox tore up my stomach to a degree I stopped taking them rather than load up on medications to treat their side-affects, and so missed the damaging affects they had on folks who could tolerate it. So I read the warnings about Levaquinn and noticed a few things:
- May cause dizziness
- Stay out of UV
- May exacerbate hypoglycemic reactions
I do not, as a rule, get lightheaded, I could stay out of the sun for a week, and hypoglycemia and I are not even in the same solar system. I can go days without eating with no resultant irritability, edginess, or trembling. So, now worries, right?
Which surprised the hell out of me when I woke up 3:30 AM on Thursday the 18th of March shaking and on-edge, and mildly disoriented. Exactly how I say my mom act when she had a hypoglycemic reaction. I got out of bed, had some raisins, e-mailed my boss that I'd be working from home that day, and finally made it back to sleep around 5:00 AM.
Since then I have been more careful to have something to eat every few hours and always within two (2) hours of taking a pill. I am not used to this and while I never doubted that folks had to live this way, I have a new appreciation for the annoyance of it.
Which brings us to today, March 22, 2010. I took my pill and as I had left my lunch sitting in my kitchen, I am a cheap-assed bastard and bring my lunch nearly every day, I also did not have anything with which to take my pill this afternoon. At 49 I try to limit my candy intake and prefer fruit or yogurt so I planned to run an errand at lunch and grab something from the machines in the afternoon. there is always a trail-mix type of thing available and while I can do without the candy and candied fruit, at least it is a mere component rather than the main ingredient.
Today was the day of no trail mix in the machines. hell, they may have removed it months ago and I would not have noticed. But I needed something and had just decided to suffer through the 400 calories in Pop-Tarts when I spied Welch's Fruit Snacks.
Dried fruit! Great. Granted it would have some sugar added to it but at least it was real fruit.
Except that it is not. It's bloody gummies shaped like fruit, loaded with corn syrup, sugar, and modified corn starch.
I was looking for real food to address the reaction I am having to medication and I get candy. If it said it was candy then the fault would be mine. If there was any indication that it was candy, I would just chalk it up to poor judgement and move on. If it did not say in large letters:
WELCH'S
FRUIT SNACKS
MIXED FRUIT
Then I would just admit it was my fault. But that's exactly what it says. What I missed was the line that states:
made with REAL FRUIT
No Preservatives
Natural and Artificial Flavors
Which, I have to tell you, is tough to read in a vending machine when the package is partially folded.
So I bought two, and since I do not carry a lot of cash, I spent the last $2 in my pocket for them and only discovered my error when I opened the frigging things since the package is not transparent. I needed something so I ate them, no matter that they taste vile.
So Welch's, you can kiss my ass. If ever I needed an excuse not to ever buy another of your products, thanks for providing it. And for those who care, I've given Welch's the link to this blog. Nothing will come if it, I know.