Ever since my sabbatical started, i feel like everyother day i am going to the doctor; call the doctor's office, calling one of the nurses and docs in our church to determine if what the doctor told was true and/or going to the drug store. My bathroom sink area looks like a counter at the local pharmacy. I have seven or eight bottles of pills. My first thought was -- "does these pills work against each other and cause the potency of the pills to be negated?" but then again the doctors and pharmacist should know what they are doing! Right?
I would have thought so but yesterday gave me doubt! In preparation for an upcoming mission trip I was getting all my medicine ready. i had to get a refill of one of the pills so I was heading over to my local pill distributor (which will remain nameless). As i looked at the pill bottles I couldn't remember what one of the pills were perscribed for.... it was around the time i hurt my knee from too much work at the beginning of the sabbatical. but i had my celebrex for that. Being confused I took the bottle along to the drug store. While filling the order prescription, i asked the lady if she could tell me what these were for? She took the bottle to the pharmacist and returned using a quiet voice and leaning towards me -- "they are for yor depression -- it is the antidepression medicine."
Anti-depression? You are kidding? I was stunned -- and asked her to see if they would give me these pills for inflammation of the knee? Seconds later the pharmacist came out and said that she needed to check the original order. Minutes later she returned white faced and with a sick look as if she lost a close friend. "Mr. Mitchell, there has been a terrible mistake - how many of these pills did you take?" I remembered it was one or two. There was relief coming on her face -- as panic came over me. "this prescription was faxed over and the fax cut off the full name -- we guessed and gave you a medicine for those with bi-polar condition." She was falling over herself apologizing. I asked if it did any damage -- she assured me that taking two would not do anything. She refunded my money and fulfilled every request in a timely manner!
The morale of the story -- check every prescription you get and read the papers they send home. In a later investigation, i learned that if i had kept taking them, there would had been some major psychological affects of me and my moods! I laugh at the situation now and thank God they didn't give me birth control or female hormonal replacement medicine.