Burp, burp, blarg...

Metformin sucks people!  I've been on this medication for four days now.  Dr. C put me on 2 Metformin ER 750 mg tablets every day, to be taken with my evening meal.  This is a high dose.  A lot of people only take 500 to 1000 mg and I'm on 1500 mg!

The first two days I was fine.  I had no ill effects despite having been warned that most people complain of upset stomach.  Yesterday I took my dose around 7 pm with a frozen pizza dinner (yeah didn't feel like cooking after my class.)  But around 8:30 pm I started feeling awful!

My stomach was upset and I felt like I'd seriously over eaten.  I hadn't, but it felt that way.  I ended up grabbing a ginger ale out of the fridge and nursing that.  By the time I went to bed, a bit before midnight, it was bearable but still not normal.

This morning I woke up feeling great.  My stomach was steady and comfortable.  I had a hard boiled egg and two slices of microwave bacon and that sat fine.  In fact the bacon made my tummy very happy, yum!  I munched on some edamame and half of a naval orange at work, still no problems.  And then I went to lunch and had half of a Jimmy John's Beach Club sandwich, which is by far my favorite sub on their menu.

I didn't even finish my lunch before the nausea hit.  I also had cramping so I headed to the bathroom and quickly decided I needed some Imodium, sorry for the over-share. So here I am, sitting in the corner of the pharmacy hunched over, feeling like absolute crap. And of course we are busy, so I keep having to get up to grab drive-thru or answer the phone or grab the register.  All the while feeling like I might hurl on someones shoes.

Finally I decide to see if we have some ginger ale.  It had done the job last night so it was worth a shot. We didn't carry it, so I settled on a bottle of 7-up and a fist-full of Imodium chewables (I really only took four but normally one of these will do the job so that tells you how bad it was.)  A few swallows into the bottle a burp slipped out and OMG the RELIEF!  I started making myself burp, quietly and away from patients of course, and with every burp I started to feel a little bit better.

By the time my shift was over I'd gone through one and a half 20 oz bottles of 7-up and felt almost completely normal.  I took my evening dose around 8pm tonight and am keeping with the carbonation therapy.  Dr. Pepper right now, but if I continue to have to do this I might have to get some carbonated water.  Every few minutes I burp and the nauseating pressure in my gut goes away, for a little while at least.

I definitely see why people have problems with this medication!  I asked my boss if this "intestinal distress" would go away after my system got used to it.  He said it should, probably by the middle of next week.  But if it didn't I should keep in mind that I am on a high dose and perhaps talk to Dr. C about reducing my dose to one a day until my symptoms dissipate.

Yesterday I didn't know if I could handle even a few days of feeling like this but today I think I can make it as long as I have a carbonated buddy with me.  Thank goodness for burps!

Has anyone ever had any experience with this medication?  Aside from the gas/nausea thing, I think its also making me sleepy.  I start to notice fatigue a few hours after a dose, but I wonder if that's just the construction in front of our house keeping me from getting a good nights sleep.  I don't feel like I'm not sleeping but I definitely notice the noise as I try to fall asleep at night.  Tonight seems to be all quite, they must not work on "weekends."  Lucky them.

PS. Ironically enough, the noise that has been annoying me for the last few nights is the city putting up a noise blocking wall.  Haha.

I almost committed a double homicide but Limp Bizket saved me...

Tuesday I was in a mood.  A rather black one at that.  We have a newly transferred (from another store and another department) employee in my pharmacy.  We'll call him RS.  RS had worked in our pharmacy for close to a week before we figured out he didn't have his state license.  Oops.  The state of Indiana requires you to be licensed to legally work in a pharmacy, and in July they started requiring a background check with finger printing.

RS wasn't told by his old store about this background check so after sending in his application it sat in limbo waiting for a background check that never happened.  I'd taked to RS two weeks before he started at our location and asked if he'd gotten his license yet.  He told me no, but that his payment had been deducted just a few days ago.  I took that as a sign that everything was okay, I mean they wouldn't take his money if it wasn't, right?  Wrong.

I never thought to ask if he'd done his background check.  And I unfortunately assumed that he'd tell us if he never got his license.  So it was something of a shock when on his fourth day (I'd only worked with him once before) I went to print his license and saw "application pending."  Why had no one checked this before?  How did this slip through the cracks?

So now we are smack dab in the middle of the flu shot and fall illness season and I've lost my only other regular tech.  Not to mention he's still not trained 100% and now we have to stop training and wait for his license.

Two days after I discovered this we sent him for his background check.  We checked with the licensing agency the same day to see how long it will take, only to learn he filled out his application wrong so his background check was wrong too!  Okay, now I am starting to lose confidence in our new tech.  But it's too late now, so we have him redo both the application and the background check. This time it's done right.  And then we wait....

And while we are waiting we are back to being short handed and extra stressed.  I had to change my schedule day to day as I feverishly checked his license status multiple times a day.  It took over 10 days from the date of discovery, but I finally saw the magical "expires September 2012" and our wait was over.

Sunday was his first day back.  My manager assured me he had finished all of his computer training during his hiatus and that he would get him back up to speed between Sunday and Monday.  I was off both days so I kicked backed and enjoyed my days off, never imagining the horror that would await me Tuesday afternoon...

My work day started at 12:30 pm.  I walked into what can only be described as utter and complete chaos.  Our am pharmacist on Tuesdays is slow and computer challenged.  I sometime have trouble keeping up, but RS has a night class on Tuesdays so I had no choice.  Between the new-guy-who-forgot-everything and computer illiterate-slower-than-dirt-pharmacist I had quite a mess to clean up.

So of course I took charge and started ordering people around.  Do this, not that.  You go do this, that can wait.  Get that patient at the counter, I'll fix this insurance problem.  And with each passing moment where I had to tell someone who is supposed to be my boss what to do, my anger grew.  With each moment I had to stop and show RS basic things that he knew and was supposed to have been refreshed on over the past two days, my anger grew.  Everytime I had to stop cleaning up their mess to get a patient that no one would wait on, my anger grew.  It became rage.  And I really wanted to commit double murder.

Instead I took a deep breath, dug my nails into my palms, and sung the lyrics (in my head) to some of my favorite angry songs.  Chevelle's "The Red" is a good one.  Anything from Nine Inch Nails "Downward Spiral" is good too.  And despite the fact I really don't like Limp Bizkit or Fred Durst, they have my number one favorite.  Break Stuff.

Its just one a those days when you dont wanna wake up
Everything is f***ed, everybody sucks
You dont really know why, but you wanna justify
Ripping someones head off
No human contact, and if you interact your life is on contract
Your best bet is to stay away mother f***er
Its just wanna those days
REFRAIN:
Its all about the he said she said bullshit
I think you better quit, letting shit slip
Or you'll be leaving with a fat lip
Its all about the he said she said bullshit
I think you better quit, talkin that shit
Its just one a those days
Feeling like a fraight train
First one to complain, leaves with a blood stain
Damn right, Im a maniac
You better watch your back
Cuz im f***in up your program
And if you feel stuck up, you just mucked up
Next in line to get f***ed up,
Your best bet is to stay away mother f***er
Its just one of those days
REFRAIN
So come and get it
I feel like shit
My suggestion is to keep your distance
Cuz right now I'm dangerous
We've all felt like shit, been treated like shit
All those mother f***ers
That wanna step up
I hope you know I'm like a chainsaw
I'll skin your ass raw
And if my day keeps going this way I just might
Break something tonight
I'm like a chainsaw
I'll skin your ass raw
And if my day keeps going this way I just might
Break your f***in face tonight
Gimmie something to break
How bout your f***in face
I hope you know I'm like a chainsaw (what)
A chainsaw (what)
A mother f***in chainsaw (what)
So come and get it
REFRAIN
So come and get it
*********

If that isn't an angry song, I don't know what is.  And somehow, it always makes me feel better.  I think it's like venting to myself.  Telling myself it's okay to be angry, furious even, that it happens to everyone.  Heck, it happens enough that there are a ton of songs about anger.

Eminem even made a career out of his angry rants.  And while my anger may not make millions, it is okay, normal even.  Even the irrational kind, as long as you get over it and don't take it out on someone else.

After about two hours we were back on track.  And my anger had fizzled out.  I got my normal positive attitude back and started the process of retraining RS.  When I came in yesterday, he seemed to be doing much better, and there were no messes for me to clean up, thank goodness!  I did mention how bad things were to my manager and how close I'd come to murder.  Of course my manager laughed. Apparently I am not very scary.

I'll take that as a good thing!

You want me to wash my face with what?

Sebum.  It's the oil your skin secretes to protect itself from the harsh environment.  It's really good for you skin.  In fact, my skin always looks best first thing in the morning, right after I get up.  My skin looks soft and supple with a healthy glow.  That's because of sebum.  So if this oil is so good for your face, why do we strip it off when we wash?

Every morning I wash my face with Neutrogena Oil-Free Face Wash.  And every morning my skin gets tight and dry so I apply a moisturizer to combat this problem.  But before I washed my face I didn't have dry skin.  Only after I stripped off the layer of sebum did dryness set in.  So what I need is a way to wash my face without stripping off this helpful layer of sebum.

Queue discovery.  I ran across this, the Oil-Cleaning Method or OCM.  It's very simple.  Oil dissolves oil.  If done correctly you can remove the dirty oils and replace them with beneficial ones.  Your skin will retain its moisture and stay soft and supple.  And this method, when done correctly, will help clear up acne, oily skin, dry skin, blackheads, and other skin problems.

So I decided to give it a try.  First I bought a bottle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, a bottle of castor oil, and a bottle of tea tree oil.  Tea tree is not necessary for this "formula" but it has antiseptic properties to work on my occasional breakouts.  Castor oil is a great cleanser and olive oil is a great moisturizer that is actually the same pH as your skin!

I got everything at the drug store.  Tea Tree- $7.99, Castor- $4.99- Olive Oil- $6.99.

 Now for normal skin they recommend using a one to one ratio of olive oil and castor oil.  For oily skin they recommend three parts castor to one part olive oil.  For dry skin try three parts olive oil to one part castor.  My skin is combination dry and oily so I tried two parts castor to one part olive oil.  I then added a few drops of tea tree.  I started with about two ounces, or 60 mL (that's 40 mL (8 teaspoons) of castor oil and 20 mL (4 teaspoons) of olive oil with four drops of tea tree oil.

So put this all in a bottle, don't use a spray bottle because oil will just gunk up the sprayer and it won't work.  Shake the bottle well before use.  Then take a quarter size portion of oil and massage into dry skin.  Work this in really well everywhere.  This stuff will even take off your eye make-up for you without using a separate pricey eye make-up remover.

Once that's massaged in take a washcloth and wet it with hot water, don't make it hotter than your face can stand though.  Take the hot washcloth and set it on your face until it cools.  This will open your pores and give you a mini facial.  Then rinse the wash cloth and use it to remove the excess oil.  Do not use soap, just water and the cloth. Pat your face dry and marvel.

The first time I tried it was at night before bed.  My skin felt so soft.  It even looked better, younger.  My pores were smaller, less noticeable and I didn't have to moisturize anything, not even my normal dry problem areas.  The next morning a budding pimple on my forehead had shrunk to almost nothing and my skin still felt and looked great.

Lots of sites recommend only using this at night and in the morning just rinsing your face with plain water.  I'm going to use that recommendation and see how it goes.  I'm going to keep up with this routine and see how it looks in a few weeks, a month, and a few months.  Winter will be a true test as my combination skin tends to freak out in the dry air.  My most common skin complaint are: enlarged pores on my nose with blackheads, occasional breakouts on my cheekbones and chin, and dry patches on the sides of my nose, between my eyebrows, and under eye area.  I took a baseline photo to compare with in a few weeks.  I'll keep you updated!

On to two separate issues.  Remember when I told you about my wonderful parmesan chicken and spinach dinner?  Well I made it again and it was just as delicious and I managed to snap a picture this time!

This time I made it with brown rice which had more spinach mixed in.  I love spinach in salads but cooked its not my favorite.  I find that if I mix it into things I don't notice it so much as it tends to have a mild flavor.  I had left overs from this a few nights later and I have to say its just as tasty the second time around!

I also wanted to share my newest purchase.  I went to a fair two weekends ago and found a vendor selling silver at 50% off.  I found this beauty and when it fit I decided it was mine!  Its opal and silver and only ran me $14!

Quick Update:  Dr. C has put me on Metformin ER 750 mg tablets.  I'm taking two every night with dinner.  This is supposed to help overcome my fertility challenges but combating insulin resistance.

An Awesome Discovery

First off, I'm back home.  Yeah!!!  My Mom came home on Friday and I was able to sleep in my own bed and wake up next to Tony for the first time in ten days.  I am so happy to be home.  Every morning Frankie greets me at the bedroom door when I get up, I really missed that.  I will not miss having to walk Sally in the pouring rain (which happened four times.)

I had to work on Friday from 10 to 7pm.  I left work right on time and saw an amazing site.

A double rainbow!  I've never seen one before.  I did a little research and learned that the two rainbows are mirror images of each other.  Its kind of hard to see but the green on the bottom rainbow is at the bottom and on the top one its at the top.  Yup, mirror images.  The other cool thing is that I could see the whole arch of both rainbows.  Most times I can only see one end or the other.  Of course I didn't have a camera and this is a cell phone photo.

I kind of felt like I was meant to see this. It filled me with hope.  Hope for a baby.  I looked up what double rainbows are supposed to mean and got two different meanings:

According to Feng Shui writer Lillian Too, a double rainbow is a sign from the cosmic Universe that you are about to have something great fall into your lap, and that one good thing will lead to another.

The Osho Energy Transformation Institute says a double rainbow is the symbol of transformation.

So that night I went to bed back at home filled with hope.  Saturday I headed back to work and decided to run a few test claims to get a better idea of how much the fertility medications are going to cost us.  I started with Follistim 900.  That's the highest strength of the medication.  Cash price of this is over $2,400.  With my insurance it is only $30!  Oh my goodness!

Medication costs were half of our total fertility bill. Half.  But if they end up only being $30 a piece, we only need to raise a little over $3,000 instead of $6,000!  This is FANTASTIC news!  This is much more achievable.  Much more reasonable.   I also ran two more test claims and found a $2,300 medication was only $5 and a $500 medication was $30.  I'll take a $30 co-pay any day!

I called Tony from work to share the good news. He wondered if it was a mistake.  It does seem to good to be true.  It isn't a mistake, I had claim numbers (proof of a paid claim.)  But there is a catch.  The medications count towards my $10,000 lifetime fertility benefits.  So while I may not be shoveling out thousands of dollars on medications, my insurance company is adding up the contracted prices.  These are generally less than cash prices, but not by a lot.

So Monday morning I am going to call a specialty pharmacy and see what their cash prices are and what my insurance tells them they will cost.  See specialty pharmacies get special rates on the medications they stock.  So their cash prices are going to be less.  I know one medication is $127 and change at my pharmacy, and through specialty it is only $89.  I may not be able to go through specialty for everything (because timing is very critical and sometimes you can't wait for a shipment,) but whatever I can get from them will help.