Drug Reactions

Wow, what a bad experience! When I went to my doctor at the beginning of October, I was given a steroid shot as well as a prescription for Prednisone. I felt pretty ill the morning after the shot, but after a couple hours sleep I felt really good.

With such a great response, my doctor gave me another shot and prescription on the 30th. So much for feeling great. I once again felt ill the next morning, but continued to get progressively worse day by day. I experienced dizziness, nausea, extreme fatigue, shakiness and weakness. I also had a worse-than-usual headache. Yesterday, I called the doctor back for help.

With over 5000 patients, my doctor isn't easy to get in touch with. I spoke with her nurse who was going to try to work me in to see the doctor. I was told to call at 3:00 that afternoon. Unfortunately, the nurse was still at lunch when I called. I finally fell asleep, too weak to even think about the long drive to possibly see my doctor.

This morning a feel a bit better. I skipped the Prednisone, even though I knew the culprit could be my thyroid medicine, which she also upped the dosage on. Thankfully, I still feel okay. Just a little nauseated still.

It seems that most medications have very similar side effects. This can make it difficult to narrow it down to one medication if you are taking several and end up with a bad reaction. If I had been thin king clearly, I would have tried to call my pharmacy for advice when I wasn't able to speak with my doctor.

What experiences have you had with bad reactions to medications?

Lyme Disease?

I have been really wiped out lately. However, I feel like some progress is being made. The fibro pain seems to be under control to a reasonable degree. The headaches and fatigue however, are not improving a bit. On the up-side, some new discoveries have been made regarding my health issues.

My doctor said I have a heart arrhythmia. It is the cause of the chest pains that my previous doctors didn't want to hear about. Interestingly, she told be to take fish oil capsules. My doctor told me that she also has an arrhythmia and for many years was able to control it with these capsules. I was doubtful, but I tried them. I am pleased to say that I am seeing improvement. Amazing.

I also have low blood pressure. I've known this for a long time but didn't realize that it was an issue. According to my doctor, it has an influence on what drugs I am allowed to gave. Beyond that, I don't know if it matters much.

Additionally, I have a "lazy" thyroid. I have been put on medication to improve this and am hopeful that I may start to lose weight once this is under control.

Because I still have the never-ending-headache, my doctor decided I needed to be tested for Lyme disease. I went on the 16th of October for my blood work. She ordered Lyme disease antibody as well as rheumatoid factor and a few other things. That was the beginning of the recurring confusion that comes from my doctor's office.

When I went on the 30th for my follow-up, they said my Lyme test wasn't back. My doctor said to call the following Wednesday and she would let me know what to do next. I called as I was told to, and was told that there was no Lyme test.

The lab person said that I had elected to not have it done because it was going to be over $1000. I told her there was no such conversation. I had the receipt. Lyme was done and it cost $89. This made no sense. I was really getting frustrated.

She then decided that it was the lab's fault since they send off for this particular test. Apparently they ran EVB instead. She was supposed to call back to let me know what happened. I was told that she would likely just draw blood again and I would not be responsible for payment. I still haven't received a call back.

I will call again Monday and see what is going on. I am so frustrated, I am ready to give up. However, after making so much progress, I know I have to keep going. Hopefully I'll know soon if I can add Lyme disease to my list of health issues. I'll keep you posted.