CHAPTER TWELVE
IT WAS Monday in Bangkok, and I took it easy knowing I would start my medication that day. I had had a few large beers with the guys downstairs but I was basically sober to begin my program. It usually took a half a bottle of vodka and a few large beers before I started wobbling when I walked so I was pretty sober.
After I ate at about 6pm, I took a 10mg tablet of Lexapro - an antidepressant - and then before bedtime I took one 25mg tablet of Topamax - an anticonvulsant and anti-migraine medication that also has been found to slow the cravings of alcohol. A few minutes after I took these I felt their effects. I had been a little worried how I would tolerate these since I live alone and have to do everything in myself so the idea of flipping out for a few days was a worry.
I did not sleep that night. I felt that I was in a drugged euphoria and I kept glancing at my watch all night watching the hours click by. About 5am the sun starts blasting through the edges of my curtains making sleep even more difficult. I was pretty upset at this point and happy that I had turned the volume off my computer so I wouldn’t get any phone calls. It was going to be a lazy day. I did notice that my hands felt weak like they couldn’t hold a pencil to write. Possibly the circulation? And there was a sensation in my mouth that no matter how much water I drank it was dry. This seemed to pass in the ensuing days.
Day 1
I lay in bed all day pretty much. Found a few beers in the fridge and some left over whiskey. Later I went downstairs for another but I felt strange halfway through it, like I was going to be sick. I roughed it out and had another to be sure everything was fine then went upstairs after having something to eat.
At 6pm I figured I needed to get a good night’s sleep.