The Drugs Again...

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Drugs are one of the best things to happen to humanity. However, for some people, they’re just as well the worst things that can happen to them. One major downside to drugs is just how addictive they can be to humans and how easy it can be to overdose on them. Hell, if even vitamin C can be overdosed on, then who is safe from these drugs?

At one time or another, we’ve taken drugs that turned out to be nothing but a mistake due to the way they affected us. I’m no different. I don’t smoke and I don’t do drugs for recreational purposes. If I’m taking drugs, it’s because I’m ill or in need of it, and it has been prescribed by the doctor. This last line I just mentioned, be sure to remember that because it’s one that I’d never forget. Because the last time I took drugs without the prescription of the doctor… well, why don’t I tell you all about it?

I’m lucky enough that I don’t fall sick too often. I can go an entire year and I would only fall ill once or twice, and it would be nothing more than just a simple malaria. Here in my country, malaria drugs can be gotten over the counter, and not just the drugs, but all the follow-up drugs as well. As you know, you won’t just take malaria drugs, you’d also take antibiotics and paracetamol to counter the body aches you’d be feeling. Then, in some cases, if the patient is vomiting and such, there will be drugs to counter that.

The truth is, if you know what to look for, you can just as easily treat yourself. That’s what makes it so dangerous. Now people think that any small fever is malaria, even a little cold could be malaria, and even kidney failure could be malaria. They would first treat malaria and when that doesn’t work out, they then go to the doctor to figure out their next move.

Anyway, for me, I fell ill and I figured it was malaria. I knew this because I saw all the symptoms. However, I decided to treat myself in the worst way possible. Usually, when buying drugs over the counter, you tell the pharmacist what is wrong with you they decide what to give you. I didn’t do that. I just rattled off the drugs I wanted and told them to give it to me. Now, if it was the owner of the shop that was there, it would have gone differently because he would have demanded to know who wanted to take it. But it wasn’t, just someone who wanted to help him watch the shop while he was away.

The guy knew nothing about drugs and he would have told me to hold on for his boss, but since I was rattling off drugs, he figured I knew what I was doing and gave them to me. I bought them and made my way home. I took the drugs and I didn’t get better, for some reason, it was as if I was getting worse. The only thing that subsided was the headaches but the fever intensified and I was shivering like a… an animal that shivers?😂

Either way, I got worse. I had to return to the pharmacy the next morning and when I showed him the drugs I bought, he was shocked. While they were the right drugs for malaria, they were drugs for the wrong age. For someone as old as I was, I had taken drugs designed for people way younger. The malaria drug was okay, but the antibiotic was just wrong and for some reason, it was the one making all the symptoms worsen.

The pharmacist had to wean me, he warned me severely against trying something like that. I had to wait for the drugs in my system to get out before he gave me new drugs that would do the actual work. You see, one of the downsides of these drugs is one that many of us don’t even notice. Taking them too much can be risky, even when we’re not addicted to them. Our body builds up tolerance to them, to the point that when we take them, they will no longer work.

Imagine taking malaria drugs but it’s not working because your body has become so used to it and needs something stronger. This is actually a real thing and the pharmacist taught me that. Taking these things too much will only harm us in the long run and switching them up from time to time will be good. Sometimes, drugs, and other times, we can use injections and whatnot.

Since then, I learned my lesson and I’ve never repeated that mistake. I go to the doctor for diagnosis and prescription and if that’s not possible, I simply go to the pharmacist. I don’t make such decisions on my own anymore. I’ve been bitten once, now I’m twice shy.

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_{Thank you for reading. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below, I would love to know what you’re thinking. Till we meet in the next post.}

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_{This post is inspired by the third topic of this week which is Not Just Drugs. Feel free to try it out.}

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_{N.B: All images used in this post are mine. The thumbnail was designed using Canva.}

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