Too Much?

Because of my recent body scare, I have been thinking about how much is too much to share on my blog. I mean, really, I don't know some of you who read it. Although I'd like to think we have a close personal relationship. There are many things I don't share here. But there are a lot of things that I do. Have you read some of my posts about adoption?? I mean, c'mon, I have bared my soul at times. But I don't share my feelings on quite a few things, including what medications I take. Not that it's a secret. Just that sharing too much leaves me vulnerable. And of course there's the mundane everyday stuff that would leave you in a blog coma if you had to read it. Wait, you've already experienced the blog coma here? Sorry about that.

So why the dilemma now? Hmm. Not so sure. Just that in sharing this recent experience would mean sharing the medication I was taking. And if something devastating happened, would I want to hang it all out for everyone to read? And, of course, why not add a little bit of drama? I mean really, we all love a little drama in our lives at times. It makes my spine tingle just a little to get myself in a tizzy about something. DRAMA! Ooohh. Love it.

But really I think I'll just share this experience with you. If anything, you'll know, if you take the medication, what to watch for.

I started taking a Simvastatin over a year ago for cholesterol. Diet and exercise weren't enough. And it wasn't even really high! Just in the upper normal range. But for a Diabetic, it could signal danger for heart disease. So I started taking it. One day, when refilling the Rx, the pharmacist said that one of the side effects was leg pain and if I experienced leg pain to stop taking it at once. Okay.

Fast forward to 3 weeks ago. I started feeling lousy. Getting into the first week, I wondered if I was dealing with depression...my body hurt, I was exhausted, I struggled to get out of bed and get on with my day. And of course there was the opening ceremonies of the Pregnant Woman Due Date Dilemma. But I pushed through because I certainly wasn't going to talk to my doctor about that!

Finally it was too much. Beside the fact that I couldn't walk, I was so exhausted I couldn't handle anything. When Daniel called to make the appointment Friday morning, I just laid in bed and cried. Ruthie crawled in with me and hit my leg lightly. I jumped so high I scared her. She had to get out of my bed. Sorry Ruthie.

When I got to the appointment, the gal who took me back asked me questions and made remarks that had me thinking these people would just laugh me out of the office! “Your legs hurt? Hmmm. Strange. You just feel yucky? Hmmm. Weird. Do you have a sore throat? Hmmm. Interesting....” I was not feeling good about this.

Then the doctor came in. My PCP was booked for the day, so I was seeing a different doctor. My first thought was that he was young. Really young. And tall. But he was so young. Maybe I'm just feeling old. So he began with the same questions and kept eye contact with me while he typed. I mentioned that it could be the flu, a virus, depression, Leukemia, bone cancer, or just nothing at all. Because, you know, I have an MDA..Mother Diagnoses All degree. And I wanted to cover myself in case it was nothing. He finally said he knew what it was, but he wanted to look at me first. “There really is something wrong?” “Yes” “What is it? You aren't going to tell me?” “Nope. I'll keep you in suspense.” “You're killing me!” And I tried not to cry.

He threw something in the trash and looked in my mouth, eyes, nose, told me to take deep breaths, listened to my heart. Then he grabbed my leg and asked if the pain was in the muscle or the bone. I answered with relief, “Just the muscle.” He told me he knows what it is and that I could sit back in the chair.

I slid off the table and limped to the chair and sat down. Breathing hard and trying not to cry. He said it was a side effect of the Simvastatin. It starts to deteriorate the muscle and that could cause some serious problems. He told me to stop the meds right then and to drink lots of water. He said to not take ibuprofen for pain. Just Tylenol. My muscles needed to heal. Did you know that deteriorating muscle can do bad things to your liver? Yeah. So he took lots of blood to see what was going on and sent me home with the precaution to go to the ER if the pain worsened over the weekend. I don't know if it was because he was young or if there really was a serious worry on his part, but the boy's face never relaxed once he knew what it was. He walked me to the lab with lots of nice words and cautions and get to the ERs that I thought he really was worried. He told me to thank my hubby for making the appointment and making me come!

Honestly, I was relieved I didn't have cancer. Cause, you know, that would suck. But think of the drama!!! Oh, just kidding, cancer isn't just for drama. I really am grateful it was something I could do something about!

So I rinsed the rest of my Rx down the disposal and started drinking so much water that I could actually float! Over the weekend, my legs felt better, but my whole body felt weak. And I had to keep going potty! (Wasn't I just recently writing about sharing too much?!)

This morning I got the blood work results. Everything is normal. Luckily I stopped in time. I just need to get my strength back! I have an incredible husband who took the drama from me with a real concern. He always takes good care of me. I am blessed beyond belief.

From now on, I may share more drama with you. Or I may not. You'll have to wait and see. But if you take a Simvastatin, or know someone who does, please watch for these side effects! It isn't worth it!