Medication Hangovers

This morning I was unable to clear my head to any satisfaction. I felt a bit hungover, perhaps sleep-deprived as well. Today it dawns on me that on mornings like this, I might be having issues with the gabapentin I've taken the night before. It's one 300-mg pill that I take with 400 mg of ibuprofen. But I'm not consistent with my timing. Some days I take it at 9 pm, and other days I take it closer to 11. And some mornings I'm good, and others make me feel as if I'd tied one on even though all I ever drink is a single apple ale or glass of fruity sangria.

Although my doctor told me there's no real side effects and it clears the system within a day, online literature on Google says otherwise. The stated elimination half-life of gabapentin is 5 to 7 hours. I'm surprised to learn that it leaves the body much the way it came in. That is, the body doesn't actually break it down. Well, that's news to me. I guess I should've researched this sooner. Side effects can include:

• dizziness, drowsiness, weakness, tired feeling;
• nausea, diarrhea, constipation;
• blurred vision;
• headache;
• breast swelling;
• dry mouth; or.
• loss of balance or coordination.

More jarring is the statement that one should not take antacids that contain aluminum or magnesium. My brain must've stopped reading at the word antacids because I don't take them. However, I do take a magnesium supplement during the day. And a capsule of ZMA at night. One capsule of ZMA contains a minute amount of magnesium, but perhaps enough to cause the insomnia I had last night. Eventually I fell asleep. Normally I take ZMA an hour before I take the gabapentin and ibuprofen mix. I'll have to be more conscientious about this now. 

 

My left leg hamstring and glute seems a tad sore. I don't normally feel the effects of RDLs two days later, and not normally only in one leg. It must be the shingles because the nerve trunk is still inflamed. I'm sure doing RDLs didn't help, but having shingles doesn't mean becoming a spud.

In spite of brain fog, and real fog outside, I make it to the gym and get my cardio and body weight work done. I'm a tad disappointed in myself with the push ups, trying to get to 30 for the last set, and only making it to 25 reps. Still, better than most people at my gym. Yeah, I'm a badass! I do get two sets of 25 reps for HGPUs, but I'm not brave enough to try and get my hands wider than 12" apart yet. I have a physical therapy appointment right afterwards, and that stops me from doing anything even vaguely shoulder-related. I'll be doing enough of that once I get to my appointment... 

Monday
6.43 miles

30 min elliptical
Program 1
Calories 296
Miles 2.60

HGPU 25
Push Ups 70, 50, 25
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s
Side Planks 2 x 60s
Knee-Ins 50

30 min x-trainer
Calories 142
Miles 3.83
Average Heart Rate 155

HGPU 25