Cyrenaic

Cyrenaic

Saturday, June 18, 2022

Another adventure of dating and drinking

 By Steve Otto

Yesterday I went to the doctor, Dr. Ranjini Madhavan. All week long I’ve had blood sugar problems. A few weeks ago, I met a lady on Elite Singles. I was going to quit that site but I changed my mind. This woman I met from that site met at a local restaurant and told me she wanted to start out as friends. I agreed. On the positive side, I went out with her four times. She is the first woman I met on-line, who met me for more than just one date. I’ve had several dates, from that site, where I met a woman where she was my first and last date all in one.

So, this new friend tried to give me a lot of advice and help. On our fourth date she explained to me that we had no possible future- no possibility of a relationship. We were too different, she said. She even said she thinks a lot about an old flame. So, I feel like our time together is basically over.

One of her last suggestions was that I detox from alcohol and drugs.[1] At first I laughed that idea off. But lately I’ve been getting sick a lot and finally I decided to try and quit drinking and quitting drugs – at least for now. For almost a week I drank some beer- but no more whiskey and wine, which I have been drinking in the bars and at home.

After a week of near sobriety, I found myself in a deep depression. It was as bad as my “contemplate suicide” days. So, I resorted at least to a small dose of drugs to stop the depression.

So earlier this week I went to the Emergency Room, on the advice of my new girl friend and they suggested I go to my regular doctor. I did and she said the ER people said I was drunk and disoriented. I had been drinking but I explained that my blood sugar was at 45 one day and 20 two days later. They checked my blood sugar and did a number of tests for high blood pressure the condition of my heart and everything was normal. So, they acted like I was demented or something. The Doctor asked me if I forget things. I said, sometimes. She suggested I use Meals on Wheels. She asked me questions as to who lives at my house and if I have any relatives who can help me out. She wants to see a psychologists. He specializes in alcoholism. He may go by the AA[2] program’s philosophy.  That means no other drugs- no getting high in any way shape or form. Absolute sobriety.[3]

By the time I left the doctor’s office, I felt like I was perceived as a doddering demented old fart. Old age does suck for some of us. 

There is more to this story, I’m stopping here and I will continue this later.



[1] At this point I would rather not name the drug, in order to protect myself.

[2] Alcoholics Anonymous.

[3] See: The debate over choosing how we treat our own bodies continues with "People Are Going ‘California Sober"


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