Vertigo, Vino & Valium

Have you ever lied to your doctor about how much you drink? I’ve been known to stretch the truth a time or two. As in “a couple glasses of wine” being ‘weekly’ vs the actual ‘not quite daily, but sometimes’.

Truth be told, I have actually thought about not taking something I’ve been prescribed because it states not to drink alcohol while taking…but then done ‘research’ online till I found that one article that says a glass of wine with it is okay. It’s not that I physically needed the wine…I just didn’t want to have to go without it. I didn’t want to ‘miss out’.

Those people that say “I’m not drinking right now….I’m on antibiotics”…? Yeah…they do exist. I, however, am the friend who would say “oh, one glass wont’ hurt…lots of people drink while on antibiotics!”; or wash down a double dose of ibuprofen with wine. I’m also the friend that will go on for a bit about how bad antibiotics are for our bodies. (They really are!) Yet the wine is okay, apparently. Ha!

I was scrolling through Facebook yesterday and saw a post that said “I’ll have a cafe-mocha-vodka-Valium-latte to go, please.” Followed by many comments of “yes, please!”… “me too!”

I myself, have paired Valium and wine. I wasn’t going to…but a friend said it’s okay and to just not have the Valium if I’ve had more than a few glasses of wine. The Valium was prescribed to be taken before sleep, due to a bad bout of vertigo. So yeah…vertigo, Valium and vino. Great combo!

When did we as a society normalize the combination of alcohol and prescription drugs? How is “I’ll have a cafe-mocha-vodka Valium-latte to go, please.” funny? I mean it is…but it’s not. The reality of of it is a recipe for disaster. But everywhere we turn these days, drugs (alcohol included) that help us escape our reality are considered a normal part of life. I can’t even remember how many people, when finding out I was prescribed Valium, asked if I had any leftovers I’d want to part with! Yes, I have leftovers as I didn’t want to become reliant on them and I know that’s a slippery slope. No, I did not give any to anyone. They’re still in my nightstand. A very small dose of Valium…but Valium nonetheless.

My goal, at this point in this 90 day experiment, is to create a life that I don’t want to escape from. And I’m getting there… 1 month, 18 days.

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