Well that didn’t last long. After feeling like I could run through a brick wall for the first two days of taking prednisone to unblock my Eustachian tube, I crashed.
Those first two days, I felt fantastic! I was energetic. My dizziness subsided. My energy was through the roof. Even my sore shoulder felt better.
Of course, I couldn’t sleep without waking 5 times a night. But it didn’t matter because I still felt energetic in the morning.
This was the first time I had ever taken steroids (other than getting an injection during my hernia surgery) and I loved it a first.
It was a tapered dosage. 5 pills on day 1, 4 on day 2, 3 on day 3, 2 on day 4 and 1 on day 5. The PA who prescribed this for me said this way I would receive the maximum benefit quickly and by the time I felt the adverse side effects, I’d be almost tapered off entirely.
I used to think, thank god I was too scared to do drugs – I’d have loved heroin. After all, I loved being drunk. I lived how it made me forget my problems. I liked how it reduced my inhibitions. I liked that it made me more social and silly.
I has expected that I would enjoy how I felt taking Percocet after my hernia surgery. I hated it. It made me so sleepy and lethargic that I quit taking it after 2 days. For my second surgery, I skipped it altogether and only took Advil and Excedrin.
Now I know – I’d have loved speed.
I get a little speedy when I take my allergy medicine. It makes me feel euphoric for a short while. This plus some iced tea is a great way to start the day.
So now I think, thank god I never tried meth or cocaine.
I never knew any coke heads, but I had met a number of meth addicts after I got sober. Some were former addicts. Most I suspect were still using.
All of them looked absolutely miserable. They were angry all the time. They did weird things with their jaws unconsciously – a sort of side-to-side grinding movement. They were all emaciated. heir brows were furrowed and their faces looked quite dark and angry. Many were missing teeth.
I suspect that meth must really make you feel great to go to the lengths and depths these poor souls reached.
As for anabolic steroids, TRT and HGH – Man, I’d love to have continuous high energy, have bigger muscles, be ripped and lean all the time and look like I was a twenty year old athlete.
I’ve known people who took anabolic steroids and looked fantastic. I’ve also seen the transformations of movie stars and celebrities. And bodybuilders.
If I could do this and have no consequences, I would.
But everything has consequences. The side effects of anabolic steroids outweigh the benefits to me. And thus, aside from Excedrin, Advil, allergy medicine and iced tea for caffeine, I’ll continue to live drug free.
I haven’t had alcohol in over 17 years. I rarely miss it at all. Occasionally something will trigger a memory of a good time I had when drunk. But what I reminisce about is that full experience – a dinner with my wife, a vacation on the beach or partying with high school friends.
Those days are long past and I enjoy the memories.
I demand too much from my mind and body today to drink or do drugs. And that’s a pretty good way to live too.