Medication
After weeks and weeks of debilitating headaches I finally saw “my” doctor today. He had been caught in the volcano ash flight disaster, which is why I couldn’t get hold of him sooner. OK, so I also hesitated to get it sorted, I’m not one who sees a doctor for every little thing but rather tend to wait things out.
But this pain has been very persistent and it’s really grinding me down. Good news is that I’m showing none of the symptoms that would point to a more serious nature of the trouble, but that doesn’t mean it’s not interfering with my life.
End of story, for now: I’m taking a tranquilliser (Sedoxil) for the next ten days. As such, it honestly doesn’t bother me (otherwise I wouldn’t tell you about it!). Back in Germany I worked in a psychiatric polyclinic for a number of years, so I can’t say that it’s something abnormal in my mind (well ok, if he’d given me a neuroleptic or lithium I probably would be worried). Then why did it bother me to go to the pharmacy with my “Narcotics & Psychotropic Substances” prescription? Funny, that! Probably it’s the fact that everybody knows everybody on this rock, plus the knowledge that people have way too much time on their hands and love talking when they run out of other things to do. (I actually witnessed that 30 minutes earlier in the doc’s waiting room!!) And such gossipers might be less tolerant vis-a-vis ‘psychotropic substances’, making me into a nutcase in their tales…
What bothered me more, however, was that in order to sell me my 20 prescribed pills, they were unceremoniously removed from a pack of 60 and put into a little paper bag for me. Only when I insisted on being given the insert, was it handed to me, too.
This, by the way, is common practice with all kinds of prescription medication – it happened to me before. If the packet size available at the pharmacy exceeds the amount prescribed, they count the pills out for you; if need be, loose and unsealed. The insert is reserved for people who ask for it. In my humble opinion that’s very wrong if not criminal as the patient is denied the knowledge of possible side effects or contra-indications.
Oh well… So I have my little wonder pills now and I really hope they’ll help; that it’s all in the mind and nothing else wrong with me. If anything they should grant me a good night’s sleep; that’ll be a welcome change already. I’m literally sick and tired of all this; I hardly remember what it felt like to be pain-free.
