As I lay dying (or at least it felt like I was)

Okay,

Those of you who know me know that I have a seriously whacked-out immune system. If there is an illness out there, I'm gonna get it. Most of the time I can still make it to work or at least suffer through it, but every so often something comes along that knocks me totally off my feet.

Niaspan did just that. Niaspan is a prescription drug for those people who suffer Hypercholesterol...that is, super-high cholesterol. I've had this for several years now and my levels go up and down like the world's biggest teeter-totter. I've had numbers as high as the 500's on more than one occassion, and low for me, is about 280.

Diet, excercise, pills...they help to some extent, but I haven't had below 200 in ages. Where does this leave me? Well, I'm safer shopping at my local Target than I am dealing with heart disease...which means I'm a prime candidate for a heart attack. (Wish I was like Chuck Norris, when he had a Heart attack, he beat it!) There's a joke there if you think about it.

Which brings me back to my new pal, Niaspan. Now if you had asked me yesterday which I'd rather have, Niaspan or a Heart attack, I'd have said Niaspan...that is until I took Niaspan!
I took my two cholesterol pills last night along with a baby aspirin (one of the things you need in conjunction with Niaspan) at about 10:30. I watched some of Jay Leno and was in bed by 11:30 and asleep soon after that.

1:00 AM on the dot:

I awoke with pain in my chest. My face hurt and was burning, as were my arms, legs and chest. I staggered to the bathroom and flipped on the light. My face was sunburn-red and my eyes were swelling shut. I was having trouble breathing and even standing at that point, but I staggered back to the bedroom, turned on the light and woke Sherry up.
"These pills are killing me!"

She followed me back to the bathroom and I took off my shirt. I was red all over and burning inside. I told Sherry that I felt like I was about to explode and then the next thing I remember I was lying on the floor.

I was chilling on the outside and burning on the inside. I was having some sort of muscle spasms and crying at the same time. I really did think, from the way my heart was beating that I was in the middle of a heart attack.

I could hear Sherry talking to someone and at first I thought it was one of the kids, but then I saw she had the phone. She asked if I wanted to go to the ER and my first thought was that I wanted to die at home. (I know this sounds dramatic, but let me see you take this pill and get through it without any problems!!!)

Then the itching started. Apparently this is part of the process as the pill works it's way through your system. I wanted to scratch out my eyes and tear off my skin at that point. I've had sun poisoning once in the past, and this was every bit as bad. Sherry offered me some liquid benedryl...she was still on the phone with the Doctor's office and was telling me what he was saying, but I have no idea what she said.

I tried to drink the benedryl, but thought I was going to throw up or pass out...so I held off for a few minutes until I could drink it. Sherry got me back into bed and somehow I fell asleep. I woke up a couple of times after that, but to only a very fast heart beat and some dizziness.
I ended up sleeping till 11:30 and then got up and searched the net about this new "Wonder Drug" and did find a few mentions of people going to the ER with the drug, or having bad reactions. Typically the web site for the pill mentions "discomfort and minor flushing."
Do you call looking like a tomato minor flushing???

I told Sherry I would not take the drug again. A friend of her's said her Husband went through the same thing and he was afraid to take it again. 1 in 10 people have this reaction and it's still considered "Minor Flushing???" Get real! I felt like I was dying, and it wasn't all that much fun!

Beware of Niaspan! If it kills you just to heal you, is it worth it?

David