Can't Take Meds I Used to Take

I've been working out in the yard a good bit lately, as part of my exercise. I've made some headway with our yard, but I've also come in contact with poison ivy somewhere along the way. I am extremely allergic to it, so I'm broken out over a large part of my upper torso, front and back, on my neck and face, and even in my hair. I have no idea how that happened. We have new cats outside, too, and I may have picked it up cuddling them.

So, I pulled out my trusty Benadryl, in addition to the topical anti-itch meds I always have on hand. Benadryl makes me sleepy, so during the day I've always used something like non-drowsy formula Sudafed. When DH went to the store he couldn't find the exact same Sudafed I was about out of, so he took what appeared to be a similar medicine to the Pharmacist to make sure it was OK for me to take it. He made sure he told her I had Parkinson's, and she said it would be fine.

I hadn't even thought about checking for PD drug interactions, so I'm glad hubby did. Particularly since I did take one dose of the 12 hour Sudafed with Pseudophedrine Hydrochloride in it this morning, and I've felt yucky all day long today. When I looked on the new box to see how many to take, despite the fact that DH had asked the pharmacist if it was OK, there in fine print, among the list of conditions that made using it unsafe, was - you guessed it -- Parkinson's. The same warning was on my old box of meds, too, and I hadn't even thought to look. That's BAD.

So, I called our local Pharmacist to double check, and sure enough, I can't take it. DH has gone there now to get Chlorotrimiton, which has nothing but an antihistamine. It doesn't have any decongestant in it. My Zelepar is in the MAO class of drugs, so I have to pay attention to things like that.

As careful as I am to check on drug interactions with prescriptions, it never occurred to me to check out these over the counter meds, as I've taken this combination for poison ivy for years. BAD GIRL, BAD GIRL!!

I've hopefully learned my lesson, though, and will not let old habits take over again. Cause the old gray mare ain't what she used to be!!