For most of my life, I have not had to take medication on a regular basis.
When I first got married, I was on The Pill until we were ready to start a family which actually never happened and I haven’t got kids.
I had an issue with high blood pressure and migraines in my twenties so was on the beta blocker propranolol for a few years.
I did have a real cocktail of meds when I was suffering from depression and now I am on post cancer meds for at least the next 7 years. I take this at night.
Every morning, I open the cupboard and the OTC Pill Army are staring back at me.
On recommendation by our GP because of our heath issues, we both take vitamin D and vitamin C, plus odourless garlic for our blood pressure. On top of those, I also take multi vitamins and glucosamine, which I started taking for my arthritis having seen how much it seemed to help Maggie with hers. Mine is a stronger strength and it has certainly made a difference.
When I was 18, I got engaged to a guy from a very well to do and wealthy family. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but I’m glad it didn’t last because my life would have been dreadful, square peg round hole and all that. After a few months I discovered he was an alcoholic and so we parted company.
His mother was a major Pill Taker. She had a kitchen cupboard dedicated to her meds, and it was chockablock with pills of every colour, shape and form. She took them three times a day and if she missed a dose, she had horrendous mood swings.
I didn’t understand then, but I do now, especially as a new acquaintance is on 35 pills a day, and hers are all prescribed. Makes me count my blessings.
pensitivity101 
I took propanolanol for awhile. It lowered my BP too much, but it was effective on migraines. The next doc took me off it because of the low BP.
It worked for me too at the time.
I take meds for my BP, high cholesterol, type II diabetes and RA. In addition I take supplements for bone health, anti allergy and a multivitamin pill. A lot of them per day, but all necessary.
I’m lucky that so far no meds are required for my diabetes as my diet seems to be keeping it in check. The vitamins are certainly helping with the fatigue I was experiencing.
I am hoping to shed enough weight to go off the meds. But I don’t mind taking them as long as they are doing their job.
Me too. Every time I open the cupboard I think of her,
All the best Di
cheers. you too
🙏
35 a day!! Wow!! My mother took a lot of medication bit nowhere near that. She had a special plastic box with little compartments for all the different times a day she had to take something. It made it very easy to keep track of everything. I take 2 different meds for blood pressure and 1 for my thyroid. And the rest are vitamins.
Hubby has a box like that as he’s on a variety of pills too. I take the vits etc with my breakfast, and the letrozole before I go to bed. If I have any hot flushes they’re usually at night then!
That makes sense. My BP meds get split up. There’s 1 I only take in the am with food and there’s 1 I take in the am and again at night. Have to have an empty stomach and wait an hour to eat after the thyroid pill so I take that earlier at 6:30 am. Can’t have calcium, zinc and iron I think for 3 hours after the thyroid pill so I take some of my vitamins after breakfast and the calcium and my multi around 10, 10:30 am.
It’s all a balancing act isn’t it.
It is. You really have to be on top of it. I’m lucky, my pharmacist is very thorough and provides instructions with each filled prescription.
Hubby checks out everything on the internet before he takes any new meds as twice now the HHA (head honcho ass who we both refuse to see at the surgery) has prescribed incorrectly and he’s ended up in hospital.
I do it too, even though my pharmacist does it and is accurate. I like to see it for myself.
Always best to check.
I think so too
I took BP med for a while. I guess my body adjusted and I came off them.
They are all good when they do the job. My anti depressants helped me when I needed them and I weaned myself off them. The body has taken a battering these past few years, so the multi vits and others are keeping me well, plus I’m not as young as I used to be and don’t bounce as well.
I tried some of the MS drugs that are on the market but their side effects were worse than the disease. At one point I was on a cocktail of medication that changed my personality. I didn’t find out until a year later. Now I am only on some cranberry pills. My life is much happier. Everyone’s path is different. Be well.
You too Pam. With meds it is very much trial and error, especially for Hubby as he has to be careful being on warfarin for life. He drinks cranberry juice sometimes to help with any water infection or kidney stones, though it can bump up his INR so it’s not a regular thing.
I have been lucky that the new post cancer meds seem to suit me and the hot flushes are fewer.
I am on propanolal daily and Vitamin D,(for I am very deficient in that) but thats it, besides taking allergy meds when I need them. Hopefully it will stay that way.
It worked very well for me when I was having so many horrendous migraines when I was working for the bank. The Vitamin D was recommended by my GP after my surgery together with the multi vits which I was taking anyway as it helped me with the tiredness issue.