[mousepod]

What amazes me about the whole (prescribed) drug culture is the acceptance of potential side effects, both on the part of doctor and patient.

I have a fairly constant but not horribly annoying ringing in my ears (RAWK MUSIC! YEAH!). A few months ago, it became horribly annoying for some reason. Although I am perfectly willing to admit that the cause may have been purely psychological, I decided a trip to the GP couldn't hurt.

He gave me a pill to try, and after several long discussions about my sobriety, it was decided that it would be ok to try 1/2 of a single low-dosage pill before I went to sleep.

The next morning, I woke up (barely) and felt as if I had been rolled in a carpet and dumped off the back of a truck. I drove to work (don't ask) and made it to the cubicle in the jail where I spend my first couple of hours of work. After about 15 minutes of staring at the computer screen, I started to pass out. Luckily, I had the wherewithal to get up and tell a deputy to call a medic. I caught my breath and called Heather (who I upset) and my doctor (who wasn't in).

The medic showed up and took my blood pressure (all was ok) and finally my doctor called back. I explained my symptoms.

"Oh yeah... that's just the medicine. You might be groggy until around noon or so. Tonight, just try a quarter of a pill."

I drove home (don't ask -- really) and flushed the whole friggin bottle.

Sometimes the symptoms of the cure are a lot worse than the disease.

Sorry for such a serious post. Great satire, though.