I don't know what your exposure to the proper use of drop bars has been, but I'd read up a bit, seek advice from proficient local cyclists, and try to live with the original bars for awhile before deciding to modify them. A lot of the discomfort people have with traditional bars is either not using them properly or having them adjusted badly. With the drop bars you have four broad classes of hand position (which in turn allows a lot more body positions) -- on the tops, on the hoods, in the drops and on the bottoms. They are much more versatile than either straight bars or the odd compromise bars people have invented.