Off the Cliff

Am transitioning from one extremely soporific and imperfectly-acting med to another more familiar one, not nearly as soporific but alas almost as hit or miss in its effects. (I fancy that rendering the body comatose is how these things work in the first place. When calm and happy, half an ativan ensures eight blissful hours of sleep. When undergoing MRIs, triple that dose barely takes the edge off the panicky claustrophobia.) Doctor assured me there'd be no side-effects to the transition since they're similar drugs. Am not so sure. Hot-cold chills, uneasy stomach, light-headed dizziness etc sound very side-effecty to me, and it's been rather a long time if this is still a virus.

Shall wait it out and see, being equally reluctant to take full dose of med 2, since I'll have to come off it eventually as well. Am reminded of stock jidai-geki trope, where villains have addicted the young lady of a merchant or samurai house to opium. (It takes only one dose; see also: burying people in sand up to their necks will cure fugu poisoning.) This is followed by scene of young lady lying in her futon, being cured by the cold turkey method- blindfolded, hands bound to a bar suspended above her head, cloth bound between teeth for biting on at need, concerned male admirer sitting beside her and empathizing with her sufferings.
( My state of mind is closer to PMS, if that were still possible )