I Have Gone Through The Worst So I Understand How To Be Thankful

This is my story on how I had temporary gone through excursive pain and agony in my body and mind. Such experiences have reinforced my faith that we have to be thankful everyday when we can just be ourselves to do everyday chore such as working, play, and rest. Because when you realize those that you and I had taken for granted can be lost one day they are very good reasons that we must be thankful and enjoy the life we have.

The story started when I arrived U.S. from Taiwan trip and visited my doctor for a complete medical check up and some follow-up discussions. The medical report card turns out to be clean. I then discussed my two major complaints with my doctor--indigestion and insomania. Doctor suggested to tackle the insomania problem first.

I have been on temazepine medication for years. This medication belongs to a benzodiazepine drug category which acts to enhance inhibitory effect of a neurotransmitter (GABA). The medication is primarily used to treat insomania patient and is considered to be very safe. However, a patient using such a medication for a long period of time can develop tolerance and the medication would become less effective for the medication.

My doctor suggested me to give my body a temazepine-free two week holiday then come back to this safe drug. During this period of time, my doctor asked me to try few non-benzodiazepine medications. Two medications were used. One of them is the ambien, a medication of the imidiazopyridines chemistry. The other was mesyrel which was actually prescribed by a Taiwanese doctor.

I had developed serious side effects on both non-benzodiazepine drugs. When these side effects came, it looks almost the end of the world at all. I had numbness in both arms and legs. I had chest pain and cold sweet. My throat was always dry no matter how much water I had drunk. My body was sensitive to both hot and cold. My head was heavy, drowsy, and occasionally losing orientation. I lost interest in activities which I usually enjoyed such as playing recorders. I was unsociable and was afraid of meeting people. This was the worst experiences I had ever had. It looked like I was at the end of the world.

My doctor was on vacation when I had side-effect problems and was not available for consulting. I made a decision on my own to stop taking non-benzodiapepine drugs and to go back to temazepine with lower dosage but at the same time supplemented with valerian, a sleeping-aid herb which can be bought from a regular health-food store.

After doing that, I returned back to my sense-of-well-being. Now, I am a regular me who had everything which I usually took for granted. This experience has taught me that everything we have taken for granted can be lost. For that reason while we are enjoying what we are, we must be thankful and live the best of all.