D'oh!

You’d think taking ARVs once a day at 9:30 in the evening would be simple enough, right? Of course!

But prepare to be amazed.

Leave it to little ol' me to really screw things up... big time.

It was a regular Thursday morning. I was up and about by 6:00 am as usual, awoken by my wretchedly reliable body clock. I stepped out of my room and went to the kitchen sink to wash my face. I headed to the dining table and took breakfast while watching Umagang Kay Ganda. Rice as usual. Today, it was chorizo and fried egg. Yum. Nope, no coffee, just water

When I was done, I took my plate to the kitchen sink and let it sit in some water so it’d be easier to wash later on. Meanwhile, I went to my room and popped a handful of something in my mouth, and finished it off at the fridge with a tall glass of water. Ahhhhh. I then headed back to my room to get my towel, ready for my morning shower. And then I was stopped dead in my tracks.

Nope, not by anyone or anything. Just a freaky realization echoing in my head. What the hell did I just do? Did I just drink my ARVs? Did I just drink my ARVs?! Oh... my... gosh!!!

I’m not really sure why it took me that long to realize it. I’m not even sure why I had to realize it at all. But instead of my daily dose of vitamins C & E, I actually grabbed one of my little pill cases and downed a day’s worth of ARVs 15 hours before I was supposed to! Oh... my... gosh!!!

I don’t think I was panicking. I was actually shaking my head and laughing at how stupid I was to make that mistake, repeating to myself, Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh!

I was wondering if I should stick a finger down the back of my throat and force it out, but I just couldn’t. It would be such a waste. And not to mention gross. This is it. I had officially overdosed.

Considering I usually feel lightheaded between one to two hours after drinking my ARVs, I was doomed. I now had one to two hours to go through the rest of my morning routine and make it to work unscathed. Otherwise, I’d be walking around like I’d been left with a hangover from the previous night. Great. That’s a really great impression to leave with my old office in Ortigas, where I had planned on reporting for the day. Trust me, I was worried.

And I don’t know for sure, but I think all that paranoia just brought the side effects on even faster. I was on the bus with my mind spaced out, my face flush, my eyes getting heavy, and my head in the clouds. Fortunately, I managed to get to Ortigas safe and sound... and still wide awake.

So what was I supposed to do now? Should I still drink another dose later tonight? Or should I skip it and just wait for my next one tomorrow night? Argh, my doctor will kill me if she reads this. I can only hope she’s laughing with me... Imagine me with a guilty smile on my face. Ooopsy... I just never meant for it to happen.

As much as I’d like to deny that it happened, I won’t. As much as I’d like to convince you that I did it as an experiment just so I could share the experience with you... I can’t. It was just another of my D’oh! moments. This was just a hugely embarrassing but funny mistake that I hope everyone can learn from, including me. Note to self: Try not to do this again. Again I’m reminded... I’m just human. D’oh!