The Placebo

My sister-in-law has offered to send me a nurse's cap. She's also the one who gave me the placebo idea.

I'm very nervous about narcotics. I'm diligent about the necessary medications, i.e. heart, thyroid, etc. I'm even ok with the nerve pills. But, I keep the narcotics locked in the safe in my office. Hangdog asks for a pain pill several times a day and I know this is partially due to pain, partially due to habit and partially due to the fact that he knows there are some in this house. I refuse to give him one just because he's bored, lonely or can't sleep. I've earned the nurse's cap -- I can assess the situation in about 10 seconds.

Instead of arguing or trying to reason with him, I've found a new approach: I give him a TIC TAC. Every time I've done this, he informs me the next morning that it was the best night's sleep he's had in weeks.

If all goes according to plan, he will be moving to the "facility" today. I must remember to tell them my TIC TAC plan.