If It Doesn't Kill Me

I have migraines and I’m going for an MRI then meeting with a neurologist to discuss new options for treating them.  I currently take Verapamil daily to keep them at bay.  Here are the side effects: 

-Constipation Chest pain
-Severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; itching; difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue)
-Symptoms of liver problems (eg, yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine, pale stools, severe or persistent stomach pain, fever, general feeling of being unwell)Light headedness, especially when standing
-Dizziness; fatigue; headache; light headedness; nausea
-Fainting
-Severe dizziness
-Shortness of breath
-Swelling of the feet or hands
-Unusually fast, slow, or irregular heartbeat

Pretty tame and I don’t experience much of them.  A friend recommended what he takes, Topomax, so I looked it up.  Here are the side effects and my comments:

I'm not sure I'm ready to be this healthy...

Faith in Humanity

Last night my mother told me a story that enraged me then made me feel pretty good about my fellow humans.


She had gone to the grocery store and when she came out a middle aged man had pulled up next to her car and parked so close she couldn’t get in. As he got out of his car she asked him if he could pull out so she could get in, and his response was that it wasn’t his problem. She told him he was rude and pointed out he wasn’t even in a parking spot. He said he didn’t care. He said this to a woman parked in a handicap space carrying an oxygen tank. What an asshole! At this point in the conversation I am ready to fly out, track him down and make him eat his own bumper! I tell Mom I would have called the police. She tells me to wait, there’s more.

So while my mom contemplates the situation (I applaud her for not throwing her tank through the guy’s windshield) she sees a store employee on her cell phone. Then the guy comes running out of the store and moves his car, happily not running my mom down in the process. The store employee comes over and tells my mom she called the police and that if something like that ever happens again she should do the same. I have a feeling she also called the store manager who found the guy and told him they were calling the police so he’d better move his damn car.

I’m writing a thank you letter to the store. I am so grateful to this woman who took a moment to look after my mom. It’s comforting to know that there are still good people out there who look after each other, and reminds me I should do the same.