Oh Noes!!!!

Bitch, bitch bitch....Bitch. That's why the banality is below the fold....

By the middle of last week I was in pretty serious pain.

As scheduled, I went to the spine center Thursday to see if surgery was necessary.
Fortunately it was not.

I was put on Prednisone and some muscle relaxant. The result was a punchy Ken who slept 17 hours.


After this and other unmentionable discomfort, I looked up Predenisone to look at the side effects

Headache, diarrhea, constipation, upset stomach, increased sweating, unusual increased growth of hair on the face or body, nervousness, restlessness, difficulty sleeping, or increased/decreased appetite.Menstrual problems, eye pain, decreased/blurred vision, bulging eyes, nausea, vomiting, increased thirst, mental depression, mood swings, rounding out of face, bloody/black, tarry stools, swelling of the feet/lower legs, stomach pain, irregular heartbeat, frequent passing of urine, weight gain, weight loss, unusual bruising, pinpoint red spots on the skin, muscle cramps, weakness, skin problems, acne, thin/shiny skin, unusual tiredness, fever, sore throat, sneezing, cough, infection, wounds that will not heal, or pain in the hips/back/ribs/arms/shoulders/legs.

Well, while I have had several of these, I can say I did not have ANY menstrual complications....and that's a good thing!

...then there was a note about Grapefruit.
I've been eating a LOT of grapefruit partly to compensate for the 0 excersize I've been getting. And of course I've been getting large fast, possibly because of the side effects, possibly because of the lack of excersize.
No one told me about Grapefruit  interacting with Prednisone.
What could grapefruit possibly do to me?

well......

Fluid and electrolyte disturbances: sodium retention; fluid retention; congestive heart failure in susceptible patients; potassium loss; hypokalemic alkalosis; hypertension; hypocalcemia. Other common risks of long-term corticosteroid treatment include Cushing-like changes, decreased glucose tolerance and the usually benign steroid diabetes.

Well....THAT's nice.

What the hell is a Cushing -like change? Oh...



Not
Taking
The prednisone
ANY MORE!!!

I'll just keep stretching thank you very much.

According to both my doctors I should be back to work next Friday.This is welcome as I'm just about broke. I missed enough work that things were in doubt on the US front.

I talked to a manager who informed me that as my disability leave had not been approved, my job was in peril. He advised me to join the union in order to appeal anything that came down from up top as there is a company wide crackdown on attendance going on.

So I bit my lip and joined.
I'm a Teamster now.
I can be fined for badmouthing unions.
Not that I ever would.....
never....ever.

The lack of approval turned out to be a paperwork issue on one of the doctors end. My leave was actually approved anyway.

So because of an error and a genuinely concerned supervisor, I've signed up to have my paycheck garnished by an entity that I really don't like, think is all sunshine and lollipops.

I am house/pet sitting for my folks for a week.
I have a CG drill weekend after next and I have to pass a physical.
I've been bedridden or on a cane more or less for 3 weeks.
.

I missed school almost every day last week and all but one class yesterday due to medical appointments, pain and exhaustion. I'm back in the groove this week but I'm waaay behind the 8 ball both academically and financially. There is a lot of cramming in my future.
I have been dropped from the Japanese and math classes due to the attendance requirements...grades notwithstanding. (%#@*)!Fortunately the  2 classes will not count against my GPA (the professors were understanding). We'll see if the tuition dept. is as accommodating.
All in all, a thoroughly crappy couple of weeks.

OTOH

I got around school today without a cane at all for the first time in 2 weeks which is certainly good news, and the pain is all but gone. Physically my big issue is getting my flexibility back and getting this weight off, which I'm hoping is mostly fluid. I'm hoping to be able to safely eat grapefruit again tomorrow. I can still make a go of it in Biology and the Asian studies capstone course, though it is going to be tough. Classes end on DEC. 7th I've got one month to salvage this. I'll be one bizzy Brickmupet.
In the mixed bag dept. I will be returning to school just in time for UPS Holiday Hell...which while stressful means I can catch up my finances fairly quickly.

There is light at the end of the tunnel.

Those who don't get the Nevada-Tan reference and care click here.
Bloggers Beware....

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at 11:23 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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