My week of torture is about to end.
Starting on Sunday, I started an unexpected withdrawal from a few different medications (Ambien, Lorazepam, Nortryptyline) that, after losing my insurance, I can no longer afford… and it’s been one hellish time.
Blown-Up Pupils
Think of the worst body aches you’ve ever had. Combine that with hot/cold flashes, persistant sweating, blown-up pupils, clammy skin, light sensitivity… and you’ll be able to better understand what I just went through. My symptoms were so bad, I should mention, that I even missed a whole week of class. One week– and considering that there’s only 10 weeks in a quarter, that’s a LONG time to be MIA.
WHAT HAPPENED??
It started on Sunday when I went out to do some urban exploring around the old part of Tumwater, Washington. I was sweating like mad– and I wasn’t even doing anything strenuous! Literally, all I was doing was walking around, and considering that I work out at the gym 2-3 times a week for 45 minutes to an hour each time, this was very strange.
I went home, took a shower, and noticed that I started to feel sick.“Great,” I thought, “I’m coming down with the flu.” The only problem was that this WAS NOT what was wrong with me, but I didn’t even think otherwise until the next day.
On Monday, I had a meeting with several staff members at school (and no, I wasn’t in trouble, thank you!) and by that time, my two major symptoms were horrible body aches and hot/cold flashes. I also was not able to sleep AT ALL the night before. It was starting to take over me, and I still thought it was the flu, until a professor of mine that was at the meeting suggested that it could possibly be withdrawal from the medications I stopped taking within the last three weeks (FYI– they were stopped at different times). I shrugged off the notion, went on with the meeting, and then immediately went home.
Dead to the world...
Later that night, I was supposed to go to class, but that didn’t happen. By that time, I was experiencing some of the worst pain I’ve ever experienced, mainly in my upper body. Class was definitely NOT going to happen…. there was no way that it could.
Also that night, by late in the evening I was experiencing the above-mentioned symptoms, plus others. I thought I was dying. It’s hard to explain what it felt like to be me at that moment in time, but it was a MISERABLE experience.
That Tuesday, I was dead to the world. I stayed in bed. I suffered. Yeah… it kinda sucked. When I bitched about this on Twitter, still thinking it was the flu, a psych messaged me and asked if I was going through a drug withdrawal. After thinking about it some more and doing some research, I was then convinced that a drug withdrawal was what I was going through.
…and for the rest of the week, I’ve been basically held up in my room, eating only peanut butter and jelly sandwiches when it was possible (yes, I lost my appetite, too). Tried to go for a walk on Wednesday, but I returned only minutes later as I felt like udder crap and I was sweating so much that my shirt was entirely saturated with sweat. I also had HORRIBLE mood swings that day AND I missed class that night once again.
Now as I look back on all this today (Saturday), I’m about 95% over it all, but I’m still dealing with a few small body aches, excess sweating, and insomnia. I see the light at the end of the tunnel now, but I didn’t think it existed on Tuesday– that’s how wretched I felt.
Life goes on and one must take the good in with the bad. Now back to that homework I need to complete….