Sunday, March 2, 2008

A buzz

Not sure what has come over me. Last week was off to a decent start. Suddenly, around Wednesday afternoon I developed difficulty being upright. Lying down no problem, head up, yep there it is again, cloud head. The room isn't spinning exactly, but I feel off balance. Like when you are drifting off to sleep or sip a martini a little too quickly on an empty stomach.

My husband suggested I embrace the gentle persistent buzz. Okay no problem, but it is a bit unsettling. Especially when trying remember how a patient is answering my questions or behind the wheel of my Volkswagen.

The cause? I am not sure. I did stop my medications. The Lexapro perhaps the culprit however my psychiatrist Dr. SM (aka best friend from college) told me a long taper is not necessary. Perhaps instead is was the psychiatrist's two children who visited last week, each with runny noses and low grade fevers. Being home for the winter has has its benefits, one being skipping out on flu season. I succumbed on Thursday and stayed in bed all day, but no improvement. Maybe with all of this not standing and not sitting (therefore lying) my heart forgot how to get blood to my brain. But then there is the fatigue issue. Could I just be tired? If so I have never been this tired in my life. Anemia, hypotension?

Whatever. I am tired of this listen to your body crap. My body is a freakin' lunatic. There is only so much I can take- so I do not plan to take this little development lying down. I doubt I will actually pass out or anything.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a med problem to me too. Even when I taper (always much slower than docs suggest) I've had that problem. Like my brain can't keep up with the movement of my eyes. Hope you feel better soon:)

Anonymous said...

Sorry to impose...

I read a comment you left on "Awake in Rochester" about what the difference is between legal marriage and legal partnership.

There's a world of difference. As a married woman, you have a lot of protections that are granted you as result of your marriage. You are automatically your husband's next of kin and, in the event a medical decision needs to be made, you are the one to make it. You don't even have to prove you're married to do that. Not so in a "legal partnership."

If your husband dies, because you are married, you get the marital property free and clear. Not so in a "legal partnership." The marital property has to be "bequeathed" to the surviving partner and there's a hefty inheritance tax on it.

Any children in a "legal partnership" are only recognized as children of the biological parent and, as such, do not have the protections a step-parent can provide them, if the union is a marriage instead of a partnership.

Retirement, social security, family medical leave, bereavement leave, all are "privileges" of a legal marriage. Not of a legal partnership.

Finally, in a legal partnership, even a will is not the last word if the extended family wants to contest the will. Extended family has no legal standing if they're left out of a will drawn up in a legal marriage.

I could go on, but I think you get the picture.

JC said...

Thank you for the clarification Pat. I certainly am naive about this issue. So what I understand is that it has more to do about the rights of marriage not whether the union is recognized by the church. I did not get this. Partnership is not enough. No logical court could disagree with your argument.