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Medication strike

This week, about Thursday, I started doing something very naughty, something I constantly tell everyone else not to do – I stopped taking my medications (except for the study drug). Even though my bowel has been better, and the hives and the joint pains – I’ve been functioning like a zombie. I try to read a paragraph to edit something, and I can’t remember at the end of the paragraph what was at the beginning.

My boss is being very patient and understanding, but this isn’t working and eventually something has to give. I NEED to get some work done so I can go to American Thoracic Society at the end of next week relatively guilt free.

I looked up all my medications, and what do you know but six of the 11 meds I take cause drowsiness. HELLO!

So, for two days I quit taking them just to get a little clarity in my head and a bit of alertness for a change. It helped, although more so on Friday than on Thursday.

This morning, however, my medication strike caught up with me. At about 4:00 am I woke up again covered in hives. When I quit the meds I had hives, but only three or four itchy red spots – not head to toe welts. I was coughing a lot and it felt like my asthma was kicking in. I also had a burst of the runs, making several little bathroom trips (I ate strawberries, a slice of toast and a few pieces of cheese for dinner because I wasn’t very hungry.)

So, the strike is over, at least for now. It’s the weekend and I don’t have to be alert or think too much.

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