A little knowledge is a dangerous thing

As is the ability to use Wikipedia at all hours of the day! Last night, I couldn’t sleep (again), which was pissing me off as I return to work today and would have liked a good night’s sleep so I feel awake and refreshed, not groggy with the anti-histamine hangover I have today (more on this later).

The reason I couldn’t sleep – worry, secondary to chest pain.

Yes, I’d had chest pain since waking up yesterday. Central, crushing chest pain. Now I didn’t do anything like call 999 (do as I SAY, not as I DO) because I’m pretty sure it was due to too much coughing. It’s still hanging around now, though not so bad, as I’m doing less coughing.

This chest pain kept going through the day, alongside the niggling thought that I know people my age who’ve had MI’s at my age and, oh my, my neck is starting to hurt worse (though that is probably due to the infection), perhaps I should get checked out SHUT UP BRAIN if you’re that worried I’ll do an ECG when I get to work tomorrow (i.e. today). But it all worked out fine, my heart hasn’t snuffed it yet, and I’m feeling much better (though not better enough for a night out at Nando’s, perhaps my favourite resturaunt – I must really be ill).

So as usual, I went to bed at the end of the day (rock and roll lifestyle FTW). Did the crazy drug routine – 2 paracetamol, 2 erythromycin, lamotrigine, salbutamol inhaler, simple linctus and codeine linctus. That should sort the ill right out.

And then, as usual, I couldn’t sleep. So then, as usual (you see where this is going, right?) I decided to surf the web on my phone until I could find something dull enough to sleep or I just wore myself out (giggidy).

Wikipedia always provides boredom! Lets look up how erythromycin works. Ok, so what side-effects does it have? Oh, it interacts with drugs which lengthen the QT-interval. And by interacts I mean causes cardiac arrest. Not good.

Do I take any such drugs? My pocket interaction checker (comes bundled with a PDA formulatory I use for work, I’m not that sad!) says no, other than a slight risk with long term use of salbutamol, which I don’t. Ok then. But I vaguely recall that recent work shows that lamotrigine can cause lengthening of the QT-interval, though being recent hypothetical work it wouldn’t make it into such checkers yet.

Argh, I’m going to die! What to do, what to do? I know, more codeine (still coughing, will help that too) and some Nytol (old school anti-histamines still have their uses). Night all….

So now I’m suffering. Once from the anti-histamine hangover mentioned earlier, though coffee and paracetamol seem to be dispensing with that. And twice from my own stupidity – I really should, again, practice what I preach and read around. Latest work – Lamotrigine does not prolong QTc in a thorough QT/QTc study in healthy subjects (QTc being corrected QT-interval as QT depends on heart rate – essentially the think I was talking about). Though now my paranoia strikes – firstly that research was funded by Smaxo, who make the drug; and secondly, am I a “healthy subject” with my already crazy heart (who else of my level of non-fitness can sometimes have a resting bradycardia, yet a day later a resting tachycardia at the same time of the day, as well as my pre-existing sinus arrhythmia than people just love to take)…

STOP WORRYING BRAIN! SHUT UP! LOTS OF PEOPLE TAKE THESE DRUGS AND DON’T DIE!

I can’t wait until I do medicine, then I will hopefully properly understand all this jazz. Right now all  have is a basic overview, which means that I don’t understand any of it to enough detail to make actual rational decisions. I keep trying to tell myself this, but my brain keeps getting itself worried. Stupid brain.