We’ve had the illegal drugs thread but how about the legal ones? I’m sure we are all accumulating quite a few. I’m on meds twice a day and regularly, maybe twice a week, forget a dose, despite keeping them next to my toothbrush.
Dabigatran150mg twice a day
Famotidine 20mg twice a day
Fenofibrate 267mg at night
Atorvastatin 20mg at night
Felodipine 2.5mg at night
Simvastatin at night. Probably the only thing keeping me alive. Familial hyperlip’ since you ask, with a lot of my naughtinesses added in.
Mrs M…. how long have you got? Let’s just say she gets her money’s worth out of those NI contributions.
I have psoriatic arthritis for which I take lefunomide (10mg) and one of the side effects is high blood pressure for which I take lisinopril (3x 20mg) and amlodopine (10mg). Plus omeprazole (20 mg) and atorvastatin (40mg).
None, slightly to my surprise (mid 50s, err on the side of heft, ex-smoker). I take a daily loratidine in summer because I’m absurdly sensitive to insect bites, and a daily turmeric capsule which may or may not do anything for my creaky knee, but I’m absurdly robust health and the only time I’ve crossed a doctors threshold in years was for my Covid jabs. 🤞
None. Which is at least easy to remember.
None. I think I’ve only ever been prescribed antibiotics, nothing else. Bet that’ll change over the next few years, mind.
Nowt. I do take an antihistamine every day as I sometimes get (probably stress related) itchy patches which suddenly break out and it seems to help.
Well…since you asked, Tiggs…
Amlodipine 5mg at night
Atorvastatin 20mg at night
Bisoprolol 1.25mg in the morning (under review, it’ll probably be stopped)
Lansoprazole 30mg in the morning
Mebeverine 135mg tds (kinda prn these days)
Tamsulosin 400 microgram in the morning
Tells you all you need to know, I think…
The usual post-heart attack cocktail: aspirin, statins, beta blocker (Irbesartan) daily. It’s been 17 years, so I guess they’re working.
Couple of puffers for COPD: Trelegy Elipta* daily – doesn’t make any obvious difference, but of course I don’t know what would happen if I stopped using it. Plus Ventolin for extra puffs.
While we’re on doctoring, I’m having the first of two cataract ops tomorrow, second one in 2 weeks. I’ve opted for top-of-the-range varifocals (what else is money for, eh?), so it’s goodbye to specs for the first time since, oh, 1956 or so. I know it’s no big deal, but I’m feeling a bit edgy nevertheless. Anybody got any comforting words?
* How do they come up with these names? Do they have special naming committees that meet once a month to choose names that no civilians will ever remember? Do the names ever have any relevance to the product and what it does. In-depth study needed here, I feel.
Names: the generic drugs are named by national committees, partly based on chemical structure and naming conventions.
The brand names – well, pharmaceutical marketing departments? Hard to know what they choose to think is a good, marketable name…Trelegy Elipta?? Could be a Eurovision act…
Or a village in Dorset.
Tre!egy has three ingredients.
As a rule, generic names are impossible to remember and brand names much easier. Brands are more expensive.
That’s nice and logical, but then they stuck Elipta at the end…to throw us for a curve?
Ellipta is the name of the device, created by GSK. They have a range of inhalers with the same easy-to-use delivery mechanism. Trelegy is just one of them.
You’re very literal today, Tiggs – where’s the japery we’re used to? Have GSK sent you a letter opener?
Sorry.
I have sense of humour failure whenever drug companies are involved.
Can’t argue with that…Radio 4’s Book of the Week this week is Empire of Pain…
And as retro keeps telling people: watch Dopesick!
@mikethep I had both cataracts removed and replaced with varifocal lens about 2 years ago. Absolutely simple op, was driving next day and painless. Best thing I ever did.
When you uncover your eyes after the op the colours are as vivid as an acid trip.
Re original post:
Simvistatin – 40mg
Metformin x 4
Telmisartin x 1
Alogliptin x 1
Thats enough thank you very much
Thanks, @stevet, just what I wanted to hear! I’m having mine done 2 weeks apart, so the process will be spun out a bit.
It occurred to me yesterday that another bonus (along with non-prescription sunglasses) will be not having to wrestle with camera viewfinders and binoculars.
Best of luck Mike. It is your eyes afterall so right to be toey.
I am sure they are experts.
See you – specs free.
Thanks, Junior. I’m to pitch up at the hospital at 7am with no coffee and no breakfast, which seems unduly harsh…
I think this is a ruse cooked up by surgeons. After 24 hours of no solids or cuppas, and eating only jelly, I will submit to any medical procedure in return for a chicken salad sarnie and a steaming mug of builders’ tea.
I’ve been promised something along those lines…
Arf!
Irbesartan’s an ARB, not a beta blocker, as your COPD would make BBS well risky for your bronchospasm.
(That’ll be 50 guineas, thanks, Mike)
Bronchospasm… What have rodeos got to do with anything?
“This ain’t my first bronchospasm..”
Actually I think I knew that once, but had forgotten. I was diagnosed with COPD 3/4 years later.
When I left hospital back in 2007 with a sackful of drugs I remember asking various people how long I should expect to take them for. Interestingly, I got three different answers (all saying pretty much the same thing) – for the foreseeable future, for the rest of your life, and until you die. Question of attitude, I guess.
The cheque’s in the post, Retro, thanks…
@mikethep Good luck with the surgery. I am both the best & worst person to comment on this, as when you’ve only got one functioning eye, things are a lot more complicated. Here’s what I can tell you nearly 2 weeks on.
The surgery is very straightforward, with the risk of loss of vision at 1:1000 – a hole in one is 1:500. Using an ultrasound to break up the lens makes it a lot easier than when this was performed manually & the whole procedure was less painful than root canal work
For most people, your other eye will compensate for the post surgery blurring & you’ll notice how much brighter the world is.
Tips: a little MP3 player is handy to listen to before the surgery & ask for extra eye drops + I was given 2 bottles of Maxitrol to rake 4x a day for 2 weeks (then 2 a day for 2 weeks) but got through the first one in 5 days (you can get 20 per bottle) then had the fun and games of getting a non standard item from surgery & chemist.
I’m very much an outlier & I’m sure you’ll be fine.
Thanks @timbar, that’s most reassuring. I’d forgotten I’d been told about ultrasound (half of what I’ve been told has gone in one ear and out the other). Good tip about the drops – I’ll ask for another prescription just in case.
When I had the cataract removed on my bad eye, ten years ago, I listened to some old Just a Minute & I’m sorry I haven’t a clue, so was quietly chuckling to myself. This time, they had a Tv in the surgery waiting room – which seemed a bit rich, particularly as they were showing Doctors.
Through experience, I know that the hospital’s definition of ‘a drop’ is more like a splash than a single raindrop. Don’t skimp or miss any doses. I’m sure they’d much rather give you a bit extra, than treat an infection.
Mmm…
Symbicort inhaler – morning/night and when needed (asthma) [any asthmatic still on salbutamol/ventolin and not well controlled, speak to your GP about Symbicort]
Benadryl – when needed, lots at the moment and whenever I have to clean out the guinea pig! (hay fever/allergies)
Amitryptilline – 75mg at bedtime (nerve pain)
Pregablin – 200mg morning and night, 25mg lunchtime (nerve pain)
Tramadol – 100mg at lunchtime/bedtime and (very rarely) when in absolute agony with neck/head pain (rest of pain)
Baclofen – 10mg morning/bedtime (to help with muscular spasms)
Omeprazole – 10mg morning (heartburn)
Gaviscon chewable tablets – most days (breakthrough heartburn/reflux)
Paracetamol – taken with Tramadol when needed for lower level additional pain…no, that’s not right, I’m always in at least a low level of additional pain. I take paracetamol with the Tramadol when the pain gets to the point that I can’t do anything. It increases the effectiveness of the Tramadol, but without giving you any more opiates. Any additional Tramadol over my 4 per day and I start to get spaced out, so I only take additional Tramadol if I have a very bad nerve related neck/head pain coming on, because they are horrible. It spaces me out, but without it I wouldn’t be able to do anything anyway, cos of the pain. This doesn’t happen that often, cos I avoid doing things that bring it on and I’m quick to recognise it coming on, so usually I can do something to stop it before it gets too bad. If it’s within a couple of hours of my Tramadol being due I just bring it forward with the paracetamol, rather than taking an extra dose.
The above regime took some getting to, but I haven’t changed it now for over 5 years. I occasionally get a new keen GP telling me they need to get me off Tramadol because I’ll become addicted and need more and more, etc, but eventually they believe me when I say I won’t, because I’d rather be in pain than in a drug haze all day. Crikey, I don’t have anaesthetic at the dentist, cos I’d rather have a few minutes of (sometimes crazily bad, admittedly) pain than a numb face for 4 hours.
But going back to the Symbicort, before I started on that I would end up on steroids every June, without fail, but since then I’ve only had 2 courses in 14 years, despite living in a semi-rural village.
The only other stuff I take are food supplements (various), gut health yoghurts and whatnot. I used to get, ahem, terrible constipation due to a combination of the medication, knackered spinal cord, reduced mobility and rubbish diet, but I try to get some exercise every day, if possible, and my diet is way better now, so at least that’s some medication I no longer take. You take the victories where you can!
A cocktail to keep the famililial hyperlip at bay. Rovustatin, Ezetimibe and a fortnightly inject of Repatha. Taking the tablets and stabbing myself in the leg every two weeks is much less of a pain than wearing a CPAP every (most) nights.
Wouldn’t know where to start.
I have a genetic heart arrhythmia and am recovering from Lymphoma and have arthritis due to 45 years of Skateboarding (still skating btw).
All my drugs have Spanish brand names so they’ll mean nothing to you but I take 7 tablets in the morning and 6 at night and I have no side effects. Though when I come with 130 tablets on my 10 day trip to the UK in September there might be fun and games at customs.
Paul Wad, that Tramadol does it affect you? Made me really depressed so they gave me another painkiller.
I didn’t know you could get arthritis from skateboarding. I suppose it makes sense as a physical sport with lots of impact. I wonder if Tony Hawk is the same?
He did his back in carrying that fridge around Ireland.
Two for high blood pressure: felodopine and amlodpine?
Fexofenadine for my nickel allergy. This was life changing: after a couple of years of severely dry, cracked hands which bled, one pill per day cleared it all up, despite the consultant saying it hardly ever worked.
I’m also taking a joint supplement, Glucosamine & Chondroitin. A bit early to tell if it’s working yet but I think there’s some improvement.
I think fexofenadine is great! I have family members getting very good results with it. Its predecessor, terfenadine, was good too – but had some unfortunate cardiac side effects…
@Davebigpicture I took glucosamine for knee joint pain. It didnt work to be honest. I then took up aqua aerobics and now no joint pain at all.
For a while, about ten years ago, I took up running as well as my regular swimming. My knees began to hurt just coming down the stairs every morning. And I only have three stairs. I thought I’d fucked the knees proper. I gave up the running, kept up the swimming and haven’t had any knee pain at all for years.
Nothing at the moment (fingers crossed). I hear you @gary after a run a month ago I had to come down the stairs backwards for a couple of days as my knee was so stiff. Nursed it through the Birmingham half marathon a fortnight ago, but it’s put me on notice that I’m not 25.
Down the stairs backwards, we’ll be alright
(Sorry)
very good. Could go up the stairs forwards, runners knee clearly is activated by downstairs only – I’m guessing Bowie was not a keen runner. Jagger however I could have seen turning out at your local parkrun.
@SteveT I was told to take the max dose otherwise it is less effective. Also, take it for 2 months before a difference is noticed. We’ll see. Cycling is good for my arthritic knees too. I like swimming but our local pool is awful.
Well Cannabis is a legal drug here.
Also occasional beer and …
40mg edarbi for BP daily
Weekly injection in the stomach of Humira (for Crohn’s Disease)
Also have Zopiclone for sleeping, but hardly use it as 1st one mentioned has taken it’s place along with (off the shelf) Melatonin
Nothing else at the moment
Prescribed, daily:
Atorvastatin tablet 20mg
Unprescribed, daily:
Hemp seed oil capsule 1000mg
Multivitamins & minerals tablet 420g
Vitamin D3 capsule 100μg
As and when:
Paracetamol 500mg tablet for persistent pain only.
Nothing interesting to see here.
Statins
Various unprescribed supplements – Zinc/Selenium, Omega-3, Vit D, multi-vitamins, Spatone iron
Nothing at the moment but I have been on Sertraline (50 mg) for depression and anxiety. Long story which I won’t bore you with but I was in need of taking something. My message to everyone…sounds obvious but for goodness sake taper off them very gradually if you want to come off them. The first time I tried, I just stopped and it nearly cost me my marriage as well as being pretty scary.
Am I the only chap who has all of the above BP meds, plus fluoxetine and allopurinol?
Was on allopurinol for years, stopped after my body’s reaction tp thar combined with Crohn’s medication I was on nearly killed me. Have generally been ok with gout since (8 years)
The Afterword… They’re all on drugs! Is that a boy or a girl? I don’t hear a tune etc
Mercaptopurine 50mg for Crohn’s
Solifenacine 5mg
Antihistamine due to skin hypersensitivity (side-effect of Mercaptopurine*).
Lots of supplements, due to inefficient digestive tract, including:
Calcichew (calcium + vitamin D3)
Ferrous fumerate
Vit B & D3
Alflorex pro-biotic
The morning routine is to pop them all out and swallow the lot while the kettle boils for the first cuppa.
(*) as if that wasn’t bad enough, I is a Ginger
Tomatoes are good for skin protection. In whatever form. You have to have loads but that’s no hardship as far as I’m concerned.
Trust me, I’m a doctor.
Also good for your goolies.
Do you rub the pulp in?
If Jarvis doesn’t object.
Could this be answered by a daily “medicinal” Bloody Mary? Is there a doctor in the house?
I have a PhD and an old Coldcut record and I say yes.
Coldcut records aren’t old.
1988 is, like, last week?
Too right, man.
(You’ll note that most of my meds are to prevent vascular disease, including vascular dementia.)
Nothing pharmaceutical full time, and after a post-finger amputation adverse reaction to levofloxacilin (one of the fluoroquinolones, the napalm of antibiotics) I’m more wary than previously. My lower legs seized up after 10 days of taking them, at which point I grimly remembered that a mate had a similar reaction to the same drug a few years ago.
Otherwise, vitamin D3, some Omegas, and whey protein powder post-gym.
I think someone mentioned meds reviews; some of the clients I see have been on repeat prescriptions of cocktails of anti-depressant/anxiolytics/anti-psychotics for years without review, which ain’t great.
My turn! Omeprazole for my Schatske’ ring, missus,
20 mg daily for the last 30 years. It’s a swelling at the entrance to my stomach that, when stomach acid is involved, makes swallowing different.
Ditched the fluoxetine, antidepressant, after 6 months rather than the 2 years of 2012. Quite chuffed by that, wild water swimming taking its place.
As a more mature selection of the population, surprised to see little mention of PDE5 blockers, or should we all be so lucky? (Look ‘em up!)
Ha! Used to get ’em free on prescription back in Blighty because prostate cancer. The Australians have no truck with such frivolous nonsense – you can still get them on prescription, but by no means free…
I’m looking forward to developing pulmonary hypertension.
Crikey, you’re an “If life gives you lemons….” man and no mistake
“…then I’d have a permanent erection…”
^This looks great in Updates… Really stands out
Nothing at all for me. In my mid 50s and go for a yearly comprehensive health screening and so far all the usual suspects are okay – cholesterol is great, BP is above average but within limits, blood sugar all normal etc etc.
After retiring early, I did take up a healthy lifestyle though – daily swimming and more home cooked food which brought the weight down to normal levels. I still have a weakness for good red wine and a nice single malt though (so on the above evidence, wine and whisky are better for you than popping pills……)
“If I’d know I was gonna live this long I woulda looked after meself…”
But then again, as Billy Connolly said, all that healthy eating gives you a couple of years extra at the end of your life – when you are a dribbling mess in a care home…….
Nurse, the screens!
Have I had me dinner yet?
Do some old etc
Deep breath.
Paroxetine Hydrochloride (Panic disorder)
Atorvastatin (Familial Hypercholesterolaemia)
Ezetimibe (Familial Hypercholesterolaemia)
Alirocumab – Monthly Injection (Familial Hypercholesteraemia)
Gliclazide (Type 2 diabetes)
My FH is now controlled by the monthly injection, which targets the exact gene malfunction that causes it. However, NICE will not approve it to anyone not already on the max dose of statins and Ezetimibe, and thus I am condemned to continue in this kafka-esque whirl.
Nothing. I have never taken any medicine in my life (as far as I’m aware… obviously).
There’s a package of Aspirins somewhere at home that gets duly replaced (mostly unused) every year or so.
As for drugs – does a glass of whiskey (and a cigar) once a month count?
Is it on prescription? It ought to be.
“…a glass of whiskey (and a cigar)”
The ideal vegetarian meal, according to a (vegetarian) friend.
A few years back I was visiting The British Museum and they had an installation which was about 14m long and it contained the medication taken over a lifetime in chronological order. It was fascinating and rather disturbing too.
‘Each length contains over 14,000 drugs – which is the estimated average prescribed to every person in Britain in their lifetime.
If you add in the pills we might buy over the counter, the total would rise to an astonishing 40,000 pills each.’
http://www.urban75.org/blog/thousands-of-pills-cradle-to-grave-by-pharmacopoeia-at-the-british-museum/
Got any maaaandies?
Cufence Trientine Dihydrochloride capsules. Two in the morning, two in the evening. This removes (chelates) the blood deposited on the surface of the brain
Had an asthma review last week as I’d not asked for any inhalers for quite a while. I now take the brown inhaler twice a day.
Had hearing aids fitted too.
Had a wellness review last week, I’m half a stone overweight. 20% chance of a stroke, and just over in the cholesterol reading. My blood pressure was a little high.
Apart from that I’m fine.
Botox injections every three months too.
Rattlin’ like maracas.
We’ve got a world-class percussion orchestra on this page.
About a dozen Santanas worth.
Mrs Moose rattles if I nudge her*. More chemicals than a Happy Mondays tour bus.
*behave. As she would say.
Febuxostat 120mg and Rosuvastatin 40mg, once a day.
John Smiths, assorted bitters and 18mg/ml iFag juice several times a day.
John Smiths and gout, eh……
I know, I know, but my shameful defence is that the combination of Febuxostat and a reduction in alcohol intake have meant I’ve not suffered an inflammation for three years. There are some pleasures in life and good beer is one.
Not often you see the phrases ‘good beer’ and ‘John Smith’s’ used in combination.
John Smiths due to low ABV and low cost and then the good beers. Helps to keep things in perspective. Hic.
Beat me to it @Gatz
All the good beer at John Smiths has been passed by the management, as they say.
On a related theme, however odd the pubs are, I picked up a couple of bottles of Samuel Smiths on my way down from Skye, at the Tebay motorway services. Taddy Porter and India Ale. Bloom in’ gorgeous. In typically idiosyncratic and intransigent 550 ml bottles, too, none of yer 500 ml jobbies.
Once when we were on hols in Yorkshire I developed what the late Mrs thep called my Sam Smith walk, where I would speed up significantly as we approached the pub. The current Mrs thep still uses the phrase, although these days it’s more likely when we’re approaching a nice breakfast.
I have been an asthmatic all my life often triggered by cold > chest infection > bronchial asthma. Ephedrobarb was a popular medication in the 60s / 70s and as a result I think I spent a fair bit of my youth off my head. It is something I have continued through other means throughout the remainder of my life.
When we recently moved ( 2 days ago) there were 2 supermarket bags of various medications and associated paraphernalia. When challenged I repond- “get fucked, this stuff has kept me alive”.
So to today. I am 65 and retired. Daily I take symbicort – a mix of asthma preventative and a ventolin type reliever. I take a hayfever pill over the counter as something is always clogging the lungs up. And somac for reflux – if I drank less, cut back on the spices and coffee it would be resolved naturally – so I take somac. Happily I no longer take lexapro an anti depressant after 10 years or so. The depression was triggered by a marriage break up and now things have stabilised I have no need for them. Big clap for me.
Oh and I regularly take some sort of headache pill. If I didn’t drink I would not need these but I do, so I do.
“Big clap for me” – bad luck mate, get some penicillin
A sure sign of recovering from depression is the revitalisation of the libido.
Wasn’t Ephedrobarb a character in Anthony and Cleopatra?
Lisinopril 20mg. One a day. High blood pressure.
No bad news or sudden movements please.
*hastily puts away copy of Warrior of Ghengis Khan*
Citalopram 20mg
Omeprazole 20mg
Lymecycline 408mg
The Lymecycline is No. 179 in attempts to put an end to the severe acne I have suffered for 51 years. It’s doing okay, so far.
Omep is for reflux.
Citalopram is my lifesaver. When I finally told my GP, four years ago, that I suffered from pretty severe depression, he put me on it that day. It has changed my life.
My problem is that all three have digestive side-effects, which can make life uncomfortable. My G.P chuckles, “blimey, we’ve got you a right triple-whammy there, haven’t we?” but the Lymecycline is a recent change from many years of Doxycycline, which really began to wear me down.
I am convinced that the acne has contributed to my depression, over the years. My G.P agrees, calling it ‘fuel to the fire,’ which is a good description. When I was 14 I was given ‘revolutionary treatment’ in front of an incredibly strong lamp, for 20 minutes at a time, twice a week, for months. 25 years later, when I got skin-cancer, the specialist said, ‘hardly surprising, is it? I can’t believe what we did to people in the ’70’s.”
Niall have you ever “done” isotretinoin?…. Asking for a friend, naturally.
No, Moose.
I did, a few years ago. My back was like a Jackson Pollock and it turns off whatever’s causing your skin to overproduce moisture. While you’re on it it dries everything out – eyes, nose etc which is very unpleasant of course but it worked for me after about twenty years of thinking that the original problem was just something I had to put up with.
Ask about it? Everyone’s different of course but shy bairns get nowt and all that. Good luck….
Thanks, I will.
You have to sign a form saying you won’t get pregnant before it can be prescribed, mind….
On a more serious note, not for those with a tendency toward depression as it can trigger/escalate.
Nothing, for which at 59 I count myself lucky. And as someone who used to work in the pharmacy sector, I always thought it best to avoid anything pharmacological wherever possible. My brother who has type 2 diabetes is on about five different meds, and this proved very expensive on a recent trip to the US when he forgot his pill bottles.
Ramipril and lercanidipine (which even the prescribing GP couldn’t pronounce) for blood pressure, and intermittent pantoprazole (oh no it isn’t, oh yes it is etc….) for gastric problems. Mercifully nothing else at the moment, but I’m 60 so don’t count any chickens.
I’m a lot older than that and I can still count chickens like a pro. You must be doing it wrong.
After a skim through all of the above I’m surprised I haven’t seen (!) any mention of glaucoma.
I have eye drops every night (Latanoprost). They slow the deteriorating vision – so far to the point where I don’t notice any change after about 4 years of using them.
I hadn’t thought it was such an unusual condition – anyone else?
I’ve heard that it’s thought to be genetic, so it may be more common in your family than the general Massive.
I have psoriatic arthritis for which I take lefunomide (10mg) and one of the side effects is high blood pressure for which I take lisinopril (3x 20mg) and amlodopine (10mg). Plus omeprazole (20 mg) and atorvastatin (40mg).
All of my older relatives on my mum’s side (including mum) got glaucoma (past tense because most of them have since died). So I go to regular glaucoma screenings (every two years) so they can catch it in time if I’ve inherited that gene. Also have diabetes so check my eyes for complications due to that as well. That one is on the regular national health insurance, but the glaucoma screenings I have to pay extra for. It used to be included if you had close relatives with glaucoma, but they dropped it some years ago to save money…but worth paying for to catch it in time!
Could be worse.
One Amlodipin in the morning.
Two Metformin in the morning and two at night (with a meal). However, these, as well as the Amlodipin are too big for me to swallow as is, so I have to quarter all of them, making it a lengthy process to get it all down! When I tell doctors this, or pharmacists, they tell me that I’m absolutely not supposed to do that and that it’s a bad habit. I tell them that the option is that I don’t take them at all, and that’s probably worse… Have done it like this for ten years so far, so seems to be working just fine!
Three to four clicks of the (insulin) FlexPen (NovoRapid) with each meal, and ten clicks of Insulatard before going to bed.
One Betolvex (B12) every morning.
And not on prescription:
Vitamins and minerals: Vitamin D during the long dark Swedish winter, and apple-flavoured chewies that contains minerals etc that are good for your hair. A post menopausal must! 🙂
Antihistamins at this time of year, as well as allergy eye drops. As my allergies were unusually bad a few weeks ago, due to high concentrations of pollen, I tried using a nasal spray as well, but had to quit when the side effects hit me badly. The cortisone packed too strong of a punch for me.
Sustained release metformin has been available for years and that would probably cut down the number of tablets you take.
Unfortunately the size of the tablet will be similar and cutting them up would negate their formulation.
So if you could swallow the tablet size then this could be an option.
Well, I’m 54 and I’ve only been able to swallow tiny pills/pieces of “larger” pills (other people would most likely call them small) for about fifteen years, so any further improvements are unlikely!
Did I mention that I also have to distract myself by tapping my chest while I’m gearing up to swallow the tiny pill [part] and mouthful of water? Because if I start thinking about swallowing too much, that reflex will completely seize up and I end up having to spit everything out…
Still miles better than earlier in my life, when pills just wasn’t an option at all for me.
If I had a krona for every time some knob has told me to “just hide it in food”, I’d be a rich woman. But I still wouldn’t have been able to take any of the prescribed pills…
Have you ever asked your doctor if they would prescribe metformin liquid for you?
No; didn’t know it existed! However, my experience with liquid meds have made me draw the conclusion that they are all extremely foul tasting – to be able to sink them I’ve been forced to add the dose to a shot of Schweppes Russchian. I don’t think that would be ideal for a diabetic! 😀
Also, for some reason, nine times out of ten, doctors have refused to prescribe liquid medicins to me when asked to, despite being told about my difficulties. These days when I’m finally able to – albeit with some difficulty – down my pills, I’m not going to bother.
I’m probably one of very few people who was relieved to get a diagnosis that required taking injections rather than more pills!
Some drugs are easily available as liquids, with a licence and everything: however, some are not commercially available in that form and need to be ordered as “specials” for individual patients – as a rule these cost a fortune compared to the tablets/capsules, so health authorities sometimes “discourage” GPs from prescribing them, unless there really is no alternative. Don’t know if this is the same where you live…
…and, of course, if the drug is bitter or unpleasant tasting, it’s harder to cover it up in a liquid form…
Hiding it in food doesn’t work for cats, I’ve found, so no reason why it would work for humans.
I have had an aversion to all jam, since being given spoons of jam, covered in rank powdered pills, during early childhood. Vile.
No drugs but I do catheterise everyday. Which isn’t as bad as it seems, the alternative is a lot worse believe me. I haven’t missed a day since 2014, I’ve even done it on a moving train when we got the sleeper to Scotland.
Hence the nom de blog, 33 being an arcane reference to the passage of fluid thru tubes. (Haven’t you 33ed that soda yet, Dennis?)
Ayahuasca. Every morning. Sets me up for the day.
Citalopram 20mg for me. Been on it for around four months now and it seems to have made a difference. I’ve suffered with anxiety on and off since my teens and almost accepted it as something I just had to live with. I’m not expecting the anxiety to disappear completely but it’s certainly made things easier. Probably my greatest concern at the moment is gradually coming off them, which is what the doc seemed to be suggesting when she prescribed them in the first place.
Compared to 1960s benzodiazepines like diazepam (Valium) these drugs should be easier to come off when you use them short term for anxiety.
Citalopram has been around since the late 1990s so there will be lots of evidence to support its use.
I wish you well.
I managed to avoid medication my whole life until last year. Now on a regular insulin injection like my fellow Type 1, Locust, above!
The Afterword: Don’t Bogart That Statin My Friend
Or Nights with White Statins.
Nights with White Stains my Dad calls that rec. Not an MBs fan.
As our kindly and avuncular colleague amasses useful evidence about each of us, consider the hamper, which has slid into his possession. With his own cocktail of pharmaceuticals all fighting to avoid any cardiovascular calamity, think what all that processed “chicken” will do for him! Ha!
Not to mention the Artisan Grissini (with the emphasis on ‘grease’)
Quite right. Everything is carefully filed away for future reference. The most productive thread was How Did You Come Up With Your Handle? Afterworders bared their souls.
Oh. And the dog gets the chicken. He’s an athlete.
If @Gary was to do a “what is your most used online password” thread I imagine we’d all spill the beans. It’s his trustworthy smile that would lure us in.
How did you come up with your handle? I missed that. Were there photies?
According to my spreadsheet, you mentioned Charlie Parker.
We’re just good friends.
Novorapid
Trazodone
Lisinopril
Atorvastatin
Montelukast
Symbicort
That’s a song innit?
“…..are all in the North….. It’s grim up north”
“…..are all in’t bathroom cabinet….. It’s grim in’t cabinet.