Archive for the ‘Rants’ Category
7
Jun
Written by Mike on June 7th, 2010
When I left work last night, I had every intention of going home and beginning a 10 to 12 hour fast to prepare for blood work that I need to have done. Well, unfortunately, the road to blood sugar hell was paved with those intentions, and I ended up battling lows early this morning, starting with a 65.
I tried a little bit of juice, figuring that would at least get the numbers to start rising. I checked my blood sugar again 20 minutes later, and I was only in the high 70′s. The juice was obviously doing something, just not enough. And it was 5:30 in the morning, I was really tired any way, and wanted to sleep. So, I said to hell with the fasting and blood work, and fixed a peanut butter sandwich. That more than did the trick. Between the juice and the sandwich, I was up to 135 within an hour or so. That was good enough for me. At least it was safe for me to go to sleep.
I figure I’ll give it a day or so, and try the fasting thing again Tuesday night and have the blood work done Wednesday. Thankfully, I have a couple of weeks until I see the doctor. I just wanted to get the tests done early, so I wouldn’t have to worry about them.
Better luck next time, I guess.
22
Apr
Written by Mike on April 22nd, 2010
“I’ll be getting my scripts, and checking them twice. Gotta make sure the doctor has written them right.”
As some of my twitter followers may know by now, I had some problems with some scripts that I needed to have filled last night.
The first problem being that I had misplaced them; I eventually found them in one of my bags, and thought the problem was solved. It wasn’t until I got to CVS at 2:00 a.m. this morning that I found out there was a much bigger problem. The scripts couldn’t be filled because of something the doctor did, or should I say, DID NOT do.
The script for my Metformin was missing a pill strength (500 mg/1000 mg/etc…). And to top it off, the script for one of my heart meds was missing the doctor’s signature. HOW THE HELL DOES THAT HAPPEN? Those are basic requirements on prescription forms. As if I needed any more headaches to go along with my medical problems.
I kind of feel bad for the pharmacist who was on the receiving end my response to being told that I couldn’t have the medicines that I need to keep me alive. She was only doing her job, unlike the doctor who wrote the scripts. She promised a call would be made to the doctor’s office first thing this morning, and the scripts would be this afternoon.
I’ll be going to pick them up during my dinner break.
The moral of this brief rant: when your doctor hands you a script, check it. TWICE!
2
Mar
Written by Mike on March 2nd, 2010
For the last several years, I’ve dealt with Migraine Headaches on a fairly regular basis. The intensity and duration has varied but they have always left me wiped out and wondering what the hell happened. And save for some over the counter remedies, the migraines went untreated as far as drugs go, because I’ve never had good enough insurance or enough money on hand to be able to go to the doctor for help.
Well, things have changed a lot in my life, as anyone who reads this blog knows. I have a little bit of money now, and thankfully have insurance to help cover the medical bills that I’ve had over the last year. And that knowledge made my decision to finally try to do something about the Migraines all the more easier when I went to see my doctor at the end of January.
After talking to Dr. Cabe about the situation, she prescribed a medication called Topamax. Now, I had heard both good and bad things about this particular drug, but I was willing to give it a try to see if it would help me. And boy was that ever a mistake.
In my case, I’ve found the side effects of Topamax to be far worse than Migraine Headaches that I’m trying to remedy. I mean this shit has really messed me up. Below are excerpts from www.relieve-migraine-headache.com on the side effects of Topamax. The ones I’ve experienced are in bold.
“Topamax will slow you down, or make you feel like you’re in a fog. This includes slower reflexes, trouble thinking or concentrating, trouble thinking of the right word (and other speech problems), tiredness, poor coordination, and dizziness.
Topiramate may also cause tingling in your hands or feet, shakiness, depression, nausea, memory problems, and visual problems (such as double vision). It has also been known to bring on respiratory infections.
Some of the less common Topamax side effects include: pain (ie chest, leg), mood changes (ie aggression, restlessness), rash, body odour, appetite loss and weight loss, constipation, hearing loss, and menstrual disorders.” – http://www.relieve-migraine-headache.com/topamax-side-effects.html
In short, in just a months time, the side effects of this one medication have seriously impacted every aspect of my life. I’m not the same person that I was before I started taking the medication, and more than one person has told me so.
So, all that being said, I called Dr. Cabe’s office Monday morning, and told them I was having a major problem with the Topamax, and I needed to stop taking it ASAP! They were busy, and it took all day for me to hear back from them, but I got the response that I was wanting. The doctor agreed that I should discontinue the medication, and provided instructions for weaning myself off of the medication. They were as follows:
- Take 1 pill per day for 4 days.
- Skip a day, then take 1 pill.
- Skip 2 days, then take 1 pill.
- Skip 3 days, then take 1 pill,
- And then stop!
Apparently, you have to gradually stop taking this medication, because stopping suddenly can cause serious problems. Fine, what ever it takes to get this shit out of my system is OK with me. As I told the doctor, and everyone else I’ve talked to about this problem, given the choice between living with the migraines or dealing with the bullshit side effects of the Topamax: I’ll take the Migraines!
