Musings of a Medical Zebra

Archive for the ‘Misc. Stuff’ Category

Cymbalta Discontinuation Syndrome

I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia about six years ago. Upon diagnosis, I was given the drug Cymbalta to help with my pain. The initial 30mg dose caused me to feel a bit spacey, but  that subsided after a couple weeks. My dose was eventually increased a second and final time to 60mg. Again, I felt spacey for a couple weeks. Once that subsided, I started feeling better; the drug helped with the pain I was having at the time.

Before swallowing my first dose — as is the case with all new drugs — I read the prescribing information. Of course the drug had its fair share of potential side effects, but all drugs have side effects. I was not deterred. I was warned by friends who had taken the drug that discontinuing it was difficult and extremely unpleasant. Still, I was not deterred. I figured I’d be on it for a long period of time, if not indefinitely, so why worry about discontinuing it? As it turns out, there are plenty of reasons to worry about discontinuing Cymbalta. Check this out.

Howe and Howe Tech — Ripchair

Wouldn’t it be awesome if everyone who could benefit from the wheelchair — a.k.a. the Ripchair — that Howe and Howe Tech built for Rocky could afford one? As it stands, according to Howe and Howe Tech, the Ripchairs cost $40,000 a pop. That’s just the cost to build one; that figure does not include profit.

It would be a dream for the company to see the chairs get to each person who needs one. Though they are pursuing ways to make the chairs less expensive, it will likely be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to make the Ripchairs affordable. What the company needs is a financial backer(s)  — we’re talking very generous people, like Oprah — to make this dream a reality.

If you are reading this, and you know of such a person/people, please contact Howe and Howe Tech to let them know. They can tell you how to proceed from there. Their contact info is below:

info@howeandhowe.com

Also, I’d like to thank Howe and Howe Tech for taking the time to respond to my e-mail. You guys are amazing and the work you do is awesome. 🙂

Another Palm Pre — Yay!

So last night we went to Best Buy and picked up another Palm Pre. (The lady my husband spoke with from Sprint informed him that we could get one cheaper through Best Buy.) Since I backed up the information from the broken Palm Pre — which is now listed on Ebay — I didn’t have to re-enter my phone numbers or the stuff in my calendar. 🙂

Palm Pre

I finally got around to replacing my Sprint Mogel on Monday. I bought a Palm Pre. The phone is awesome. Unfortunately, I accidentally dropped it on the way home from the post office yesterday. The screen cracked and the phone is now useless. Sprint said they can replace the phone…for $600. I am displeased by this.

Avatars by Sterling Adventures