I'm off the drugs!

[cjsmith]

All I have now is incurable pain! SCORE!

I'm off the bad drugs, I should say. Dr. wants to keep me on two herbals, the probiotics, and the vitamins. I'm still on hormones and glucosamine/chondroitin. But I'm off the clarithromycin (soapy taste in mouth, insomnia), the doxycycline (nausea, vomiting), the diflucan, and the hydroxychloroquine. I'll probably scale back slowly on the probiotics as my body resets itself.

What FREEDOM! I'm off the horrible treadmill of which prescription is expiring exactly when. Also, while I'm still taking kind of a lot of random stuff, the strict hourly schedule is out the window. If I take my probiotics three hours late they'll STILL WORK. I can ditch the pill minders I've been carrying everywhere. In fact, I could take basically everything I'm still on in one big gulp at bedtime.

And after that big gulp, I'll sleep. Without throwing up first.

This must be how normal forty-year-olds live. Well, except for that one gulp and my foot pain. I'm reminded about the old story about the man complaining his house is too small. Then he gets a goat, a horse, several chickens and a cow in there, and his house is downright spacious when they leave. That's how I'm feeling now. All I have is chronic pain? Excellent!

Comments

Pasta! Apple!

[ladycelia.livejournal.com]

Yaygoyou!

Re: Pasta! Apple!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

APPLE!

[wooddragon.livejournal.com]

Pasta is a wonderful thing. As is not throwing up (or even feeling like it).

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Amen to THAT! I thought I had it bad when I had insomnia. Nausea made it way worse. (Lesson learned: it can always get worse. Always.)

[eeyore-grrl.livejournal.com]

enjoy the HELL out of your pasta!

and yay for not puking and for sleeping. and booooo for the pain still!

[leback.livejournal.com]

You know, if that regime can bring you around to feeling like chronic pain isn't so horrible, maybe there's something good to be said for it. :-) Hooray, freedom!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Yeah, isn't that a truly awful and twisted thought? :-)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I feel like I ought to live blog my pasta experience. "OK, the alfredo sauce smells heavenly... Taking my first bite now... Melts in my mouth..."

Fortunately, I am too lazy, so my friends are spared.

[kimatha.livejournal.com]

So there was never any abatement of the pain? And I hate to ask this, but how long were you on this regimen?

Congratulations on ending the drugs. I hate taking drugs myself, so I can sort of imagine what a relief it must be.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Nope, not a bit of it. Since May. With a beastie like B. burgdorferi, presumably well-entrenched in the body, "since May" isn't really at all too long to try it. But with absolutely no effects in all that time, well, I'm done.

I am soooooo glad to be off these. I don't mind taking drugs as a general concept -- they've saved my life too obviously for me to hate them -- but side effects can really be the pits.

WooHoo!!! Hands you an apple!

[lisa-marli.livejournal.com]

I hope that in the long run it does help with your pain problems.
Now you sound like me, what pills to take to keep the pain down so that I can get some sleep. Gooble the handful and then snuggle into bed.
Isn't getting older fun? Well, except that it's been like that since my late twenties. *sigh*

Re: WooHoo!!! Hands you an apple!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Isn't getting older fun? Well, except that it's been like that since my late twenties. *sigh*

Exactly. Some day when a very healthy no-chronic-pain older person says something about how us younger people have it easier, I will come up with a good solid slap to the face.

[nurvuslee.livejournal.com]

"I'm reminded about the old story about the man complaining his house is too small. Then he gets a goat, a horse, several chickens and a cow in there, and his house is downright spacious when they leave."

Wow ... that really gave me some perspective! So sorry that you still have pain to deal with but at least now you know it CAN get worse than just pain. UGH, I need to remind myself of that, too, being that I live with chronic pain.

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

This must be how normal forty-year-olds live.

I'd make mu usual comment about how the warranty runs out at 40, but I know you've been dealing with this crap for a while.

At least you can subtract some badness now.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Yeah, if you count both sources of life-altering pain, my warranty ran out at twelve. I'm incredibly happy to be subtracting this particular badness!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Perspective is good to have, but sometimes really unpleasant to acquire! And yeah, not to make light of it: pain sucks.

[hnybny.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you're off the meds. As for pain, I've just come to an understanding with it. I'll let you stay if you don't make too much of a ruckus. Kinda like a bad roommate ;-)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

No kidding! A roommate who is there day and night in an apartment you CAN'T move out of. That's about it!

NEXT Christmas I'm going to GAIN WEIGHT. Hahahahahahahahaaaaaaa! (My family and I spent the Christmas season going "How can you be HUNGRY?" "How can you possibly still be FULL?" Heh.)

[ann0625.livejournal.com]

Congratulations!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I spent all last night going "WHEEEEEE!" in happiness. I'm sure Rob was ready to throttle me.

[aquarian-azalea.livejournal.com]

I'm glad to hear you're off those medicines. Side effects of some medicines can be as bad as the conditions they're treating, and it sounds like you've been through a lot. I hope something can be done about the chronic pain, although if it seems more bearable now, at least that's progress in a way.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

The side effects I find easiest to complain about are from drugs that aren't actually helping anything. There's no good effect to counterbalance the bad! I'm kind of surprised I stuck it out this long. I'm sooooo relieved now. :-)

[tiger-spot.livejournal.com]

Whee, lack of side effects!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I LOVE IT! Well, so far I love it. I slept like a rock last night, probably due a little bit to no nighttime meds and mostly to the overwhelming force of sheer cheerfulness. :-)