A Toxic Medication Interaction - Fateful Day Part I

We all have one. A day. The day. The day where something in our lives changed drastically forever. For me, May 14, 2005 was that day.

The morning started off with the usual routine. I took my thyroid medication for my Hypo-thyroidism. Then I took a new pill, 40mgs of Celexa. I had been having severe anxiety issues and had asked my new doctor if I could get back onto an anti-depressant. After an evaluation she agreed that I ought to be on one. So I began my treatment. And after that, the details become so very clear.

It was approximately 8:00 a.m. when I took the Celexa.

Exactly 2/12 hours later at 10:30 a.m. as I sat on the couch watching Rolie Polie Olie with my kids I began to feel a little nauseated. I went back to the bathroom thinking I would throw up but then the wave dissipated. I sat back onto the couch when another wave hit, this one twice as strong and with it came the feeling that I was losing consciousness. Suddenly I felt something was very wrong.
My arms were pulsing with warmth. Warmth shot from my head down to my toes. Every muscle in my body began quivering. I dialed my husband to tell him to come home. He could tell I sounded panicked and tried to talk me through what I was feeling. As I started talking to him my body calmed down slightly but towards the end of our conversation that jolting nausea accompanied by struggling to keep conscious surfaced. I told him I was passing out. Then I screamed into the phone that I was dying. I was sure if I lost consciousness I would be dead.

After I hung up the phone I found myself shaking violently again. I knelt down on the floor desperately trying to retch. But I couldn’t. My children were nearby asking me what was wrong. I just told them to watch the TV.

The shaking and zinging feelings shooting from my head and into my arms got worse and worse. I couldn’t even stand. With a prayer on my lips I crawled into the hallway until I couldn’t crawl anymore and curled up next to the bathroom. I couldn’t stop the trembling that had consumed my body. I felt so sick but I couldn’t throw up. My kids came into the hallway and hovered near me and I told them how much I loved them. Then I prayed that my husband would get home soon enough after I had died that they wouldn’t get into any major trouble running around the house on their own.

To be continued…

P.S. I have to continue it. I can’t write anymore. I thought I had worked up the courage to share this story but I’m actually shaking as I relive it.

May 14, 2008 | Filed Under Mental Health | 21 Comments 

Make blogging easier

I had been blogging for about 4 months before I discovered the beauty of a feed reader. I can’t even remember how I discovered it, but when I did it was a joyous occasion.

Before using a reader I would find myself clicking on the links in my blogroll at all times of day, waiting for the blog to load only to be disappointed that there wasn’t a new post up yet. It took a lot of time and I was getting to the point where I didn’t think I could keep up anymore when I learned about Google Reader.
All you need to be able to use it is a Gmail account. Once you log in you click on Add Subscription and type in the url of a blog you like to read. Then add another one and so on. You can have as many blogs in your reader as you like.

The purpose of the reader is to consolidate all of your favorite blogs in one place with notifications when they have been updated. Now I just check my reader twice a day instead of clicking on each individual blog link without knowing if it’s been updated or not. It’s a terrific time saver and works well for me!

P.S. -Are you a mom up for a Challenge?

May 14, 2008 | Filed Under Blogging Help, Works for me Wednesday | 11 Comments