Not the Scarlet Letter "A"...

...but the black Sharpie letter "A". I found that I had to mark my prescription bottle with it or it was only a matter of time before I'd be taking my Ambien during the day...again. Recently my generic Synthroid^* was switched to a pill almost identical in appearance to Ambien. They are also in the same-sized bottle.

Several weeks ago, just before my mother came to the house, I took my Synthroid and set about sorting the things in the house and packing. Several minutes later, about the time my mom showed up, I started to feel dizzy and just not right. When she said my eyes were all glassy and that I should lay down, I realized I had mistakenly taken the Ambien, not the Synthroid. Thank goodness she was there to watch the kids because I had to go immediately to bed where I slept solidly (the kind where you have no perception of passing time) for five hours.

After that, I noticed that I was still sometimes getting the Ambien bottle in my hand (instead of Synthroid) at work. Man, oh, man. What a huge, huge problem that would be. I would end up unable to stay awake (or if I could manage to force it, unable to be coherent or sane) and unable to drive myself home even if the work I had to do wasn't pressing. Talk about coming off as an irresponsible employee. ("Sorry, boss...I've improperly medicated myself again.")

So I pull out my favorite writing utensil (the Sharpie), and mark the bottle in a way that I hope prevents such mistakes. And sometimes I look at the bottle and ponder whether moderate-to-severe insomnia can ever be overcome without medication. Even I'll admit that the comedy of Adventures with Ambien gets a little old. (In fact, I lost my brux guard for several days this week. Turns out, it was on top of the fridge.)

^*Women, thyroid disease is often missed, even when you think you've been checked for it.

If you have symptoms of hyperthyroidism or hyopthyroidism, be sure to push for thorough testing.

I'll probably soon write about my two years spent trying to get someone to recognize that I

wasn't eating myself into a 40-pound weight gain.