My Most-recent Drug Experience.

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  • Shang
    Senior Member
    • Sep 2000
    • 10021

    My Most-recent Drug Experience.

    In the course of an annual physical exam about a year or so ago, the Lady in the White Coat with the medical degree checked me over. She noted that my blood pressure was higher than it should be. So she prescribed a beta-blocker drug called Bystolic, and explained that it slows the heart rate which decreases blood pressure and keeps the pill-taker alive beyond the shelf life of ripe bananas.

    Our Lady of the White Coat told me that the drug had only a few minor side-effects, but they weren't completely horrible—for example, since less blood was reaching one's fingers and toes those digits tend to become very cold in the winter—on the other hand that probably provides some protection against mosquitoes. Whitecoat also mentioned that once on the drug it wouldn't be a good idea to discontinue it abruptly since going cold turkey could result in a meeting with a man in a dark suit who would likely pat one on the face with a shovel.

    The pills worked and my b/p dropped into the Normal range, and the probability is that I will live forever.
    ...Except for one tiny side-effect that the Good Doctor just skimmed over in our discussion...

    Bystolic can produce vivid, violent dreams—nay, nightmares! The dreams are very realistic, and can result in sleep-walking actions.

    Since becoming hooked on Bystolic I frequently wake up fighting ogres, throwing punches and shouting. Last night was an example of this.

    In a dream, The Forces of Darkness (or perhaps the IRS) were threatening me, and I kicked and swirled to meet the attack! Then I had the sensation of flying through the air, and the thought that I might have fallen out of bed crossed my mind. This was confirmed a moment later when my head arrived at the hardwood floor with a sound like hitting a coconut with a hammer.

    The uproar awakened Barb, who noticed that I was laying on the floor asking for ice. Barb's background includes both nursing and Animal Rehabilitation, so the treatment bases were pretty well covered. Barb told me to sit on the couch while she decided how seriously I was hurt. She shined a light in my eyes to see if both pupils were the same size, and brought me a package of frozen peas to apply to the swelling of my forehead. My nose was less broken than I initially thought, blood to the contrary. My forehead was swollen to about the size of an avocado, and Barb assured me that I looked pretty good for a Neanderthal.

    The young raccoons who come to our deck looked through the window, and noting my two black eyes, called me daddy.

    Tomorrow I'm going to call the doctor and ask if she has any drugs that would address my blood pressure without causing quite so much craziness.
  • Norman Bernstein
    Liberaltarian
    • Nov 2004
    • 25217

    #2
    Re: My Most-recent Drug Experience.

    Hmmm... an interesting side effect!

    Unfortunately, there are few drugs which can't sometimes have side effects. Your MD could have given you Lisinopril... but it has a bizarre side effect, in some people, of causing them to cough a lot. Or, she could prescribe Amlodipine, which has a bizarre sexual side effect of, while permitting sexual pleasure, can sometimes... how can I say this gracefully?... preclude a happy ending

    Admittedly, side effects aren't fun... on the other hand, a brain aneurysm or stroke is decidedly LESS fun.
    "Reason and facts are sacrificed to opinion and myth. Demonstrable falsehoods are circulated and recycled as fact. Narrow minded opinion refuses to be subjected to thought and analysis. Too many now subject events to a prefabricated set of interpretations, usually provided by a biased media source. The myth is more comfortable than the often difficult search for truth."






    Comment

    • Canoez
      Did I say that out loud?
      • Sep 2007
      • 20611

      #3
      Re: My Most-recent Drug Experience.

      Originally posted by Shang
      The young raccoons who come to our deck looked through the window, and noting my two black eyes, called me daddy.
      *Snort!*
      "The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails."
      -William A. Ward

      Comment

      • Shang
        Senior Member
        • Sep 2000
        • 10021

        #4
        Re: My Most-recent Drug Experience.

        Hmm...guess they don't sell a lot of Amlodipine, huh?

        I suppose you're right, anything powerful enough to prevent death is bound to have side-effects.


        Uh...Any data available on Cannabis and blood pressure?
        Of course the last time I tried Giggle-weed I ate a whole bag of dog kibbles....

        Comment

        • Norman Bernstein
          Liberaltarian
          • Nov 2004
          • 25217

          #5
          Re: My Most-recent Drug Experience.

          Originally posted by Shang
          Hmm...guess they don't sell a lot of Amlodipine, huh?
          My understanding is that it's quite popular. I take it, myself. Fortunately, I don't seem to suffer from the particular side effect.. not everyone will.

          I have to laugh about the way drug companies describe side effects. I once tried Chantix, as an aid to stopping smoking. The manufacturer says that a common side effect is 'nausea'.

          They DIDN'T say that it caused 'horrendous, disgusting, want-to-curl-up-in-a-ball-and die' kind of nausea

          Originally posted by Shang
          Uh...Any data available on Cannabis and blood pressure?
          I don't know... but my waistline would demonstrate that particular side effect.

          Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on one's perspective, I can't smoke weed. I was a major pot-head in college, but in my mid-twenties, for some reason, marijuana began to give me terrible anxiety... and even though 40 years have passed, on the rare occasions that I try it again, the anxiety still happens.
          "Reason and facts are sacrificed to opinion and myth. Demonstrable falsehoods are circulated and recycled as fact. Narrow minded opinion refuses to be subjected to thought and analysis. Too many now subject events to a prefabricated set of interpretations, usually provided by a biased media source. The myth is more comfortable than the often difficult search for truth."






          Comment

          • Gerarddm
            #RESIST
            • Feb 2010
            • 32452

            #6
            Re: My Most-recent Drug Experience.

            I note that the first instinctive reaction the Lady in White had was to prescribe a pill. Nothing about lifestyle changes, dietary changes, etc.

            Remember, Big Pharma does not want to cure you, they simply want to sell you pills. If you were cured, they'd make no money.

            I used to get migraines. A lot. Every doc I saw wanted me on pills or whatever. I finally beat them back by dietary changes. No pills involved, thank you very much.
            Gerard>
            Albuquerque, NM

            Next election, vote against EVERY Republican, for EVERY office, at EVERY level. Be patriotic, save the country.

            Comment

            • Shang
              Senior Member
              • Sep 2000
              • 10021

              #7
              Re: My Most-recent Drug Experience.

              ...I have to laugh about the way drug companies describe side effects. I once tried Chantix, as an aid to stopping smoking. The manufacturer says that a common side effect is 'nausea'.

              They DIDN'T say that it caused 'horrendous, disgusting, want-to-curl-up-in-a-ball-and die' kind of nausea...
              But Chantix worked, didn't it. Cigarettes are difficult to light after you've thrown up on them.

              (Personally I quit smoking while sailing in the Keys--I was the only smoker on board, and if I'd lighted up they would have used me for chum.)

              Comment

              • Shang
                Senior Member
                • Sep 2000
                • 10021

                #8
                Re: My Most-recent Drug Experience.

                Originally posted by Gerarddm
                I note that the first instinctive reaction the Lady in White had was to prescribe a pill. Nothing about lifestyle changes, dietary changes, etc.

                Remember, Big Pharma does not want to cure you, they simply want to sell you pills. If you were cured, they'd make no money.

                I used to get migraines. A lot. Every doc I saw wanted me on pills or whatever. I finally beat them back by dietary changes. No pills involved, thank you very much.
                Good point. You are what you eat, and you quit eating migraines, so to speak.
                My B/P wasn't all that bad in the first place, although higher than normal. But I'm already Vegetarian and wash the carrots down with red wine, so there's not a lot to give up.

                Remember what Mark Twain said: "A man with no bad habits to give up is like a sinking ship with no baggage to throw overboard."

                Comment

                • JayInOz
                  Senior Member
                  • Nov 2009
                  • 8064

                  #9
                  Re: My Most-recent Drug Experience.

                  A cousin of mine has suffered terrible pain for many years from curvature of the spine- he can't have any more surgery. He has pain killers which kill the pain, but they cause such terrible nightmares that he is now too afraid to take them. Bummer of a situation to be in. He also has a nice boat, his own boat ramp into the river, and is no longer able to get the two to meet. More bummer. JayInOz

                  Comment

                  • Norman Bernstein
                    Liberaltarian
                    • Nov 2004
                    • 25217

                    #10
                    Re: My Most-recent Drug Experience.

                    Originally posted by Shang
                    But Chantix worked, didn't it.
                    No, it didn't. For it to work, I'd have had to suffer with the worst imaginable nausea I had ever experienced.
                    "Reason and facts are sacrificed to opinion and myth. Demonstrable falsehoods are circulated and recycled as fact. Narrow minded opinion refuses to be subjected to thought and analysis. Too many now subject events to a prefabricated set of interpretations, usually provided by a biased media source. The myth is more comfortable than the often difficult search for truth."






                    Comment

                    • Shang
                      Senior Member
                      • Sep 2000
                      • 10021

                      #11
                      Re: My Most-recent Drug Experience.

                      Yes, bummer.

                      Comment

                      • StevenBauer
                        LPBC member
                        • Jan 2000
                        • 23276

                        #12
                        Re: My Most-recent Drug Experience.

                        Originally posted by JayInOz
                        A cousin of mine has suffered terrible pain for many years from curvature of the spine- he can't have any more surgery. He has pain killers which kill the pain, but they cause such terrible nightmares that he is now too afraid to take them. Bummer of a situation to be in. He also has a nice boat, his own boat ramp into the river, and is no longer able to get the two to meet. More bummer. JayInOz
                        Do you guys have the medical marijuana down there? Might be worth a try.

                        Comment

                        • David W Pratt
                          Senior Member
                          • May 2005
                          • 12324

                          #13
                          Re: My Most-recent Drug Experience.

                          Beta blockers, and there are many, all do that to some extent, but the bad dreams are more prevalent in the more lipid soluble ones, which cross the blood brain barrier more easily. They also block the action of beta agonist inhalers used for asthma and other respiratory problems. You may want to consider lisinopril, an angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor. In addition to lowering BP it seems to be salubrious to the kidneys and to slow the progression of type two diabetes. It is available as a generic, and my prescription, with medicare costs me $1.00/mo.
                          Good luck

                          Comment

                          • Norman Bernstein
                            Liberaltarian
                            • Nov 2004
                            • 25217

                            #14
                            Re: My Most-recent Drug Experience.

                            Amlodipine is also cheap. On my Medicare advantage plan, a 3 month supply is $6.
                            "Reason and facts are sacrificed to opinion and myth. Demonstrable falsehoods are circulated and recycled as fact. Narrow minded opinion refuses to be subjected to thought and analysis. Too many now subject events to a prefabricated set of interpretations, usually provided by a biased media source. The myth is more comfortable than the often difficult search for truth."






                            Comment

                            • mariner2k
                              Senior Member
                              • Jan 2002
                              • 1762

                              #15
                              Re: My Most-recent Drug Experience.

                              I will add that lisinopril and a water pill ( Hydro .......ide) worked well for me. I do wake up at night sometimes coughing , but I'm not sure it is the drug.
                              Amlodipine on the other hand, made my feet and lower legs swell up...a lot. The switch to lisinopril rapidly alleviated that.

                              Comment

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