Not by choice, mind you, not by choice. Each month, when I get to about two weeks left of pills, I call the automated number and request a refill. Usually the automated voice tells me to "allow ten to fourteen days for delivery"... and once in a while, it will say: "This prescription has expired, press one now to request a renewal" so I press one. About two years ago, there was a fiasco with the automated thing and I didn't get a refill of my Hydrochlorothiazadide. That's a water pill for my edema. When I finally got in to see a doctor- who was not my regular doctor- I got a thirty day supply (I usually get a ninety day supply) and when I got home, the regular refill was there.
Well, my Vicodin ran out. A week ago Wednesday, I asked- because I was there and the computer said it was "processing". That's good... because that means I should get it soon. Well, it turns out that I was lower on my supply than I thought and I took my very last Vicodin pill (which is one-third of what I usually take at night) last Thursday night. But, I'd been lowering my dose over the course of two weeks- just in case something like this happened.
And I've been doing okay. The Cyclobenzaprine has been helping me sleep- so that's good. I've been surviving during the day, too. I even did a day and a half at the Stronghold Olde English Faire (pics below). The whole "daytime without Vicodin" has been okay, till the last couple of days. But the nights first- er, more like the mornings. The roughest part of the day is when I wake up. Every muscle in my body feels as if it has tightened like a body-builder lifting dead weight. It takes me a good three minutes to actually get moving. I flex and relax my muscles as much as I can before I try to sit up. When I take Vicodin at night, it makes the mornings just ever-so-slightly easier.
Then, there's the last couple of days. The itchy skin came back. Well, it never really went anywhere, its always here, otherwise I'd look pretty freaky out at the Wal-Mart without my skin. The last two days or so, I've been itchy and unable to do anything. Even the Australian Panadol- which works so well on headaches and sprains- didn't do anything for my itching. On top of the itching, I also have the fatigue. Tired. So very tired. Every single day since a week ago Wednesday, I've had to go somewhere and do something. Granted, the two days at faire were of my own choice, but still. Even today- the day I thought I could just lie around and be a blob- I have an orchestra meeting. Plus I finally had to do the laundry- the ren faire laundry. No! I didn't take my clothes out and beat them on a rock and I didn't have Timothy Olyphant's abs around to use... but that's probably an overshare into the dark places of my psyche. What? You don't think Timothy Olyphant is hot? Well, you're probably a straight guy then. Not that there's anything wrong with being a straight male!
Wait, what was I talking about? I got distracted by Mr. Olyphant's abdominals. Oh, ren faire garb laundry. Its heavy and I have to hang it out to dry. Not because its so delicate or anything, but because its not cheap and I don't want to ruin it in my clothes dryer. Now its done and ready to go back into its Rubbermaid container till next May.
So, now I know I can live without Vicodin, but I also know that its a necessary evil in my life. I hope it gets here soon, because this hurting all the time is starting to get on my nerves. And the whole itchy skin thing, that's already on my nerves.
I promised you some ren faire photos- here they are. Stronghold Olde English Faire, in Oregon, IL.
I've been told I have a "good eye" when it comes to taking photos. I specialize (if you can call it that) in macro (close-up) and nature photography. So, while at faire, I got really close to things. And the living things I took macro shots of- don't worry, I asked for permission first. I've also discovered that my style of photography isn't for everyone. Not everyone gets the point of the macro and the abstract. But that's okay. It doesn't bother me. Enjoy the photos.
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