Life with Codeine

I'm finishing breakfast, about to take my morning round of drugs when I notice that I need to add some more of one of my painkillers to the Box o’ Meds I keep on my dining room table (because it's a handy reminder to take my meds with meals). I also notice that my tea equivalent (hot water with a small slice of lemon- really good for the stomach) is no longer hot. The plan is to put the cup with some cold water in the microwave, then go to the bathroom and get the painkillers, take my meds, then go back to get the hot water.


This is not how it works out, because when you have high pain levels and take enough of the really good meds for long enough time, things can get a little fuzzy.


I take the cup and wander off, mentally back at the computer where I'm in the middle of writing something, stop and drink the mostly cold water left in the cup while still mentally writing something, then look up and connect to where I'm at. Which is by the bathroom sink, facing a Lene in the mirror who's looking at me with a mix of wha…? and disdain. Because I was supposed to be making a cup of tea (OK, hot water with lemon) and why the hell am I in the bathroom? Sure, there's water there, but no microwave and no bowl with lemon slices, either. The Lene in the mirror makes a face at me and snorts derisively (she really is quite rude) and I turn around and move purposely towards the kitchen, focused on the task at hand.


When I do finally make it to the kitchen, there is part of my brain that keeps niggling at why on earth I went to the bathroom, slightly concerned that perhaps I have completely lost it. And it is not until I have rinsed out my cup, added more water, put the cup in the microwave, pressed the appropriate buttons to select a particular length of time for it to do its thing, gone back to the dining room table to get my plate and spoon so I can take them into the kitchen and rinse them off while the tea (OK water) finishes and look at the Box o’ Meds that I remember why I went to the bathroom.


So off I go, back to the bathroom, very deliberately not looking in the mirror because I have a feeling that the Lene who lives there is right now wearing the kind of facial expression that would be counterproductive to my self-esteem.





Comments

Marie said…
There is a Sniglet (a word that is not in the dictionary but should be) for your first trip to the bathroom: "destinesia."  I have those all the time, but because I am older than you, I just call them "senior moments."
3:52 PM
Gaina said…
Haha, I think you just had your first 'Senior Moment'.  Welcome to the club ((hug)). :-P
3:54 PM
AlisonH said…
Destinesia. Perfect! And dang, I've been a senior then since I was old enough to have a baby to keep me up all night so I couldn't think straight the next day. That would have been at the ripe old age of 23.
3:57 PM
Bonnie said…
If Lene of the Mirror gets uppity again, I recommend flipping her off.  Just be sure to close your eyes first so you won't see her response.
4:13 PM
k said…
Destinesia! Yes!
Codeine only gives me weird dreams. (I only take it in cough syrup. Maybe my doses aren't high enough.)
6:32 PM
fridawrites said…
I did that a lot when my kids were babies.  Now I ask the kids the same thing several times because I can't remember what their reply was.
7:49 PM
lene501 said…
SNiglets! I'd forgotten al about them.  I looove sniglets~
10:22 PM
Diane said…
I've only taken codeine in cough syrup, too, at night only.  I had one experience of being awake when I took some...and really don't remember much about that afternoon at all!
10:09 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Farber’s Disease: Could Your Child’s Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis Be Misdiagnosed?

Image
Joint inflammation or contractures. Nodules (small lumps under the skin or in other tissues). A weakened or hoarse voice. Children with these symptoms may have been diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) or other types of juvenile arthritis . But do they actually have JIA or do they have Farber’s disease? An equine digression When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras. This is an adage in the medical world that encourages doctors to not wander off exploring rare and esoteric reasons for a patient’s symptoms. Because most of the time, that hoof beat of a rash likely isn’t the plague, the joint pain more likely a type of arthritis than the bends (especially if the person has never scuba dived) and you get the picture. But once in a while, it actually is a zebra. And even if it’s first identified as a horse, eventually, the stripes come through. It took five years of my parents running around to different doctors before one finally recognized that I had
Read more

13 Things to Know for Rheumatoid Arthritis Newbies + Facebook Live

Image
Getting a diagnosis of any type of chronic illness can throw you for loop. There is so much to know and you have so little energy. My new slideshow for HealthCentral collects 13 things you need to know as an RA newbie : "Receiving a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a moment of strange duality. On one hand, you may be relieved to finally have answers for the symptoms you’ve been experiencing. On the other, it can be incredibly overwhelming to find out you have a chronic illness. Wrapping your head around all the new factors RA brings into your life is a long-term process. Here are some of the things you need to know." See the slideshow on HealthCentral . And in case you missed it, here is the Facebook Live I did yesterday talking about this topic:   
Read more