For those of you asking about me in comments to various posts, I spent the past two week’s or so with my annual autumnal sinus infection. I did manage to catch it early, got to my doctor’s as soon as I was sure it was a sinus infection and not my allergies, and got the script for the antibiotics straight away. The good news is after a ten day course of generic levaquin, I’m back to feeling human.
The bad news, however, is your public service announcement: DO NOT MIX levaquin and salsa verde/green chili!
Open thread!
MobiusKlein
Other PSA: vote tomorrow!
Even more exciting: it’s my kids’ first chance to vote tomorrow, in CA.
Less exciting: one registered, the other didn’t.
Mary G
Levaquin made my mom lose her mind and hallucinate. Glad you didn’t get that and that you’re better.
zhena gogolia
I’m glad you’re feeling better.
We get to vote against a really bad candidate for mayor tomorrow.
(In moderation for typo.)
Spanky
I hate levaquin. That shit wrecks cartilage. All hydroquinalones do, I guess.
Mary G
Here’s a Dana Milbank column from WaPo about the Republicans’ questions to Amb. Yovanovitch:
oldster
Levaquin is really powerful, dangerous stuff!
That and other fluoroquinolones should be kept in reserve for only the most extreme cases — either when an infection resists common antibiotics, or when it has progressed to life -threatening levels.
Other than that, doctors should not be using that stuff. It has a ton of weird side-effects, like making the Achilles tendon snap for no reason, or making people crazy, like Mary G’s mom.
I am glad you are better. But stay away from exercise for a few weeks until it’s out of your system. Don’t put muscles or tendons under strain.
Adam L Silverman
@Spanky: @oldster: I’m allergic to penicillin and my sinus infections laugh at Zpac, so… Basically the pharmacist says that the real risk to cartilage/for cartilage damage is in the elderly. They recommended I wait 48 hours before starting to work out, which I did.
Jay
Adam L Silverman
@Jay: If I recall correctly, she’s divorcing him. Even Russian assets have some standards!
Bill Arnold
@Spanky:
If that’s the case, Vitamin C and manganese are said to be helpful. (Rock climbers in particular, though they’re mainly worried about ligaments and tendons.) [0]
I was vaguely worried about Adam’s brief disappearance (had a half dozen theories already), happy to see him back.
[0] this piece looks ok to my eye: https://www.climbing.com/skills/to-supplement-or-not-to-supplement/
Adam L Silverman
@Bill Arnold: If/when I quit, I’ll front page it. If/when one of these deployments I get asked if I’ll do two or three times a year happens, I’ll also post on the front page that I’ll be away for a while for work reasons.
Dan B
Welcome back to the blog Adam. Your posts always dramatically increase my understanding of the world. Glad the antibiotic worked. I’m allergic to penicillin but haven’t had sinus issues since I moved out of the midwest. Seattle’s slow moving weather has been a boon to my existence.
Adam L Silverman
@Dan B: I get one or two a year. I’ve gotten good at recognizing them quickly and getting into the doc’s ASAP!
And thanks for the kind words.
Sebastian
@Adam L Silverman:
Her work is done, she was his handler most likely. Like Papadopolous’ wife who has, for an Italian, a rather thick Russian accent.
Tom Levenson
Mole poblano, though, would have been fine, I’m sure.
dww44
@Spanky: 6 years ago I was given levaquin as pre-op treatment to ward off infection ahead of a colonectomy. Developed a horrible case of tendonitis in my shoulder, mostly the left one, and a recurring yeast infection. Levaquin shares top rank with flagyll of strong antibiotics I have to avoid.
Adam L Silverman
@Sebastian: Read George’s mother’s twitter feed. She and her daughter in law do not get along and George’s mom airs all the dirty laundry very publicly.
Bumper
So glad you’re feeling better. I learn so much from your posts and miss having them when you are gone.
The Dangerman
@oldster:
I was given something that had that side effect, IIRC; I think it was called Turbinafin (or something close to that phonetically). I ended up in the ER. Not 100% sure there is a correlation between medicine and Hospital but a later MD said that shit can ruin your liver. Or maybe it was kidneys. Sorry. Many miles today.
Mary G
Fortunately, my mom had only had two doses, but between 2 pm to 5 pm became completely disengaged from reality. I was away from her for 20 minutes and she was positive an ambulance had taken her to a new hospital in Santa Barbara, 150 miles away. Then it was plumbers who weren’t there making too much noise. Then various long-dead people were visiting, all talking shit. Then she was dead too.
I called her doctor, who poo-pooed the whole thing, (“she was fine at lunchtime”), but changed the antibiotic. The next day he called to say she was “indeed kookoo for CocoPuffs” and apologized. Luckily it had worn off by the next day. She didn’t remember a bit of it.
mrmoshpotato
Are you saying salsa verde is weak sauce and go spicier?
(Speedy recovery!)
sdhays
Welp…there go my weekend plans…
?BillinGlendaleCA
Good to hear you’re feeling better Adam, the kid’s going under the knife for her sinus problems next month.
Nicole
Glad you’re feeling better, other than the inadvertent science experiment in your belly.
I made the mistake of googling “ranked choice voting pros and cons” tonight and now I have no idea how to vote on the issue tomorrow. Ugh. An informed voter is an anxious voter.
zhena gogolia
Good statement from David Jolly on Nicolle Wallace’s show. I never saw him before but I want to subscribe to his newsletter:
https://twitter.com/NicolleDWallace/status/1191497668402581507
frosty
Glad you’re back. I missed your posts also.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I for one could use some good news
and a little more
Adam L Silverman
@mrmoshpotato: Actually the stuff I had the day before with habanero in it didn’t bother me at all.
Adam L Silverman
@?BillinGlendaleCA: I’ll keep good thoughts.
Fair Economist
Um, I just gotta ask why not.
@The Dangerman:
Terbinafine, probably. Destroyed my mother’s shoulders – she can’t raise her arms anymore.
Adam L Silverman
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: The ship naming for Congressman Lewis was decided at least two years back. It’s a replenishment oiler.
Adam L Silverman
@Fair Economist: I had terrible heartburn. Fortunately, nothing worse than that.
?BillinGlendaleCA
I’m headed up to Red Rock in about a hour for some fun in the cold, dark desert. On the other hand, conditions look great for some good astrophotography.
Sebastian
@Adam L Silverman:
I googled but couldn’t find her Twitter. Linky?
Adam L Silverman
@Sebastian: Thanksgiving is going to be tons of fun at the Papadopolous house!
John Revolta
Glad to see you, mate! Thought they’d sent you off on a secret mission or something.
Leto
@Mary G: Ativan did it for me. Avalune has some stories about what I “saw”, though I do remember parts of it. After 43 years, finally found a medicine I am allergic to. Progress!
@Adam L Silverman: Glad you’re on the mend. Hopefully there’s nothing lingering and it’s your only yearly thing.
MobiusKlein
@Nicole:
As a person voting in a jurisdiction with RCV, I’ll say it’s not too terrible.
Most of the time, it doesn’t matter. When it does, it tends to be OK, but not perfect. Go for it
JanieM
@Nicole: as to RCV — I googled the phrase you used and came up with an article that quoted a guy from Maine (where I live):
That right there is sloppy BS. “Real democracy” in 2010 produced a Maine governor (the execrable LePage) who won with only 39% of the vote — that is not a majority.
I wasn’t a big RCV fan when it was proposed in Maine, but I came around, and I’m glad we have it (at least partially). The Rs fought it tooth and nail, if that tells you anything.
ETA: LePage had 37.6%, not 39%, in 2010, acc’ to Wikipedia.
mrmoshpotato
@Adam L Silverman: Surprising.
Sebastian
@Adam L Silverman:
Haha wild!
Major Major Major Major
Ken
@Tom Levenson:
Weirdest superhero origin story ever.
Ken
@MobiusKlein: Almost seventy years ago Kenneth Arrow showed that there is no such thing as a perfect voting system, that is, one that satisfies a small set of fairly reasonable-sounding requirements.
debbie
Glad you’re feeling better. There are some really nasty viruses circulating around now.
debbie
Glad you’re feeling better. There are some really nasty viruses currently circulating.
Geoduck
If you want to know how the Shaitgibbon and Moscow Mitch actually feel about each other, check out their.. interaction.. at the latest rally.
SectionH
Many of us Get It. You’re fine.
Calouste
@Sebastian: Not as much a divorce as a …. reassignment.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Geoduck: heh, I sometimes wonder if The Beast gets how much pleasure it would give Mitch to push trump off a cliff if he could get away with it. In that picture, it looks like he does
--bd
(Concerned whisper) Who’s going to tell Adam that Baud is back?
lgerard
I found this interesting, but not surprising
Judd Legam’s newsletter comes up with some really interesting stuff
Kattails
@Adam L Silverman: Glad to hear you are still on the right side of everything (dirt, Cole, etc.) and we are on the right side of you for the most part. We have enough anxiety at the moment.
@zhena gogolia:Glad you linked to that. I saw that following a link to Tom Nichols’ Twitter feed from another thread. (I can’t get links to work, even though kind people have explained it to me.) Anyway highly recommend folks take a look, he excoriates the entire current GOP– and he’s a former R member of Congress. In fact I’m going to look at it again just for fun bedtime listening.
Kattails
@Adam L Silverman: Looking again, Zhena gogolia’s link at #25 might be worth embedding on a front page post. It’s 2:20 minutes and I think you’ll very much appreciate how he wraps the idea the Reps will push that this is “not impeachable”.
piratedan
@Kattails: if the GOP continues down this particular path, that namely #45 and the members of his Administration have carte blanche to commit whatever crimes they see fit, as long as it tentatively leaves the GOP in power, I think that it means that they’re not just playing the long game, they think that they can establish this ongoing concern in perpetuity.
I can’t be the only Dem that watches this unfolding thinking that this can not stand and if they continue this travesty that there will be someone who reaches a breaking point and all of those 2nd Amendment remedies that are continually promised in the fever dreams of those still fighting for “the just cause”, are likely to have them unleashed into the public discourse and then it really will be a free-for-all. Cause I gotta believe that certain folks are going to see how the system was gamed in such a fashion to connect certain dots thinking, well… if this shit will fly, why not start taking out any of those Demoncrats that keep Trump from fulfilling his destiny as anointed from Gawd.
Its not just the evil that this administration is performing on a day to day basis, that it will allow these perpetually aggrieved people a licence to take out whoever Lumpy or Swanson Boy or Rushbo points their fingers at…
as much as it angers me, it also frightens me because these guys plainly DO NOT GIVE A FUCK about anything or anyone but themselves and staying rich, adored and catered to.
sukabi
@Adam L Silverman: might need to get checked for an old bud stuck in your nose…might be the cause of your sinus infections…
sukabi
@lgerard: it’s all an opportunity for grifting… Read the transcript t-shirts on prominent display at latest drumpf hatefest.
They are either being handed out prior to entry or are on sale prior… Too bad the “journalists” covering those things aren’t covering the pre-entry venue.
sukabi
@Geoduck: looks like they’re both trying to shiv the other
J R in WV
Well, I’m planning ot leave the house at 5 am for a 6:30 am MRI on my knee, which went out 2 weeks ago, Family Doc thinks I broke my miniscus cartilage. From day to day it hurts less depending upon how mush walking do and what I carry up to the house. Family Doc was predicting surgery to repair things rather than a knee replacement procedeure.
I find getting the MRI amusing ’cause my Ortho doc will have his nurse shoot an xray to look atm, Manny is a great Orthopedist who replaced my shoulders a few years ago, when I mention his name to any odd group I find myself in, everyone goes in unision, “Oh, Manny’s a great surgeon!!” so that’s reassuring.
I was just walking down the steps towards the basement, fortunately holding the railing pretty hard, when my right knee didn’t work anymore. Could barely walk that day and the next, third day I made it into Fam Doc, who manipulated my lower leg, got preapproval for the MRI, and now here I am.
Will lay back down now, have the clock set to go off a littel after 5 am. Showered yesterday afternoon, so just getting dressed, going to hospital.
Wish me luck around 6:30-6:45 when the magnets will fire up.
Adam, some years ago my dad had very strange reactions to an antibiotic following chest surgery, was seeing things that were no there. When we mentioned it to his Doc, doc’s response was ask in Dad hed done mush Acid back in teh day !!! Dad is a vodka tonic non smoker kind of guy. We looked in the PDR where hallucinations were the first side effect warned of. But Doc would rather assert a pillar of the town is an acid head than consider that his prescription of Cipro might make anyone hallucinate. What a dork!!! Post op path showed that the spot on his lung was an encapsulated abcess, not cancer, so whole surgical trauma was for nothing. INcluding hallucinations. What a pig!
Martin
@J R in WV:
Reminds me of this video. Very beneficial to internalize. Dr bit near the end.
eldorado
if you are using hatch chiles then the levaquin is the obvious loser
rikyrah
Feel better, Silverman???
Nick D
Have tried a neti pot before? I had a recurring sinus/throat infection for over a year. Multiple antibiotics didn’t get rid of it. Finally, 5 days of a $5 neti pot cured it.
If you get an infection every autumn, you could try this prophylactically.
HeartlandLiberal
OK, here comes your unsolicited medical advise and helpful information. If you want to help prevent these sinus infections, and when you get them help speed recovery, you need to go to amazon, and look for this device: SinuPulse Elite Advanced Nasal Sinus Irrigation System . Think neti pot on steroids. You use it to pulse water up your nose to facilitate flushing out the sinuses. Several years ago I had the sinus infection from hell. They did an imaging of the sinuses, and you could not SEE the sinuses, they were so totally clogged. It took two months and multiple antibiotics. But the final thing that helped me get rid of it, and clear the clogged and infected sinuses was use of this device. One note: be sure to boil the water you are going to use for a few minutes, then let it cool to barely lukewarm, to insure you do not transmit something from your water supply into your sinus cavity. You don’t have to use the expensive sodium packets on the market, just buy uniodized salt with no additives. I use our four stage filtered water, then boil it, to be sure. I simply cannot recommend this highly enough.
StringOnAStick
@HeartlandLiberal: I want to reinforce this comment as a really, really good idea that I’ve seen work for others. It’s certainly a less unpleasant solution that the surgery but that surgery saved a friend of mine who had a pocket of anaerobic bacteria walked off in there, so both options are useful
I’m very happy to see you posting again, I was worried!
TomatoQueen
Glad to see you’ve returned, with your nasal cavities too. Mold season plays merry hell. Above neti pot type recommendations were the favorite of a former doc of mine (Kaiser pfffft), but in the end, I could not bring myself to inhale hot water up my nose. Doing it on accident is hideous enough. I went for two rounds of Flonase which was unpleasant but tolerable, and there were antibiotic pills of some kind or other. The Levaquin stories are scaring the crap out of me: I’ve only ever had the stuff in the hospital, and had no reported effects, but yet joint disease plagues me. Worried. Also have not had the hallucinatory side effects but then the last hospital visit was fraught with anxiety spells, and usually I am more stoic than a pine tree in a blizzard.
PapaWerewolf
I didn’t see it mentioned above, but if you are taking cipro, levaquin or any other fluoroquinalone antibiotic, be alert for any feelings of burning or pain or any alteration to sensations in your feet, legs, hands and arms. These antibiotics occasionally cause a rapidly progressing neuropathy which may or may not be permanent. Neuropathy pain is not alleviated by NSAIDs, Tylenol or narcotics. Gabapentin and Lyrica may offer some relief.
If you think this is happening to you, be persistent with your complaints. This summer, my 16-year-old daughter was on moxifloxacin and developed extreme pain in her legs to the point she could barely walk, yet Urgent Care and Emergency Department docs at 2 different hospitals rejected the possibility of this being the “rare” side effect mentioned in an FDA-mandated warning and sent her home twice before she ended up spending a week in the hospital, unable to walk. She is mobile again, but her pain is not completely controlled.