I'm mad as hell....

... and I'm not going to take it anymore!
Literally.

Metformin.
It and I are done. No more. I can't take it anymore. Figuratively and literally.

After my nurse told me to lay off for a week and then restart, I thought, "Alright, maybe this go around will be better."

So, I started taking the pills, again.
I got through the first week alright, again.
I upped the dosage, again.
I did ok until it was near time to up the dosage, again.
Five-ish days into taking two pills, my digestive everything exploded, AGAIN.

I am not pleased....... again.

The Purge

For those of you with weak stomachs, you may not want to read any further.
The following describes graphic pain and wastes of grossness.
Instead I give you this:




Still here?
Alright, for those of you that have a masochistic side, here we go!

Last night started out alright. I had supper, which was two burritos and some fruit and metformin (as it needs to be taken with food).
Then went to study.
When finished, I took the rest of my meds, has some rice, beans and chicken and went to stay at a friend's place, since my bathroom is currently on the fritz.

Around 3 a.m., I awoke with a sharp stabbing pain in my stomach again.
Great, I thought, more pain.
This, however, wouldn't be a reoccurrence of the other night; this would be different. This would be hours long.

In a violent rhapsody of wails, pleading and tears, everything that I had eaten that day was expelled in any and every way possible. For two and a half hours...

At one point, I was puking so hard, I nearly crapped my pants.
Seriously.

I finally got my doctor's nurse on the phone, and after a few back and forths, she suggested I stop for a week, then take one for a week and see how it goes from there...

I'm not exactly pleased with this...

Medication and me

Or, the mysterious case of the sick Rose...


According to Wikipedia, and bolded for importance: Metformin is the most popular anti-diabetic drug in the United States and one of the most prescribed drugs in the country overall, with nearly 35 million prescriptions filled in 2006 for generic metformin alone. It is also used in
the treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome.
When prescribed appropriately, metformin causes few adverse effects-the most
common is gastrointestinal upset-
The most common adverse effect of metformin is gastrointestinal upset, including diarrhea, cramps, nausea, vomiting and increased flatulence; metformin is more commonly associated with gastrointestinal side effects than most other anti-diabetic drugs.
Gastrointestinal upset can cause severe discomfort for patients; it is most common when metformin is first administered, or when the dose is increased. The discomfort can often be avoided by beginning at a low dose (1 to 1.7 grams per day) and increasing the dose gradually. Gastrointestinal upset after prolonged, steady use is less common.

Lies!

I expected and received the common side effects, making me incredibly attractive to be around. :P

However, I didn't expect the severe gastro-whosy-whats-it.

I had been getting long periods of nausea, and had already called my doctor about this; whom hasn't returned my call.. >:(

Sunday, I went to work feeling a bit nauseous, as had become the usual every few days or so. Didn't pay it too much mind throughout the day.
It stuck with me after I got off work and made pasta for supper and the nausea seemed to calm down a bit.
Until, a little after 9 p.m., the nausea was accompanied by pain.
Thinking that it would soon pass, I sat back and tried to relax as much as possible. The pain began to come in waves; so I took deep breaths, as this always works to make me feel better.

Yet, every second that ticked by, the pain got worse and worse.
I tried to focus on the MMO I was playing, to distract myself.
Yet, the pain kept coming on. It got to where I couldn't speak.

I hadn't felt this kind of pain in years and was terrified. I was thinking that my old pains were back! I had to get to the ER.
My ability to even stand was gone.

I was crawling around, gathering up my medications (which is something you should bring with you when visiting a doctor of any sort) and realized: if I can't walk... there's no way I'm going to be able to drive!

To stave off ambulance fees, I called a friend to act as driver.
Yet, instead of taking me to the ER, he took me back to his and forced me to lay down and take my meds.

When the pain had lessened and I was a bit more coherent, he reminded me that since stomach pains are such a nebulous symptom, chances are that the nurse/doctor would just give me some medication to sleep it off.
And that's what I did.

I have yet to find out what it is that's making the medicine mess with me.

I've heard two accounts of others taking the medicine: no problems with one and just nausea with the other.

If pain like that is anything like having birth/contractions, you can take that to someone else! I'll have none of that!

Rants of a Sick Person part one

Although I am a bit of a Socialist, (I think it would be a good idea to take care of the entire community versus just looking out for the rich guy) I was raised to be a proper Capitalist/Consumer whore. I thrive with choices. But there comes a time when I could really do without...

It really shouldn't take me twenty minutes to choose cold medicine.

It takes me no time at all to choose tissues re: Kleenex with lotion, or cream cheese re: Philadelphia. However, the sick stuff aisle has become a veritable black hole for me.

I would appreciate a brand called 'If You Feel Like Crap, Pick Me,' and then I would pick it. Because I do feel like crap.... and other four letter words that come to mind.

And there isn't just one type of meds that covers everything... NO, that would be too easy. One type covers some symptoms and other types cover other symptoms. What do they want me to do? Buy and take all of them? That's just an overdose waiting to happen.

I have every symptom in the world and I want them to go away!

Eventually, I had to throw myself at the shelf and hope I grabbed something good. So, I'll be reporting back on the working abilities of Tylenol Cold Day and Night. This pack has some day pills and some night pills. Hopefully this will work better than what I took yesterday. I still couldn't breathe and woke up with my pillow covered in sick-drool.

This was not fun.

Oh and by the way: don't buy Claritin. (unless it works for you) For me, Claritin is nothing but a 24 hour 'I'm going to piss you off because I'm not going to work, you're not going to breathe, you will develop the most random pains known to man and you can't take anything else because that would overdose you and you might die.'

I hate taking medicine; I only do it if I have to.

I'm putting my kitchy international journal reading on hold until I'm feeling better... and when my watery eyes can focus on letters. (It took me a long time to write this blog correctly)

Ugh, now I'm getting dizzy.