When the cure is worse than the symptom
posted in Health News byI learned something new a couple of weeks ago - something that totally shocked me and taught me a valuable lesson. The lesson is this: when you have a problem, by all means talk to your doctor about it, but if your doctor can’t offer a solution (and I mean a real solution to the cause of your problem, not just a prescription cover up to your symptoms), you can’t give up! It may be tempting to take the easy answer and not pursue the matter further, but that’s not always in your best interest.
Here’s what happened to me…….for many years (in fact as long as I can remember) I’ve had trouble sleeping at night. A lot of trouble. I toss and turn for hours before falling asleep and often wake up several times throughout the night. Although I may be in bed for 8 to 10 hours, I’m lucky if I get four hours of sleep. And a REALLY good night is four consecutive hours. I manage to get through the day with a caffeine boost in the morning, eating healthy (and drinking a good amount of water) throughout the day, and it helps that I have a job that I love and find very interesting so boredom (and daytime sleepiness) rarely sets in. But nights are miserable.
Around 6 years ago I discovered that I slept better during allergy season (I have seasonal plant allergies). Duh - it’s the antihistamine that helps. Benadryl, Equate Sleep Aid, and other popular sleep aids contain the same active ingredient - diphenhydramine hydrochloride - because it (and other antihistamines) typically cause drowsiness. It’s also in Tylenol PM, Advil PM, etc.
So for the last half-dozen years I’ve just used the “Equate Sleep Aid”, which is nothing more than a generic version of Benadryl, to help me fall asleep, and stay asleep, and it did work well. The manufacturer claims that it is non-addictive, but I always figured “so what if it is addictive - it helps me get a couple more hours of sleep at night”.
However, for the last 2-1/2 years I’ve had bladder problems - recurrent bladder infections and UTIs, a decreased capacity, a need to go more frequently, etc. In general my bladder has seemed to be a few decades older than the rest of my body. I mentioned this to my doctor, who referred me to a urologist. Neither was able to find a cause nor suggest a cure. I was told that if it got to the point of incontinence, then there was medications I could take. I don’t believe in taking medications that are designed to ease a symptom when it doesn’t cure the underlying problem. If your dog makes a poop on your living room carpet, you can put perfume on it twice a day but you’ll still have poop on your rug. So it was clear that I was on my own.
I tried all the normal “home” cures - extra water, cranberry juice and pills, cut out caffeine and cut back on alcohol, I took extra alfalfa, etc. It all helped, but didn’t get rid of my problems. I was afraid I was doomed to have the bladder of a very old lady.
Then one day I was at a friends house and we were chatting about our allergies-in-common. My friend mentioned that he’d changed allergy medications because the previous one he’d been using had an antihistamine that was causing bladder problems. WOW! It was like the light bulb finally went on in my brain. I couldn’t wait to get home and do some research on the web - and there it was. The link between Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride (the active ingredient in both Benadryl and Equate Sleep Aid) and bladder problems. I couldn’t believe I didn’t figure this out on my own before, but more importantly, I was shocked that my doctor didn’t make the link. I know I have discussed my sleeplessness with her on several occasions, and my use of antihistamines for both sleeping and my allergies. I immediately threw what was left of my Equate Sleep Aid away, and over the last two weeks my bladder has improved - it is slowly getting back to normal, with each day bringing improvement over the last.
SO there it is. A lesson learned the hard way. In trying to fix my insomnia problem I had caused my bladder problem. A definite case of the cure being worse than the symptom. And I found the link by accident after giving up the idea that my doctor could help me. I made the (common) mistake of believing that if my doctor didn’t know what to do, then there probably wasn’t anything I could do for myself. And being an introvert I don’t normally discuss my personal problems with others - thank goodness for this good friend of mine and a casual conversation.
If your doctor tells you that a problem can’t be “fixed” it can only be covered-up - you don’t have to accept it. Get on the internet and do your research. Talk to your friends and family. Someone somewhere had probably had the same problem and may be able to help you. Don’t give up on yourself.
