What hasn’t faded is the pain. It has gotten worse. Although I would not call it excruciating, it has steadily built over the past week. I felt worse today than ever.
So I returned to our primary care physician for the follow-up visit and he prescribed Neurontin (or actually its generic equivalent, gabapentin) to be taken three times a day for the next ten days. I have the smallest size, 100 milligrams. The doc told me it comes in much larger sizes as well, but we’ll start with those and hope they do the trick.
I do not like taking pills in general. I’m ready for this stuff to be over.
Speaking of general and over, Hugo Chavez died this afternoon.
Oops, he was only a colonel, not a general. But that was apparently high enough in the scheme of things to become the
Congressman José Serrano (D-NY) of the Bronx sang Chavez’s praises here.
Some people never learn.
If this post makes no sense, it’s probably the gabapentin talking.
The Neurontin will probably make you sleepy for awhile. The small dose is good because it means that you haven't built up a tolerance to the drug, so you can benefit from a lower dose and at less risk. It seems like I've read of people who took 3,000 mg a day, but the number might be a couple of hundred more than that. I guess the doc told you that the drug needs to build up in your system, so you shouldn't expect immediate relief.
ReplyDeleteI wish you. I know it's hard.
Snow, thanks for your good wishes. I know they're from someone who has been there. That makes all the difference.
ReplyDeleteI am determined not to become a crybaby about my aches and pains on the internet. One thing the world doesn't need is an organ recital from me. Lots of people have it a whole lot worse. What I'm going through at the moment is minor in the overall picture.
"I am determined not to become a crybaby about my aches and pains on the internet."
ReplyDeleteIf I could choose, I would say to go ahead and write about them. I assume that your readers think of themselves as your friends, and would want to know what's important in your life. Pain is certainly important and therefore something to be written about. You can always write matter-of-factly if you don't want to get into your feelings, but I, for one, very much want to know about your progress, or the lack therefore.
Yes,gabapentin can cause strange delusions. Hugo Chavez was a champion of the poor and needy and that is why he was so loved by the ordinary people, not just of Venezuela but of Colombia, Bolivia, Peru etc. too. He called Geoge W. Bush a "donkey" which seems an intelligent assessment to me. I can't imagine that so many thousands would ever turn out for his funeral. RIP Hugo.
ReplyDelete