But, being the major blog-geek that I am, I noticed that “Stevie Nicks” was one of the most popular search engine terms for today…so what the heck, I will blatantly use her name in the title of my post but for no other reason than to attract more wayward surfers….
Due to the little Medical Malpractice “accident” that caused me to become disabled nearly 11 years ago, I have quite a few issues with nerve pain in my legs. Those of you who have experienced nerve pain will know how miserable it can make you in a real hurry. My nerve pain involves sharp, electrical shock type pains jolting my legs at random intervals, for hours on end, usually always at night. To combat this, over the years I have been prescribed just about every type of pain reducing medication on the market. Some help the nerve pain but cause unwanted side effects..
Anything with Codeine makes me unable to sleep and unable to go #2 for about a month.
A few meds had me curled up in the fetal position, crying uncontrollably like a spineless jellyfish, resulting in my being repeatedly beaten to a pulp by my aggravated wife who was trying to sleep at the time.
Other pain medications give me a rash, cause night sweats, dramatically increase my blood pressure, and have caused me to have auditory hallucinations like the medication that had me hearing a voice (of Vincent Price) whisper into my ear that I needed to paint my whole body purple, then smother my sons stuffed teddy bear with a pillow while singing “I feel Pretty”. That’s some pretty sick stuff. Needless to say, after smothering multiple bears, and after going through gallons of purple paint, I stopped that medication quickly!
But now I have been prescribed yet another medication.
This one has been around a long time and after reading about it, I was shocked that I had never been prescribed it before now.
It is Neurontin.
I did some research online and was shocked at what I read. Among it’s indications for usage it read “to help patients with post-operative chronic pain (usually caused by nerves that have been severed accidentally in an operation and when grown back, have reconnected incorrectly) and nerve pain associated with spinal cord injury”
That is me!! I got disabled when the Quack Spinal Surgeon I had was digging around in my spinal cord area with a sharp instrument and then had a major “OOPSIE!”, causing two of my spinal cord nerve roots to be severed…. Just the two little old roots that control feeling in the legs, muscle control of the legs, circulation, bowel and bladder function, etc. No Biggie.
So, why the heck had I not been prescribed this medicine before? The indications for it fit my case to a “T”.
I called my Dad, another physical wreck of a human being, and told him the news.
He then told me that he had also been on Neurontin, very recently, but had to abruptly stop the medication due to a bad side effect.
According to Dad, about 3 days after starting Neurontin, he was walking across his living room normally and then “POW!!”…..
He woke up in a pool of his own drool, face down on the floor, after passing completely out for quite a period of time. (He was home alone at the time) One minute he was fine, the next he was unconscious on the floor.
I read more of the warnings about possible side effects…
Apparently this medication greatly increases the risk of suicide in many patients.
It can also cause moodiness, dizziness, drowsiness, swelling of extremities, hypersensitivity to Barry Manilow songs recorded before 1979, uncontrolled drooling, loss of memory, and sudden death.
I can live with all that. I already live with most of those symptoms on a daily basis right now.
So, last night I started taking the Neurontin. Dad made it 3 days before hugging the floor passed out cold. I have a day and a half till that landmark. Tomorrow,I will hide all the stools, ropes, guns, knives, etc….and will strap pillows to the front and rear of my body, as I stroll around in hockey pads and a football helmet, just in case I happen to kiss the floor in a fit of unconsciousness.
I will keep you updated.
Best Stevie Nicks song: “Sara” (Fleetwood Mac)
No comments:
Post a Comment