A Drug induced Coma!

Codeine is a member of the drug class opiates. Opiates include all naturally occurring drugs with morphine-like effects such as codeine and all semi and fully synthetic drugs with morphine-like effects such as heroin and meperidine (Demerol). Codeine was first discovered as a natural constituent of opium in very small concentrations, in the range of 0.7% - 2.5% by weight. Most codeine found in pharmaceutical products today is synthetically produced via the methylation of morphine. I was out of bed at 5:30 on the nose and feeling significantly better than the two previous mornings. My head cold seemed to be migrating to my chest as I couldn’t shake the urge to cough. As I went about my morning routine I figured I’d choke down some cough medicine before high tailing it off to work. I was through with my morning exercises in no time flat. Before I knew it I was walking Ykraps under continued clear skies. The moon sat relatively high in the NW sky and was as bright and beautiful as the night before. As our walk concluded my thoughts turned towards the morning’s first cup of coffee. I took Mindy hers and sat it on her lingerie dresser top since she was already up making the bed. I headed back downstairs to meditate, make food, and surf. After meditation I moved quickly onto food prep. I once again made tuna fish salad for the two of us. It took little effort since I whipped up a double batch the morning before. Our breakfast today consisted of fried eggs and fruit. This would be Jacob’s first day back to school in slightly over two weeks. He was very excited to be returning to school. I guess we’re all sick of seeing one another so much! J Before Mindy left, I asked if she could round me up some cough medicine since my cold moved to my throat. She obliged by bringing down two different types and leaving them on the island before she left. I went ahead and took my shower, dressed, and primped. I was ready to go kind of late. It was 7:45am when I made it downstairs. I didn’t push myself, however. I don’t like to rush! I took my time feeling better about leaving with all things in order. I packed the Trooper and warmed the engine then returned inside for some quick guitar and such. And just before walking out the door I picked one of the two cough syrups and took a big swig. I picked the non-child formula thinking it had a better chance of working and then left for work. I made it to work late by most accounts – 8:30am. But I was just happy to be there greased and ready for a productive day. I got busy right away and felt full of energy. I sat in my office and tore into my work with a gleam in my eye. After quickly interacting with an engineer or two, I returned to my office for more action. After a quick turn of my head I felt a little light headed. As I often would, I leaped to my feet and attempted to shake it off. That made my stomach dip! Oh golly! I sat back down in a hurry. The urge to sleep was coming on fast and furious. At first I didn’t know what to do. I considered heading home but didn’t want to succumb to using a sick day so early in the year. I abruptly closed my office door and laid my head on my gym bag. It was approximately 9:20am. I could hear voices and foot traffic outside my door but eventually went blank. I raised my head to check the time and found it to be 10:40am! I was shocked. I thought maybe ten minutes had gone by. That got my pulse racing. I tried to pull it together. I squared my glasses, opened my door and walked to the restroom. I returned minutes later feeling only incrementally better. I called Mindy since she had left a VM seemingly minutes earlier. I asked her what was in that cough medicine. She of course asked which one. I told her the orange one. Oops! She forgot to tell me it contained codeine. Great. She asked how much I took. I don’t know, I just took a “swig”. Shit, I was stoned, dizzy, sleepy, and nauseous. I could hardly finish my conversation and hung up. I quickly revisited my position with head in gym bag. I was out again. I came to and checked on my guys a couple of times. I woke again at run time and without giving it any thought I went for a run. I could barely feel my feet under me and my face felt almost numb behind my eyes. I ran slower than usual but noticed it took little if any effort. I thought at first that I might cut it short by a mile but ultimately toughed it out and did my entire 5 miles. I was sweating like crazy to be sure. As usual, the endorphin rush took most if not all the symptoms away but only temporarily. By the time I made it back to my office I was once again fading. I had enough time to ingest my packed salad however, but fell short of eating the rest. I needed to put my head back down. I slept for about another 40 minutes. At 3pm I got up and began interacting with my team again. I could not hide how I felt. I am certain that I looked like death warmed over. I was having difficulty functioning and decided I would leave come 4pm. I informed my boss and left promptly at 4pm. I couldn’t wait to get home and jump in bed. That’s all I could think of. Mindy promised to take care of everything at home, including walking Ykraps. I was grateful. After dropping my stuff pretty much at her feet I headed upstairs and into my Pink Floyd PJ’s and then into bed. Within minutes I began feeling better. The ill feeling began to subside although the lingering effects stuck around all evening. Mindy made Cream of Chicken and rice – a fave of mine. I got up to eat while her and Bella walked Ykraps. Jacob had left wit his dad to go see a monster truck. While Mindy and Bella wee out I built a fire. We haven’t had a fire in several weeks due mostly to the spring like temps. It felt awfully cozy snuggling up to a fire wrapped in a blanket along with my bed pillow. When the girls returned, we all sat down for dinner. It was yummy! I felt good enough to help Mindy clean up. We did that pretty quickly. I even felt up to eating a piece of my famous chocolate chip cheesecake. Jim showed up with Jacob just as I was eating my dessert. I joked with him about Mindy trying to poison me. You know, come to think of it, was she? Hmmm? Mindy got the kids upstairs and bathed between 6:30 & 7pm. I played on the PC and sent an email to my old friend Tom’s sister hoping to find a means of contacting him. He was supposed to call me over the holidays but hasn’t and he’s leaving for Bahrain on Saturday. That’s so like him not to call. I haven’t seen hi min over two years. Not only is he a good friend but he was my M-F running partner for the better part of two years. It turned out that a mysterious call that came into my cell was him. He left a VM. Later, I received a response to my email too from his sister giving me a number to try. I figured I try it Friday AM. Incidentally, the remote control that Mindy and I turned the house upside down trying to find turned up in no other place than the “remote control” basket. Are you freaking kidding me! That was to Jacob’s delight. He was now able to watch TV from bed. Mindy granted him ten minutes of TV time. As it turned out, the Buckeye Texas game was being shown on ONN. He chose that. He’s a football addict! Mindy and I returned to the family room and laid in front of the fire listening to digital cable radio. It was most pleasant. Jacob, on his own, turned off his TV at 8:10pm, just as his mother requested. Good boy! We stayed up until 10pm enjoying the warmth & coziness of the fire. I took a half dose of Nyquil and a tiny squirt of nasal spray before hoping in bed. No more codeine for me!