I'm surprised at how long it took to subdue the headache and neck
pain with the Zonisamide. I had been so hopeful and I hadn't
considered how difficult it would be to deal with any pain that might
show up after I had been off for more than a couple of weeks.
My body will not be a drug free zone.
Just an FYI: The title is a misquote from history; in this case Carl von Causewitz. There are a lot of foggies out there and right now my brain is foggy.
But I'm not in pain.
Sometime after I got back from vacation I had a stressful week at work and my headaches came back. When I started 50mg Zonisamide a day I felt better but the pain did not go away.
It took a few days for the nausea (a masochistic pleasure from Zonisamide) to clear and I upped the dose to 50 2X day, although not at the same time. I would perhaps take 50mg sometime in the afternoon and then one in the early morning after having my Sinthroid.
I'm getting used to being dosed heavier than my previous 50mg/day. Goodness, I have enough of the stuff, no use letting it go to waste.
I would probably be feeling better if I had slept if off, but I got out of bed, brushed my teeth and fed the cats. By the time Mary was about to get her coffee I took a shower and afterwards went to the local grocery with a list and retrieved the goods for another week.
And I'm a little tired and possibly brain-dead after that. Thus the fog comment in the title.
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Off the Six Month Rotation and Onto a Year!
I saw my oncologist today and he thought that I looked so good that I can see him in another year instead of six months.
This makes scheduling other things much better.
I dropped 10 lbs. to 233 and I feel good about that.
My appointment was rescheduled so I had the phlebotomist at 2:15 and my doctor at 3:20; it was sometime after 4:30 when a young woman introduced herself as a fellow on staff and proceeded to undress me with her eyes.
She reviewed my blood results and said that my potassium was just a bit high and physically examined me without requiring me to undress. Shucks!
It was a very slow afternoon, and I was coughing and with a runny nose for most of it. The LPR (Google That) strikes again.
Mary had me get off coffee (caffeine) and Altoids yesterday and I have been improving. I don't wheeze like I was doing Sunday.
This makes scheduling other things much better.
I dropped 10 lbs. to 233 and I feel good about that.
My appointment was rescheduled so I had the phlebotomist at 2:15 and my doctor at 3:20; it was sometime after 4:30 when a young woman introduced herself as a fellow on staff and proceeded to undress me with her eyes.
She reviewed my blood results and said that my potassium was just a bit high and physically examined me without requiring me to undress. Shucks!
It was a very slow afternoon, and I was coughing and with a runny nose for most of it. The LPR (Google That) strikes again.
Mary had me get off coffee (caffeine) and Altoids yesterday and I have been improving. I don't wheeze like I was doing Sunday.
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Trashing the Drugs and Maybe Leaving them Behind
Mary and I drove to Madison Wisconsin from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and a pleasant and long drive it was. We both saw family and it was nice to get back to where we grew up. Things change, her father is over 80 and doesn't remember things. But we had a nice time visiting.
We drove to Milwaukee from Madison to see my family and actually my brother Tom is over 70 and relishes having grandchildren.
We left on a Thursday, and I had taken a 25mg Zonisamide the Sunday before. It was my last dose.
When we arrived at the first hotel that night and I discovered, rather late, that my Oxygen Concentrator didn't work. This was after I had taken 2mg of Tizanidine.
I could feel the affects of being without oxygen for the night when we began driving the next morning. It was like I was dirty inside all over my body.
I stayed off my serious muscle relaxants for the rest of the vacation, although I did take a 500 mg tablet of Chlorzoxazone once or twice to counteract muscle spasms in my back. I was trying to reduce the affect that the drugs I was taking had on my breathing while I slept.
For the rest of the trip I slept well. Without oxygen and not feeling bad the day after.
I have not had a Zonisamide in a couple of weeks and last night I slept without drugs and also without Oxygen. It was a good night's sleep.
The reason for taking Zonisamide (at 50mg/night) and Tizanidine is for the headache that I've had since the end of my cancer treatment. But the headache, much to my surprise, was gone once I stopped the drugs.
I will have to go back to the Neurology department at UNC and get a monitor for me to sleep with to check my O2 level at night. Just to ensure that I can get by without and O2 assist.
The O2 is dry and gives me a sore throat (or a dry throat) and I would like to be able to live without it.
I wonder if I can?
We drove to Milwaukee from Madison to see my family and actually my brother Tom is over 70 and relishes having grandchildren.
We left on a Thursday, and I had taken a 25mg Zonisamide the Sunday before. It was my last dose.
When we arrived at the first hotel that night and I discovered, rather late, that my Oxygen Concentrator didn't work. This was after I had taken 2mg of Tizanidine.
I could feel the affects of being without oxygen for the night when we began driving the next morning. It was like I was dirty inside all over my body.
I stayed off my serious muscle relaxants for the rest of the vacation, although I did take a 500 mg tablet of Chlorzoxazone once or twice to counteract muscle spasms in my back. I was trying to reduce the affect that the drugs I was taking had on my breathing while I slept.
For the rest of the trip I slept well. Without oxygen and not feeling bad the day after.
I have not had a Zonisamide in a couple of weeks and last night I slept without drugs and also without Oxygen. It was a good night's sleep.
The reason for taking Zonisamide (at 50mg/night) and Tizanidine is for the headache that I've had since the end of my cancer treatment. But the headache, much to my surprise, was gone once I stopped the drugs.
I will have to go back to the Neurology department at UNC and get a monitor for me to sleep with to check my O2 level at night. Just to ensure that I can get by without and O2 assist.
The O2 is dry and gives me a sore throat (or a dry throat) and I would like to be able to live without it.
I wonder if I can?
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