Unbecoming Levity :: Mmm... Breakfast

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Mmm... Breakfast

by Abacquer on Fri 07 Oct 2005 09:53 AM EDT | Permanent Link | Cosmos

That's my breakfast! Doesn't it look yummy? ...

The big one is 1000 mg of "Augmentin" which is a mix of amoxicillin and clavulanic acid. That's for whatever is going on in my sinuses or inner ear that is making me feel dizzy/lightheaded. The doc says I might have a sinus infection or an inner ear infection.

The yellow one is 25 mg of Meclizine. You're supposed to take that to treat the dizziness. I haven't taken that one yet, I fear it. It has some scary side effects, and it can make you drowsy.

The little white pill is 10mg of Paroxetene Hydrochloride... my old friend, Paxil. I have been having a lot of trouble with anxiety lately (four panic attacks in the last two months), so I asked the doc if I could go back on Paxil but stick to the lowest possible dose. I figure if I can get even part of the med's benefit without suffering the side effects, it will be worth it.

And in addition to all this, the doc has prescribed a new topical medication for my spotty face... which my insurance does not cover. $45 for a tube of gel. Yeesh.

So what am I doing right now? I'm calling my doctor to ask if I can take ANOTHER drug with all this, Tylenol Sinus, to relieve the sinus pressure and headache.

Posted to:

Comments

Re: Mmm... Breakfast

by Anonymous on Fri 07 Oct 2005 10:20 AM EDT | Permanent Link

Tylenol Sinus should play nice with your augmentin and paxil, but I'm not sure about the meclizine.

Meclizine has never ever helped me with dizziness. Sometimes it makes me a little drowsy, but not in a helpful or entertaining way.

I'm taking 10 mg paxil/day too but my insurance company makes me get the 20's and split them in half. This annoys me because they don't split very well (even with a splitter, thinks to their shape) and also because I sometimes prefer a divided dose. It's hard enough splitting those pills two ways; splitting the halves again is virtually impossible to do without crushing them.

I tried the sustained release version, and it appears they were not releasing at all, or hardly at all. :-P

Julie

Re: Mmm... Breakfast

by Abacquer on Fri 07 Oct 2005 10:23 AM EDT | Profile | Permanent Link

I've decided, for now, not to take the Meclizine, only because I don't have motion sickness, and I don't really feel dizzy so much as I feel lightheaded. And the drug description doesn't say anything about lightheadedness.

Re: Mmm... Breakfast

by Maggie on Fri 07 Oct 2005 11:12 AM EDT | Profile | Permanent Link

Ugh, I hope you feel better. I'm prone to sinus infections. What really helps to prevent them (for me) is Nasacort, which is a steroid nasal spray that I use every day. If I'm using it before I get sick, then my cold is much less severe and I don't get a sinus infection. If, for some reason or other I haven't been using it, even if I start using it when the cold starts, I'll get a sinus infection. It also helps with my allergy symptoms, which is the reason it was prescribed.

Re: Mmm... Breakfast

by Anonymous on Fri 07 Oct 2005 11:58 AM EDT | Permanent Link

The meclizine could actually make you more lightheaded. Since sinus problems make me lightheaded anyway, I'd skip the m. and take the tylenol sinus.

Julie

Re: Mmm... Breakfast

by Abacquer on Fri 07 Oct 2005 12:09 PM EDT | Profile | Permanent Link

Thanks Julie and Maggie, for your advice and well wishes. I'd like to add something witty and goofy here, but I'm too loopy right now. :-/

Re: Mmm... Breakfast

by briwei on Fri 07 Oct 2005 02:17 PM EDT | Profile | Permanent Link

Dude, sorry you are not feeling well. I have good luck sinus wise with taking Claritin every night before bed. I haven't had a sinus infection since I moved to Cali. Had several viral colds that have moved to my chest, but none that warranted antibiotics.

I think skipping the meclizine is a good call. It's not what you need. You need to relieve the pressure. Drowsy wouldn't be bad if you heeded it and went to sleep.

Julie, are you saying the CR didn't do anything for you?

Re: Mmm... Breakfast

by Anonymous on Fri 07 Oct 2005 02:30 PM EDT | Permanent Link

The CR did *one* thing for me. It gave me withdrawal symptoms. I would not have known what was wrong with me, except that I had had similar symptoms when withdrawing from Effexor. It still took me a couple of days to figure out what they were, though.

I've had problems with CR/SR/TR pills before, so this was not a huge shock, but I was surprised that the symptoms got so bad so quickly, especially since I had been taking such a low dose.

And, since my insurance doesn't cover CR on the same tier as the regular generic, it also cost more.

My dr. wanted me to go back to the generic gradually, so she did the usual thing where you cut them in half for the first couple of days and then start taking a full 10 mg pill. However, since the insurance company now demands that all pills be cut in half, what I had to do was pay for two Rxs: one for 2 10-mg pills, and another for 13 20-mg pills (yes, two copays). Rather than just let me have 28 20 mg pills.

Chuck, sorry to be hindlegging on your miserable breakfast post. I hope you got to wash it all down with something yummy.

Julie

Re: Mmm... Breakfast

by Abacquer on Fri 07 Oct 2005 03:01 PM EDT | Profile | Permanent Link

hindlegging? There's an expression I'm not familiar with.

No worries. I'm happy to have interesting comments on my blog!

Re: Mmm... Breakfast

by Anonymous on Fri 07 Oct 2005 04:06 PM EDT | Permanent Link

Hindlegging is when a friend writes about something personal and then you use the reply to go off on some tangent about your own problems.

Julie

Re: Mmm... Breakfast

by JPB on Fri 07 Oct 2005 03:14 PM EDT | Profile | Permanent Link

Meclizine is an OTC drug, and I took it pretty much every day while I was on vacation this year because I tend to get symptoms on travel that are relieved by that drug. I didn't have the symptoms on the drug, so I guess it worked. I never noticed any side effects except the slight lightheadedness that accompanies the dulling of over-sensitive motion feelings.

I know Julie says it doesn't work for her, but I was able to go on Mission: Space twice and have no ill effects. I have to figure it was helping me.

Sorry for your sinus problems, buddy. Hope you feel better soon.

-James

Re: Mmm... Breakfast

by Maggie on Fri 07 Oct 2005 08:20 PM EDT | Profile | Permanent Link

Oh, it's bonine? That stuff got me inadvertantly through nausea caused by medication. I took it because I was flying, but then I didn't have the nausea I expected from starting birth control pills. This was years ago, after I finally weaned Mattie, and we were flying back from Debbie's wedding. It also gets me through flying, obviously. I usually get really seasick, too, and it got me to Martha's Vineyard this summer and back, no worries. Good stuff for motion sickness!

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