Drugs!

A few months ago I had my annual TB skin test from work, and it came up positive. It's not a big deal, but it does mean I have a 1 - 2% chance of contracting 'real' tuberculosis in my life time. If I were to contract the disease, it would be most likely to happen when I was immuno-suppressed for some other reason. If I should (heaven forbid) get cancer, or HIV or be on lots of steroids for some reason, that's when the TB would strike. While I have no reason to worry specifically about those illnesses, life is long, and one never knows. In the back of my head, I always expected cancer to be what gets me, probably because my grandfather died of lung cancer. Of course, he smoked and I don't, so, again, no specific reason to worry.

I decided to start the 9 month antibiotic treatment of Isoniazid, in order to wipe away that chance of getting TB later in life. With this drug comes a few shifts in life style until mid-May, when I conclude the course. First, my doctor suggested I have less than one alcoholic drink per day. This is to protect my liver.

There are also other food and beverages that contain Tyramine that might react badly and cause "very dangerous reactions such as sudden high blood pressure." Soy products are on that list, as are all beers (including non-alcoholic) and wine. Hrmph. My doc didn't seem that worried about the foods and whatnot, but my pharmacist did.

I think I need to do some more research, so I know what's what. I'll report my findings.