Theory

My general malaise has disturbingly lingered throughout the entire day, which has made me very nervous, considering that I don't know what is happening to me. Add to that the stresses of going back to work and my upcoming six-month evaluation, and believe me... I really could use a drink. And I'm not talking about a can of Coors Light either.

So without an answer, I have been forced to use all of the knowledge and experiences that I've had in the last year to diagnose myself. I've been given a number of medicines, and one of them is making me ill. It reminds me of some sick, perverted medical version of the game Clue. Was it Dr. Ballady with the Niaspan in the lipid clinic? Or perhaps it was Dr. Dember with the Lasix in the Doctor's Building?

All I know is that everything was fine and dandy until I started taking the Niaspan. What makes this mystery difficult is that I had been taking it for a few days before I started to feel bad. And I have been tolerating the dosage every night without ill effect.

I fired up Google and did some research. Did you know that Google can be used as a dictionary? Enter in "define: <word>" as your search, where <word> is what you'd like a definition on. I checked out niacin, which is the ingredient in Niaspan. I found out that it is effective in reducing high blood pressure. The last time I felt this way was when I was taking the Zaroxlyn in September, and it was too strong, making me ill. Perhaps the Niaspan and Lasix are causing severe hypotension (that is, low blood pressure)? Perhaps I'm onto something.

If I cannot tolerate both of these medications, then I will need to cut or stop taking one of them. Because the reduction of the trigylcerides is a much more urgent matter, I will need to cut down on the water pills.

Today I went down from 100mg to 80mg. If this illness continues, I will skip it for a day or two to see if it resolves the issue. And we will have to take it from there.