Hmm. Well, my DH also tends to be a bit dramatic (IMO) when he's ill, but honestly I don't think there's much to be gained by telling him to suck it up. Especially if he's already irritable, I think you're likely to get a more helpful response from him if you coddle him just a bit. Even relatively minor illnesses are no fun, and ear infections can be really painful (I know! My eardrum burst two summers ago and the pain for the two days before it burst was excruciating!). It's also true that your body can feel really exhausted when fighting off an infection. I don't really know that the antibiotics make you feel zapped, but certainly you can feel drained if your immune system is working overtime. All this to say I'm sorry your DH may be milking this for all it's worth, but at least he apologized for being cranky. Maybe next time he'll return the favor if you treat him with sympathy, but even if he doesn't, you'll probably only make things worse by griping at him. Hope he feels better soon (and you do too)!
Mom to J 6/25/08 and M 6/21/11