![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Out of Sorts, Out of Patience
Feb. 8th, 2016 10:01 pmCipro. Day 11. Cipro is a nasty antibiotic. I've taken it once before and had it make me feel crappy for most of the two weeks. This time, same deal, except the doc wants me to take it for at least four weeks.
Combine that with the big scare that Cipro can possibly rupture tendons. It's a big scare because I already have tight tendons, particularly my achilles tendons, which is where Cipro really causes problems. Worse, Cipro seems to cause muscle aches. For a week, I thought I was just hyper aware of my leg tightness, but I've since heard from multiple people that Cipro causes exactly this sort of ache. (And it explains the occasional knee aches I get.) Put that all together and I've had aching leg muscles for almost the whole time I've been taking Cipro, and I have to frequently ask myself, "Is there any inflammation? Do my muscles just ache or is there pain there?" So far, just aching.
And the Cipro is a pain to take because you have to avoid all sorts of things (milk, yogurt, antacids). I just learned that no one bothered to tell me to be careful with my multivitamins too, because they have zinc. So I've probably been lowering the efficacy of this hellish medicine for the first week and a half.
Oh yeah, it's been upsetting my digestion too. I've upped my normal probiotics with a second probiotic with a lot more strains and yogurt every afternoon (all far away from taking the antibiotics), and I haven't been feeling horrible, but I have been feeling sick every morning for the last six mornings in a row.
Good times.
Blue Cross Sucks. And of course Blue Cross would only dispense 14 days of the 30 days my doctor prescribed. Not that I really want more, but there you go. Tomorrow I get to call in the refill, then on Wednesday I see if I actually get the rest or not.
Hawaiian Airlines Sucks. But Hawaiian Airlines was the bane of my existence today. K. and I have been using them for our yearly trips to visit family for several years, ever since a disastrous trip where United messed up almost every leg of the flight. Hawaiian has been much better, except that time someone died on the plane, but that can probably be excused.
But they're apparently fair weather friends.
With all the problems that the antibiotics are causing me, K. and I decided that maybe we should put off this year's vacation. So I called up Hawaiian to talk about it and see the cost.
Try #1. The customer service rep and I pick out a new day. We run it all through. Then she tells me that there's no change fee (she's very clear about this), but that the difference in price will cost us an additional $650 for our tickets. I lose my cool a bit, and say no thank you.
Afterward I look over the pricing on Hawaiian's flights and realize that we were picking dates in the middle of their price gouging for spring break. Thanks for telling me, service rep, and suggesting alternatives. No biggie, I don't care when spring is breaking, so I decide maybe if I call again we can figure out a date that is more comparable to what we paid for our tickets. I know it'll still cost some dosh, because I usually get good prices by ordering well in advance, but I'm willing to foot a bill of a couple of hundred dollars for a more pleasant trip, just not 75% of the cost of the tickets.
Try #2. After researching through the Hawaiian site to find the cheapest dates, I tell the customer service rep the precise flights we want. She lays them all out, and tells me the price difference is just $75. Per ticket presumably, but $150 is as reasonable as a modern-day airline is going to be. Then she tells me there's a change fee of $200 each. Total cost: $550. Probably $650 after they don't carry over the "companion fare" discount we get from our credit card.
I remarkably don't hit the roof the second time, despite (1) the first agent making it very clear that there was no change fee -and- (2) the phone message at the start of the customer service line also saying there's no change fees for tickets bought online. I eventually get a "customer advocate" number from the agent who can get me a waiver for the change fee. Maybe, we'll see. I no longer have any faith that Hawaiian is anything but another money-grubbing, profit-driven corporation that can't see its customers past the bottom line.
Try #3. Tomorrow.
And that'll be the last one because my patience is goooone.
Most likely K. and I will just keep our current reservations, have a somewhat subpar trip, and hate Hawaiian Airlines with a white fury like a supernova.
Good times.
Combine that with the big scare that Cipro can possibly rupture tendons. It's a big scare because I already have tight tendons, particularly my achilles tendons, which is where Cipro really causes problems. Worse, Cipro seems to cause muscle aches. For a week, I thought I was just hyper aware of my leg tightness, but I've since heard from multiple people that Cipro causes exactly this sort of ache. (And it explains the occasional knee aches I get.) Put that all together and I've had aching leg muscles for almost the whole time I've been taking Cipro, and I have to frequently ask myself, "Is there any inflammation? Do my muscles just ache or is there pain there?" So far, just aching.
And the Cipro is a pain to take because you have to avoid all sorts of things (milk, yogurt, antacids). I just learned that no one bothered to tell me to be careful with my multivitamins too, because they have zinc. So I've probably been lowering the efficacy of this hellish medicine for the first week and a half.
Oh yeah, it's been upsetting my digestion too. I've upped my normal probiotics with a second probiotic with a lot more strains and yogurt every afternoon (all far away from taking the antibiotics), and I haven't been feeling horrible, but I have been feeling sick every morning for the last six mornings in a row.
Good times.
Blue Cross Sucks. And of course Blue Cross would only dispense 14 days of the 30 days my doctor prescribed. Not that I really want more, but there you go. Tomorrow I get to call in the refill, then on Wednesday I see if I actually get the rest or not.
Hawaiian Airlines Sucks. But Hawaiian Airlines was the bane of my existence today. K. and I have been using them for our yearly trips to visit family for several years, ever since a disastrous trip where United messed up almost every leg of the flight. Hawaiian has been much better, except that time someone died on the plane, but that can probably be excused.
But they're apparently fair weather friends.
With all the problems that the antibiotics are causing me, K. and I decided that maybe we should put off this year's vacation. So I called up Hawaiian to talk about it and see the cost.
Try #1. The customer service rep and I pick out a new day. We run it all through. Then she tells me that there's no change fee (she's very clear about this), but that the difference in price will cost us an additional $650 for our tickets. I lose my cool a bit, and say no thank you.
Afterward I look over the pricing on Hawaiian's flights and realize that we were picking dates in the middle of their price gouging for spring break. Thanks for telling me, service rep, and suggesting alternatives. No biggie, I don't care when spring is breaking, so I decide maybe if I call again we can figure out a date that is more comparable to what we paid for our tickets. I know it'll still cost some dosh, because I usually get good prices by ordering well in advance, but I'm willing to foot a bill of a couple of hundred dollars for a more pleasant trip, just not 75% of the cost of the tickets.
Try #2. After researching through the Hawaiian site to find the cheapest dates, I tell the customer service rep the precise flights we want. She lays them all out, and tells me the price difference is just $75. Per ticket presumably, but $150 is as reasonable as a modern-day airline is going to be. Then she tells me there's a change fee of $200 each. Total cost: $550. Probably $650 after they don't carry over the "companion fare" discount we get from our credit card.
I remarkably don't hit the roof the second time, despite (1) the first agent making it very clear that there was no change fee -and- (2) the phone message at the start of the customer service line also saying there's no change fees for tickets bought online. I eventually get a "customer advocate" number from the agent who can get me a waiver for the change fee. Maybe, we'll see. I no longer have any faith that Hawaiian is anything but another money-grubbing, profit-driven corporation that can't see its customers past the bottom line.
Try #3. Tomorrow.
And that'll be the last one because my patience is goooone.
Most likely K. and I will just keep our current reservations, have a somewhat subpar trip, and hate Hawaiian Airlines with a white fury like a supernova.
Good times.