Side Effects Like Death
Today is the first day on my new psyche med cocktail: 40mg Paxil (this is what I've been taking the last year and a half) + 200mg of Wellbutrin + 20mg of Prozac. This means that on my whole trip I must limit my alcoholic intake drastically. Only two drinks per day is what I promised my new psychiatrist. I've taken the Wellbutrin before so I'm not particularly nervous of side effects but I've never taken Prozac so I'm not sure what to expect. Taking medication is not something I take without concern. I have learned that the potential relief outweighs all the risks but it still makes me nervous. Right now I have the dry mouth from the Wellbutrin.
Over six years ago when I first started taking Wellbutrin I made the mistake of reading the warning label and its fine print of possible side effects which ranged from temporary things like dry mouth, sleeplessness, and then moved on to warn of possible death. Wellbutrin does nothing for anxiety and at the time my anxiety was "through the roof" as my psychologist put it. Do you know what it does to an anxious person to present to them 101 really bad things that can happen to them in the efforts of treating their mental disorder? Yeah, I started freaking out and getting itchy and was nearly convinced that I was going to die. I happened to respond very well to the Wellbutrin so very few of those side effects occurred and those that did were mild and temporary. When I finally decided to treat the anxiety rather than pack up my house to move to Vermont to escape future California earthquakes, I knew better than to read the side effects on the box.
The first thing Philip tells me about Prozac is that I need to watch out for seratonin syndrome which could result in death. So today you will find me scrambling to the mirror every few minutes to check if my pupils are dilated and questioning if my sweat is more profuse than normal...and really hoping I don't feel the least dizzy.
I just finished my shift of work and now must do about five hundred thousand things to get us ready to leave tomorrow morning and I don't actually see how I'll get it all done.
How To Prepare To See Everyone You've Ever Known:
Leave the litter box for the kitties in a state of cleanliness.
Do a shitload of laundry. Realize that you still have no clothes.
Do all the dishes so nothing festers in your absence.
Get your hair cut and your eyebrows waxed for god's sake!
Give yourself a pedicure so no one fears your feet.
Pack up entire contents of kid's room "Just in case".
Nag husband 3 more times to please vacuum the car out.
Get distracted by dry mouth and possible head explosion.
Stop dropping all your crazy all over the place. It's getting messy in here!
Bring red lipstick. Red lipstick distracts from the fat pregnant look I accidentally cultivated.
Return movies.
Find books to not read.
Explain to Pippa and Penny that we are definitely coming back and will never leave again.
Eat a huge salad.
A couple of random tidbits:
Question: I only drink hot beverages in ceramic and I only drink cold beverages in glass, is this the same for everyone?
Injectable marinade: this sounds really wrong to me.
Over six years ago when I first started taking Wellbutrin I made the mistake of reading the warning label and its fine print of possible side effects which ranged from temporary things like dry mouth, sleeplessness, and then moved on to warn of possible death. Wellbutrin does nothing for anxiety and at the time my anxiety was "through the roof" as my psychologist put it. Do you know what it does to an anxious person to present to them 101 really bad things that can happen to them in the efforts of treating their mental disorder? Yeah, I started freaking out and getting itchy and was nearly convinced that I was going to die. I happened to respond very well to the Wellbutrin so very few of those side effects occurred and those that did were mild and temporary. When I finally decided to treat the anxiety rather than pack up my house to move to Vermont to escape future California earthquakes, I knew better than to read the side effects on the box.
The first thing Philip tells me about Prozac is that I need to watch out for seratonin syndrome which could result in death. So today you will find me scrambling to the mirror every few minutes to check if my pupils are dilated and questioning if my sweat is more profuse than normal...and really hoping I don't feel the least dizzy.
I just finished my shift of work and now must do about five hundred thousand things to get us ready to leave tomorrow morning and I don't actually see how I'll get it all done.
How To Prepare To See Everyone You've Ever Known:
Leave the litter box for the kitties in a state of cleanliness.
Do a shitload of laundry. Realize that you still have no clothes.
Do all the dishes so nothing festers in your absence.
Get your hair cut and your eyebrows waxed for god's sake!
Give yourself a pedicure so no one fears your feet.
Pack up entire contents of kid's room "Just in case".
Nag husband 3 more times to please vacuum the car out.
Get distracted by dry mouth and possible head explosion.
Stop dropping all your crazy all over the place. It's getting messy in here!
Bring red lipstick. Red lipstick distracts from the fat pregnant look I accidentally cultivated.
Return movies.
Find books to not read.
Explain to Pippa and Penny that we are definitely coming back and will never leave again.
Eat a huge salad.
A couple of random tidbits:
Question: I only drink hot beverages in ceramic and I only drink cold beverages in glass, is this the same for everyone?
Injectable marinade: this sounds really wrong to me.
Comments (12)
Find books not to read. I always do that too!!! I am sure you're head won't explode and you won't have that seritonin problem What you will have is RELIEF !!!!!
Have a wonderful trip! I can't wait tosee the photos and hear the stories. xop
Posted by pam | July 30, 2009 2:16 PM
Posted on July 30, 2009 14:16
I'm the same way about mugs/glasses. My MIL always drinks her cold drinks out of one of my mugs when she's over, and I find it so odd. I love her anyway, though. ;)
Yay for Wellbutrin! Love that stuff. It saved my sanity when I needed it most.
Have a fabu trip. Say hi to Cali for me.
Posted by Aimee | July 30, 2009 3:10 PM
Posted on July 30, 2009 15:10
Hot drinks in ceramic, always... to me, cold drinks taste colder in glass, but we've only a few, so sometimes I grab whatever is clean, which is sometimes a mug.
Posted by alison | July 30, 2009 4:35 PM
Posted on July 30, 2009 16:35
I drink cold drinks from ceramic cups, sometimes. And I drank many a tea in a glass when I was in Turkey.
Posted by Blaize | July 30, 2009 7:23 PM
Posted on July 30, 2009 19:23
It makes me uncomfortable when someone drinks cold milk out of a ceramic cup. But I think it's my issue, not theirs :-)
I hope your new med regimen helps.
Posted by Carol | July 30, 2009 11:18 PM
Posted on July 30, 2009 23:18
Thank you Pam!!
You're such a rebel Blaize.
Alison and Aimee- we know what's what huh? There's something about the feel of the material of the beverage container that effects the experience of a drink for me.
Carol- I read your blog frequently! Thanks for stopping by and wishing me well on the new regimen.
Posted by angelina | July 30, 2009 11:40 PM
Posted on July 30, 2009 23:40
I am quite anxious myself, too, especially these days. 2 of my friends experimented severe troubles around pregnancy (and lost loads of blood blood blood). So now, for any little pain in my tummy, I am in panic, and I feel like running to the Emergency Department of the Hospital (and I am still not pregnant, imagine when I will!).
(And most of the time I drink my tea in a cup made of thick glass.)
Posted by missyuzu | July 30, 2009 11:44 PM
Posted on July 30, 2009 23:44
Hmmm. While I generally only drink hot things in ceramic, I have in the past (but only at restaurants) consumed coffee out of a glass mug.
Posted by Sarah, Goon Squad Sarah | July 31, 2009 7:23 AM
Posted on July 31, 2009 07:23
only TWO drinks a day? What a hardship. I will make you a pot of tea when you come over so you can spend your two drinks elsewhere. Cracks me up that all the comments are about ceramic /glass (though, YES, I drink that way,too). I'm more rotund than last time we met also, so we can pretend not to eye each others muffin tops (except, of course neither of us would ever expose flesh).My friend Terr leaves today after a five day visit, and last night Gary's sister told us she's coming next Friday with her daughter for three days. It won't disrupt our plans, though.
Posted by Lucille | July 31, 2009 9:14 AM
Posted on July 31, 2009 09:14
Coming to California - yay! If you're spending time on the coast, please bring some of that warm sun we've been hearing so much about - this summer has been June-gloom overflowing into July...
(also if you're anywhere near Monterey, feel free to drop a line - I've got local's secrets I'm willing to share!)
As for ceramic vs. glass - no hot things in glass, ever. To weird. But if the dish gnomes have been MIA (as usual) and I've got no glasses left, I've been known to drink my wine from a coffee cup...
Posted by Allison | July 31, 2009 11:01 AM
Posted on July 31, 2009 11:01
Completely agree with the two tidbits at the end. What's with those Russians drinking tea from a glass?
Posted by magpie | July 31, 2009 7:34 PM
Posted on July 31, 2009 19:34
Yeah- there's no way I can keep the drinks to two a day on a vacation and with weddings and gatherings....should have waited to start new meds. I'll just drink what I drink and when we get back it will be down to business time.
The side effects aren't too bad right now.
dry mouth. No seratonin syndrome. Yay!
See you soon Lucille!!
Posted by angelina | August 1, 2009 11:47 AM
Posted on August 1, 2009 11:47