Paul's Heart

Life As A Dad, And A Survivor

Archive for the month “January, 2014”

16 Jan 2014

When Medicine Is Not Working


I am sitting in one of my specialist’s offices waiting for my turn, which is being delayed by the constant interruption of drug reps and insurance reps. And since I wrote yesterday that I would talk about medicines in my last post, I felt it ironic that everything is coming together at this moment.

My entire life, I grew up rarely taking any kind of medicine. When I do get sick these days, my family doctor is always amused that my body can probably get by with simple Penicillin because I have not built my immunity against all other kinds of antibiotics. Of course, that all changed when I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. At that point, I had all kinds of toxins put into my body. This was supposed to be a good thing. These medicines were going to make me better. That is what medicines are supposed to do. But what happens when medicines stop working?

I continued my record of not taking medicines following the completion of my cancer treatments. I believed that enough garbage had been put into my system. I experienced all kinds of side effects in the short run, and long term. Back when I was exposed to all of those drugs, potential side effects were not really discussed openly, simply as “matter of fact.” Today, you cannot escape the television commercials for long awaited hopes for cures to crippling illnesses only to have to face the disclaimers at the end of the commercial that warns of all kinds of horrible and potentially fatal side effects. After hearing most of the possibilities, I cannot for the life of me wonder why anyone would take that risk.

But I do not want this post to be about side effects, but more about what happens when the medicines are no longer working, yet we continue to take them, just because the doctors tell us to. Just a few years prior to my open heart surgery, after more than ten years of my doctors bugging me, I finally relented to take a simple drug called Synthroid to help me with a thyroid that was pretty much destroyed courtesy of my radiation therapy. My alternative would be to face a good possibility of thyroid cancer otherwise. Soon, other drugs would follow as my cholesterol got out of control, and after that, my blood pressure. Following my heart surgery, more blood pressure medicines, and then pain became an issue as various muscles and bones began to show their effects from the radiation and chemotherapies. But, the bottom line, they worked. Next to the pain I was dealing with, the biggest issue I struggled with following the heart surgery was insomnia.

I began taking Ambien, low dose to get me to sleep. Not helping, I graduated to the higher dose, but that too would not keep me asleep more than two to three hours. Then it was up to the controlled release, a pill meant to keep you asleep for eight hours. Just like everything else, it was not doing the job. To make matters worse, I was developing memory issues, and the first half of my days were pretty much spent in a “fog”. You see, Ambien CR can last in your system much longer than the eight hours it is meant to work. From my understanding, it can last up to twelve hours.

I have said before, I believe most medicines “mask” the ailments, in other words, they just treat the symptoms, not cure the cause. I believe medicine is just too quick to say, “here, take this” whether it be for depression, sleep, or pain.

Getting back to my Ambien problem, and that is what it was, a problem, because I was taking a pill to help me sleep, and it was not working. The trick was trying to find out why. It was not long until I discovered that it was the enormous amount of daily stress I was under. And once I learned to recognize and deal with my stressors, I was able to get to sleep, and without the Ambien. But another neat thing happened soon after. With less stress, I got more sleep, my pain levels seemed to get better. My body was finally getting the rest it needed. Do not get me wrong, I still have chronic pain, but it is easier to deal with because of increased sleep, and I have stopped pushing my body harder than I felt that I needed to.

As of today, I am now off all sleep medicines, and all pain medicines. I still have an occasional bad day, but I have more good days that I can tolerate them. The only pills I have to take are for my thyroid, and my cholesterol and blood pressure. I have already asked my doctors to consider taking me off of those meds, but to no avail. It is felt with my health history, I have enough stacked against me, and any preventative help I can get I should take. For now, I am still complying.

But when the medicines no longer work, why would I continue to take them? Exposing myself to long term risks and side effects and possibly addiction? My ailments are real, just as many others, and those ailments should be dealt with, not covered up by drugs that simply cover up the pain and discomforts. What is causing the issue, and deal with that, not just the symptoms.

Posted in Cancer, Family and Friends, Side Effects, The Heart | Leave a comment
15 Jan 2014

Turning Things Around


As a rule, I am generally a positive person. I have to be. It would be too easy just to be swallowed up by all the negativity in the world whether it be the news on the television, co-workers, or even family and friends. The “deck” has been stacked against me my entire life, but I always found a way to get through whatever challenge was thrown my way. No matter the challenges, being bullied in school, cancer, heart surgery, and now in the later stages of my second divorce, I am always able to find my way through, “rise up from the ashes like a Phoenix”.

At the age of 48, it is time to stop living challenge to challenge. I have always had strong faith in a supreme being (I am respectful to all religions which is why I worded it that way) so that has never been an issue. Physically, as the school bullies found out, I can take a pretty good beating. However, emotionally, it has always been a struggle of the old “one step forward, two steps back.” I would get so far through one crisis just to realize that another crisis had been lying in wait. But, as always, I was positive I was going to get through anything thrown at me. I am ready now to take two steps forward, and push back against anything thrown at me.

As I recovered from my Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, having gained over fifty pounds from the chemotherapy, it was positive thinking and commitment that helped me to get back into physical condition, drop the excess weight. I had done it. But just that quickly, as always, was another set back.

My recovery from emergency heart surgery was no different, just more cautious. But as time went on, again, there were factors standing in line against me. It was discovered that late developing side effects were now coming to the front of my physical condition. And as I have done every time, I have taken them on head on. But over recent years, it has required the help of prescription medications, meaning, it has not resolved my problems, just hidden them. But that is going to be my next post. Right now, I am so pumped up because I think I have finally found the right direction to stay several steps ahead of negativity and finally talk the talk, and walk the walk.

To have a positive outcome, I have had to surround myself with the most positive and supportive people, professional, family, and friends. It sounds simple. I had heard through my life “you can do it” or “hang in there.” That is not good enough. Positive support and reinforcement means just that, constant, all in. Unlike my recovery from my cancer and heart surgery, I am surrounded by people who genuinely want to see me live a life, free from all the forces that try to stand in my way.

I have struck gold in a dietician who has told me, “I’m not going to give up on you”. Evidently something that I said sparked that response. I have gone through three other dieticians to get a grip on my finicky and poor diet choices. And I am heading in the right direction no longer struggling to try new foods, and also eat healthy. I am being encouraged very strongly, with plenty of incentive, to exercise. Yes, the incentive of a healthy body should be good enough, but there are so many wonderful things that are waiting for me. I have been exercising regularly and it is beginning to show. Finally, the emotional part of this journey, dealing with the stress that often comes along with the trials, but also contributes to their effects. I strongly believe that a lot of the medications that I was placed on following my heart surgery were due to the stress I have been under.

A challenge has been issued to me within the next 30 days. It is a realistic goal to me. I can reach this because I am surrounded by people who want to see me succeed. This time, I really want to turn things around.

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15 Jan 2014

Accidents Happen?


“Accidents happen.” That was the quote that I heard over this past weekend. Only I am not in a position to allow it to be called an accident. In fact, if I were to allow the incident to have been called an accident, then I believe like other accidents, this could have been prevented. And it should have been prevented. But no, I will not label this incident an “accident.”

This post is not about placing blame either. I want to explain to you what happens when you get complacent and overconfident in your parenting and just how dangerous that attitude can be. To be honest, what I am about to share with you, can happen just as easily to an adult as it did my youngest daughter. I am sharing it with you, because if there is ever going to be an accident involving anyone else, I want to help you prevent it.

Last week, my daughter ingested over 75% of a bottle of Children’s Tylenol in a four hour period, clearly overdosing on the amount of medicine, unintentional of course. Those who know me, know I will not spend a lot of time on the “why”, which was crucial in this situation. You see, Tylenol, or acetaminophen, as it is also called, is toxic to the liver. There is a reason that the dosage marked on the box says not to take more than four times in an twenty-four hour period. So imagine drinking the large quantity that my daughter did in just four hours. I will show you what happens.

I took my daughter to the emergency room as soon as I found out what had happened, but it was unknown exactly how much in how short a time, and how long ago, my daughter had drank the Children’s Tylenol. But I brought the bottle with me, so that the hospital could measure the remaining contents, and determine the next step, following a the first of seven blood tests, measuring two very important liver enzyme levels. How serious did it get?

Beginning with levels at 125/103 and then increasing at each blood test to:
182/163
497/448
682/720
751/878

As you can see, the levels continued to climb over the initial 48 hours, and that was with the antidote to the Tylenol being injected into my daughter via intravenous fluids. Imagine had I not brought her to the ER, left her to just “let it run through her system”. When those liver enzymes hit 1000, that is when liver failure becomes a real possibility. There are other blood levels that were being watched, but that AST and ALT levels were the numbers that were the most concerning and watched.

On the next day, the blood test showed that the numbers had finally reflected the treatments being administered in a 1 hour dose, a 4 hour dose, and a sixteen hour dose. Only my daughter required two more sixteen hour doses of the antidote.

Today she is feeling much better and will see our family doctor one more time for this incident, and will get one more blood test, and hopefully those numbers will be normal. That would be 35-ish, not triple digit.

Not to ignore “why” this happened, there are many possibilities, some obvious, and some not. Like many parents, we use the flavored medicines to help get them into the girls, so I know she is drawn to the taste. My daughter has also noticed many people take medicines for various ailments, so when she does not feel right, she does what she sees. I do not know why she chose to do it on her own, or how she even came to ingest it on her own, let alone open the bottle. Although, she did inform me that she learned to open the bottle by reading the instructions on the bottle cap. But instead of bothering a grown up, she snuck off through the house with the bottle, and gave herself the medicine.

NOTE TO PHARM COMPANIES – that bottle is only childproof if the child cannot read!!!

My warning to you, if you suspect your child has ingested anything that he or she should not have, do not take the chance. Take the bottle and the child to the ER and let the doctor there figure everything out. Even if your child is vomiting the substance out, like my daughter, chances are, the ingredients have already entered the bloodstream. And at that point, you cannot help any more than getting the child to the doctor. Your child needs medical intervention. My story could have turned out tragic. So, if you want to call it an accident, however I will not, but hopefully my story will prevent an “accident” from happening.

Posted in Family and Friends, Side Effects | Leave a comment

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