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Prescription drugs, you take what you need to get through the day(and night!).

Darren said:
My old friend Keith sat down after his breakfast one day to read the paper. Next minute he had passed. Very sudden. No pain. We didn't always see eye to eye and there were times when...... Anyway, bless him. Count me in for some of the same.
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Count me in too,hopefully listening to glorious music in audio nirvana.............
 
Both my parents died with heart issues before reaching 50, I almost joined the club and had a quad bypass in my 40's. Yet 20 years later Im still here surviving on a daily ace inhibitor, a beta blocker, a baby aspirin and a statin, and following the teachings of Hunter S Thompson :)

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!”
― Hunter S. Thompson, The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman, 1955-1967
 
20-30 tablets a day :oops:

I'm 71 and taking nowt except my routine vitamin D dose.
A little arthritis in my back and hip but nothing so bad I need tablets for if I am careful what I do.
 
Step FIL has many issues, biggest is dementia. His GP told my MIL that he had been taking a tablet for 4 years that he should have been on for only 6 months, as if it was his fault for forgetting. She did point out that he’d been given many repeat prescriptions from their surgery!

Cheers BB
 
Guess I must be doing okay though I'm really not happy with this aging thing! Non prescription drugs aside, the half tab. of Cetirizine (allergy) every 2 or 3 days is it, well into my 84th year. I've always had an anathema to pills of any description. Mind you, I have quite a few potions and creams in my drawer. Of course, it can't last and one never knows what's around the corner, having had a bro.-in-law go through a quad. by-pass after having chest pains on the tennis court. The OP's story is amazing and I do wonder if some of these pills can be contra-indicated to others' effects, there being so many.

Pity the bloke who accidentally swallowed some scrabble tab's instead of his medication. His next trip to the loo spelt disaster.
 
I like the Scrabble gag, I'll use that.
I'm fortunate, no meds here, I just take a multivitamin when I remember.
 
I've been on blood pressure relief pills for donkey's years (Losartan 150mg, Propranolol 30mg) which they recently upped with some scrummy Amlopidine (5mg) because a recent BP test showed a bit high. I subsequently looked back over some old BP records, & it's really no higher than it was ten or more years ago. Plus the good ol' Omeprazole 10mg proton pump inhibitor("Scotty! Engage proton pump inhibitors!" - "It's no good cap'n, she canna take any more!"). I also jab myself with 50mg of Etanercept one a week, a hideously expensive biologic anti-inflammatory for my crappy joints, eroded by my haemochromatosis. Other than that lot, I don't take anything.
 
I hope everyone on this thread is doing ok. I'm used to not taking anything, so feel for you. Oh, except for Omeprazole for a while now. Oh and yes, I did get another prescription last week, but i haven't started yet, so surely that doesn't count? Oh and then theirs that other one, but it's totally optional....except when it isn't. Oh bugger, I didn't want to relate to this thread.
 
clivem2 said:
Soon to be 68 with no regular meds, I’ll probably keel over all of a sudden…
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I suppose that will at least partly depend on whether you comply with recommendations for things such as Bowel Cancer and Prostate Cancer screening. There's also a screening programme for Aortic Embolism. Any pharmacist should be able to offer regular BP testing, or buy a meter. Targeted Lung health checks for the over 65 are happening now.

At least that way you ought not to be one of those with a 'ticking time bomb' quietly organising your demise without your knowledge... unless that's your preference...

I can't get close to the OP in terms of numbers, but I wish him and all others the best.

I started on Statins, ( Atorvastatin) Aspirin (75mg EC), Beta Blockers (Bisoprolol 2.5Mg) and a little later an ARB (Angiotensin II Receptor Blocker Losartan 50Mg) after an MI in 1996 at age 47. There is some history in my family, but smoking and some pretty filthy jobs probably didn't help.

Now, at 75, I'm also diagnosed with Heart Failure, currently judged 'moderate' and a two year period of regular assessments by the local Heart Failure Team and my Cardiologist has resulted in the addition of two meds, developed for Diabetics (which I am not) but also statistically shown to improve quality of life and longevity in HF patients. They are low dose Spironolactone and Empagliflozin. I'm told I'm now on the currently understood 'Optimum' medication for my condition.
So.. 4 white and two yellow pills daily. I add one Omega 3 capsule daily, and Vit D between October and March.

Also I'm prescribed Esomeprazole for occasional Acid Reflux, but I only use that when needed and for the shortest possible time.

And finally, after a lifetime struggle with anxiety, my GPs recognise that 'self talk' has its limits and kindly prescribe me Diazepam 5Mg at 14 tabs per approximately 6 month intervals. These get used at a rate of a quarter..occasionally half tab as required.. often with a gap of weeks.. but are a real life saver.

I have no difficulty sleeping as HF does cause fatigue, but also probably due in part to my habit of a glass of wine after 10 p.m., usually followed by one or two large brandies or gins.... though increasingly I'm finding that I fall asleep and wake up an hour later with an untouched gin beside me..which gets stuck in the fridge and I go to bed. No bad thing I suppose.

I really feel for those in constant pain. I got rid of most of mine by having two knees replaced. Walking is now a pleasure again.. anything involving kneeling..rather less so..

My meds cause almost no noticeable side effects and the only chronic pain I have is from an arthritic thumb. A single steriod injection for that caused some unpleasant side effects and helped for about 20 minutes, so I won't bother again unless it gets unbearable.

All in all not a bad picture at 75. It's known that HF patients have a much higher incidence of sudden demise, but there's nothing much I can do about that other than keep taking the tablets and try to maintain a reasonably sensible lifestyle, which in future will NOT feature refurbing the bathroom!
 
regular prescriptions of paracetamol, ibuprofen and tramadol for pain associated with a congenital defect in my feet and ankles - regular physio helps. I only take the meds as and when needed - whilst in constant pain, it is not always intrusive.
 
hifinutt said:
you are incredible mull , doing all the diy you do with all that lot . amazing !!
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Thanks for the 'big up' hifinutt, but there's a rather less 'superhuman' explanation.... :cool:

I just don't have the funds to pay the sums demanded by many tradesmen these days. Especially some plumbers and bathroom fitters. My neighbour has two daughters who were each quoted £500 per day excluding hardware, for at least a week to fit a small bathroom.

It's taken me about 3 weeks to treat some mould, redecorate where necessary, fix the floorboards, line the floor and lay vinyl 'click' stuff and skirting. I've now modified the incoming hot and cold, plus the waste, for a new basin and vanity unit. Final fixing of those today, then a couple of cabinets and a splashback to mount..bit of sealing and some minor 'snagging'. Clearly it wouldn't have taken tradesmen anything like that long, but even three or four days would have cost me well north of £1500 in labour. My labour costs nothing. The other reason it's taken so long is that I'm NOT a professional, so everything takes much more thought. Sort of 'measure ten times.. cut once'. I can also only do about 3-5 hours a day max, before I'm either too tired, or Mrs Mull orders me to stop. Slow and steady...
 
None of us are getting any younger and as I mentioned in a previous post many of us are likely heading towards some level of isolation (could easily be another thread) so talking meds’ to a bunch of (mainly) old duffers seemed appropriate.
The biggest hassle just now is having to take the Flucloxacillin and Semaglutide half an hour before the other seven tablets first thing and on an empty stomach is a fiddle! I’ve been setting my alarm 30mins early just to take my first tablet!

I should also mention I get a testosterone inj every 12 weeks after getting a bollock removed due to cancer over 20 years ago.

I must admit I find it interesting investigating the tablet names you folks are listing, I’ve always been curious about meds and their purposes. In the spirit of openness here’s an actual list of today’s tablets.

Flucloxacillin
Semaglutide
Candesartan cilecitil
Co-codemol
Gabapentin
Gliczlazide
Metforman
Doxasosin
Allopurinol
Atorvastatin
Amlodipine

And every 12 weeks Nebido injection, due next week.

I have to remember to take a carrier bag to the chemist as well as the supermarket these days 🤣

As mentioned previously I do get regular blood tests which I suspect are just keeping an eye on my kidneys and liver and I should also mention I do suffer from dehydration, I’ve become very conscious of that especially when I have my bike gear on on hot days, I’ve got a water container by my side at all times.

Pre-pandemic I had a regular medication reviews every two years but that’s fallen by the wayside as my local practice has been hammered by an influx of patients due to lots of new builds popping up locally.
 
wow&flutter said:
... just now is having to take the Flucloxacillin...
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I was on those a couple of weeks ago.

I thought they were antibiotics that were a weeks course and that they lose any effect if you take them indefinitely.

Anyway the infection / inflammation I had, has subsided now so no longer required.
 
Amlodipine, Doxazosin, Ramipril: mainly for blood pressure control but the Dox also relaxes muscles around the bladder to ease urine flow.
 
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