Last night I joined some great guys for a “Man Monday” hosted by Mr. Groundhog and Revolution Church. Most of us were former or current military and some how ended up on the subject of crazy trips we had all had from medicine doctors prescribed. Every guy at the table had a story about how he had a bad reaction to the drug prescribed and how it took time to figure it out.
I have a really bad psychological reaction to muscle relaxers. They send me into depression. Years ago as a Marine I tore out my shoulder and was given steroid injections, therapy, and muscle relaxers. The following day we were sent to the field for a live-fire training exercise. I protested saying I wasn’t suppose to go and couldn’t carry anything on my left side. I was just told it’s okay, you are right handed. I was issued my rifle and I went to the field. By noon I was really depressed and wanted to just go off into the woods and cry. I left my Marines for a couple minutes and came back knowing that I shouldn’t be alone. On the way back I ran into my 1stSgt and Company Commander. They asked me how I was doing, and I cursed them out. By the third pill I figured it out and tossed the bottle. Then apologized to the 1stSgt the next day.
The best story of the night was one of the guys taking an antibiotic and flipping out. He took the pill and went to work (he’s a computer tech). At work he couldn’t even talk to the guy next to him and started freaking out because he couldn’t stand to be around anyone. Even-though he had a big meeting in an hour he got up without saying a word and left for the day. On the way home he freaked even more and couldn’t understand what was going on. He thought he would never be right again and considered running his car off the road so the insurance money would take care of his family. He made it home, crawled into a corner and rocked himself holding his knees until his wife got home. She called the doctor and they said, yes that happens to a small percentage of people that take that drug. He’ll be fine by tomorrow. He said it took him a week to feel right again.
The morale of the story is to actually read the warning label (the one that has the legal part) and find out what the possible side effects are when taking a new drug. Ask the prescriber what to look for and how many people react badly to this drug. Then tell your family what to look for and if you can, stay home for a while until you know if you will have a bad trip or not. It would have been nice for my friend and his family to know that the drug can cause anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts. Watch out for drug reactions in friends, family, and yourself.
Stay Safe,
Ben