Taking Daily Medications?

[LovableGluttons]

I have this discussion several times a week with my patients and their families.

Many resent being prescribed medications to be taken daily, some even mind medications taken on an as needed basis.

I admit I take a proton pump inhibitor every day (Prilosec) and I find it annoying. I'm thankful it isn't something that will end my life if I should forget to take it.


I'll be 44 soon and that's all I take. I'm a registered nurse and admit I purposely steer away from my family taking medications when something else will do the job instead.

My husband takes medications for cholesterol, allergies, and a few other things. He's younger than I am and takes a pile of pills each day.


How old (young) are you, do you take medications each day, and how do you feel about it?

 

[Pakey]

I have been dealing with advanced stage cancer for 5 years. I take more pills than I care to count. The alternative is death; to me it's a no brainer.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

I am 43, take no medications, and am hesitant to take so much as an aspirin. I do take medication for my migraines, but only when I have to (really bad ones).

My wife is 44 and is a Type I diabetic. She is obviously on insulin (pump) and takes an ace inhibitor (blood pressure), and a beta blocker. Because of a lifetime of taking medications, she is not the least bit hesitant to take medicines for other maladies.

 

[BKMETV]

47 year old - Synthyroid (of underactive thyroid) in morning and Lipitor at night (heart disease runs rampant in my family history)

To me they are no brainers.

 

[DMickey28]

I take three pills a day and don't mind them at all. They make me a better person and I like how I feel when I take them vs. not taking them.

 

[phorsenuf]

I take 10 pills a day, plus a few as needed. It stinks, but what can you do, beats the alternative.

 

[DisneyScraps]

I refuse to take any medication regularly. I take an iron supplement but that is all. I have an ulcer from time to time, when it bothers me I take the meds. I don't all the time because it only hurts about once a year so why take meds daily. i have allergies and my doctor LOVES to over medicate. He would have me on 3 different meds daily. I just take Claratin WHEN I need it.

My DDs pediatrician swears she has allergies. It's about her eyes, a crease or something like that. I have had her tested twice and so far nothing. Her Dad took her in one day for a cold and came home with a years prescription of Sudafed. Sure, I was going to give that to a 6 years old with NO ALLERGIES. I know that doctors get a lot of perks for prescribing drugs and I think that the less scrupulous ones do it.

So I use my best judgement because I know my body and I only take things as needed.

Lisa

 

[Liberty Belle]

I'm 43. I do not take any daily medications, but I used to take Synthroid every day. Oddly, my hypothyroidism resolved itself during my last pregnancy (and started during my first pregnancy!), so I don't have to take that anymore.

It didn't bother me when I was taking it. Then again, there were no bad side effects.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I take Singulair daily because I have trouble with bronchitis. I also take fish oil supplements and a vitamin. Right now I take antibiotics for a cyst. I have to admit, I am horrid about taking stuff on a daily basis. I often forget it. I should have been done wit hthe antibiotics by now but I just keep forgetting to take it.

I'm trying to be better about remembering. I discuss any and all meds with my doctor. I am a type 2 diabetic and have been recommended Metformin at various times. But I have talked with my doctor and we both agree it would be a bad choice as I have IBS. I have tried meds for my IBS with little to no help so now I don't take anything.

I'm not against daily medication, but if I can control in other ways, why wouldn't I? It's certainly cheaper!

 

[beatlesblonde]

I only take one medication daily and that's the pill for bc. I know there's other alternatives but it's not only effective for bc but also to treat my PMDD (which considering how bad it can get, I'll take the pill).

 

[MzDiz]

I prefer to try and handle things with natural remedies and through diet when I can, but when I can't, I will give in to the pills.

I'm 38 and I take meds for high blood pressure (since I was in my teens, it's a genetic curse) and synthroid. Those two aren't optional. I have been taking aciphex (a proton pump inhibitor) for about 6 years but have recently been trying to go off of it. I'm down to every other day now. That's a tricky one though, because you become extremely physically addicted to it. It was never intended to be taken long term because of this.

I also take oxycontin, percocet, and flexiril for 8 herniated discs and a recent three level spinal fusion that didn't go as well as I had hoped. I hope to be off those one day, but for now they're keeping me from jumping off a bridge.

I recently went off of singulair and advair. I'm not sure if I need to be back on one or both. I wasn't crazy about the side effects of either and figured I'd try a month without. I weened myself slowly off both and find that I use my rescue inhaler maybe once every 1-2 days. I should probably be on one of them again, but I'm going to give it a couple weeks and see.

My doctor is a bit of a pill pusher and would have me on three or four other things if I let her. I have IBS and fibromyalgia and manage those those things with diet and supplements.

 

[rie'smom]

I take 2 gr of Armour thyroid daily( hypothyroid). If I didn't take it, I doubt that I could put 1 foot in front of the other. This medication has given me back the quality of life that makes life worth living. The thing I like is it is made from the dessicated thyroid glands of pigs so it is real thyroid and not synthetic.

 

[Christine]

I am 47 and take Synthroid daily due to having my thyroid gland removed.

I take Prilosec every other day (I have weaned myself down). My goal is to stop taking it all together and use something else. I feel that medication is overprescribed and I don't think I really need it. However, now that I am "hooked" the rebound from withdrawal is unbearable. I never had that before I started.

 

[Mrs. Darcy]

I'm very uncomfortable with taking medicines, even just tylenol, and I hope I stay well until I'm old and gray so I won't ever have to take anything regularly.

 

[MzDiz]

I am 47 and take Synthroid daily due to having my thyroid gland removed.

I take Prilosec every other day (I have weaned myself down). My goal is to stop taking it all together and use something else. I feel that medication is overprescribed and I don't think I really need it. However, now that I am "hooked" the rebound from withdrawal is unbearable. I never had that before I started.

Unbearable is a good word! I had mild heartburn before, but when I stop taking the aciphex suddenly - wow! It's like the insane heartburn I had when I was pregnant.

 

[NikitaZee]

I take Advair - inhaled steroid - for asthma twice a day. It has changed my life and I can't imagine not taking it. I also take Micronor - the mini-pill.

 

[indimom]

38. No daily meds. I take pain relievers for headaches once in a while. I only take cold meds if a bug gets so bad that I can't sleep at night.
I've had docs in the past tell me to take a daily iron supplement because I'm always low (runs in the family), but it makes me feel so I just can't make myself do it.

 

[Planogirl]

I've had hypertension problems since I was in my twenties and I take some medications for that. I don't like it because I think that they cause side effects but I don't see any options. Losing weight and changing lifestyle didn't seem to make a bit of difference.

I do hesitate when taking other stuff because I have to worry about reactions. It's a pain because I also have chronic allergy problems and many of those medications are supposed to be bad. I'm a mess.

 

[KristaTX]

I take several pills daily - some prescription and some vitamins/supplements. Sure, I wish I didn't need Synthroid or blood pressure medication. And I really wish I didn't have allergies. But I do, so it doesn't bother me at all to take the medications that I need. I fill up those little weekly boxes every three weeks, and it works well for me. I have no problem remembering to take them.

For what it's worth, I am also an RN.

When people say they don't like or resent taking medications daily, I always wonder why. Especially when I see the negative effects of them NOT taking their medications. Sometimes I just want to say, "Well if you aren't going to take your medications, why are you here complaining about your symptoms and what do you want the doctor to do??". Then what's really confusing is when the patient gets mad a the doctor for getting onto them at their appointment for noncompliance.

I understand not wanting to deal with certain side effects that one has experienced, or that pills/liquids are uncomfortable for children and maybe some adults. I also can understand that cost may play a role in people's decision not to take their medications. But there are often other options that may not have the side effects, or that might not cost as much.

What I don't understand is the attitude of "I just don't like taking medications" without any explanation. That can make it seems like people feel that taking medications is a sign of weakness . Or like they have some kind of conspiracy theory about medications.

Most of that is just confusing to me. But what actually makes me mad is when people take their children off beneficial medications (e.g. asthma medications) because they are afraid there "might be" side effects or the child is "on too many medications and I don't like medications". Left untreated, asthma is likely to have many consequences. That one is closest to home for me because I have worked in an asthma clinic, and because my own niece died following an asthma attack.

Okay, that's way more than anyone wanted to know. But it's a pet peeve of mine.

 

[disneyfreakk]

I take three pills a day and don't mind them at all. They make me a better person and I like how I feel when I take them vs. not taking them.

This is me. And I figure I pay big bucks for my doctors opinion/advice, why not go with what they say? If I knew how to fix my problem, I wouldnt be in his office. But oddly enough, I use over the counter meds sparingly.