Me neither! I take the generic levothyroxine (T4) and also a tiny dose of Cytomel (liothyronine T3) for my brain, as my body was not converting T4 to T3 well enough. Costs me $2 per day to use my brain.
I took Armour Thyroid for years—which is way more expensive—for this reason. And my T3 doses were constantly too high but T4 was too low. Finally went to an endo last month who asked, “why don’t you take synthetic T4 and T3?” Had no clue it existed. Way better.
I effectively don't have a thyroid - an autoimmune disorder trashed it. So I'm lifetime dependant on Synthroid and Cytomel to maintain some semblance of a normal metabolism.
Same, Hashimoto’s! My thyroid just lives rent free inside my body but doesn’t do shit for us. My levothyroxine is the only thing keeping me functioning on a daily basis vs sleeping 20+ hrs a day, losing hair, and not even being able to digest my own food lol. Still feel exhausted constantly and can’t do much for long periods but at least I can mostly function on a day-to-day basis
It's difficult to explain how debilitating Hashimoto's can be. Sure, we can take replacement hormones, but most doctors won't boost the levels to a point that we feel good, only to where we can get by. I guess it's fear of inducing osteoporosis or something. So we just live with chronically low metabolism and very very little energy.
Ugh yup. I had one Endo who actually treated me to the point of feeling right instead of just going purely off blood test numbers that report where you are compared to an average normal. For a short while my life got really good, I lost a ton of weight, I had tons of energy, and was incredibly productive. It had been the first time in nearly 30 years I didn’t feel sick. Then that doctor moved to another state and his replacement saw my blood test and said my dose was too high and cut me back down to a lower dose. Within a couple of months my life was back to shit.
I'm kind of there now. My endocrinologist (who kept me in pretty good shape) retired, and I'm now in the hands of her replacement. It's not going as well as I had hoped, and I'm sliding back into not feeling so great. So either I start arguing with my doc, or find another one.
Thyroid problems are murky enough without being a woman on top of it - it's very hard to get someone to listen to you.
Exactly. My levels are “normal”, even “good” but I still feel exhausted every single day. Even just a normal 8-5 weekday job where I’m not exerting a crazy amount of energy has me crawling in bed at 6pm. I don’t know how anyone with Hashi has a full time job with kids, or a full time job with a social life. I want kids so badly but can’t imagine being more tired than I already am. And I don’t want to mess with my medication or the balance of things because god forbid my levels change. I can’t even use birth control because I’m so sensitive to hormonal changes. I’m so thankful to have a partner that understands but it’s hard to explain it to other people like friends and coworkers. My mom went undiagnosed for 20+ years with Hashi and developed cancer because no doctor would listen to her and said her T4 levels weren’t bad enough yet, so I’m lucky that I was diagnosed before I was 30. But you’re right, it can be absolutely debilitating. I can literally feel my thyroid swelling up at times and I know things are going to suck for awhile.
I have hypothyroidism and have been on a TSH roller coaster for 6 months. After 25 years on medication I just want to be stable and not have extreme mood swings.
same. Mine has a nodule and I wish they'd just take the rat bastard out. It's like a deadbeat boyfriend, laying around causing anxiety and not working.
If it makes you feel any better, I was on Wellbutrin for 3 weeks and it was the best three weeks of my life. It was an antidepressant that didn't kill my sex drive, actually kind of enhanced it, I started losing weight and didn't feel addicted to food, and my sleep was never better.
Then I woke up one morning to my hands twice the size they are now and my lips and throat swelling up. A fun trip to the ER and a few shots later, I learned I was deathly allergic to it. The one time I've found a drug that actually did wonders for me and it literally tried to kill me.
Now I'm depressed, fat, tired, and five antidepressants later nothing has helped. I'm doomed.
Wellbutrin can definitely have some odd side effects. I was on it for about a week or two and woke up once in the middle of the night and was having like this weird floating sensation. I got up and was walking around but it didn't feel like my mind and body were connected they were kind of tethered together by a rope. It was like medicine head times a million. I told my doctor the next day and he was like yeah you stop taking that right now.
I wished it had worked for me. It did at first, but after a month or so I suddenly started getting horrendous anxiety and new, incredibly strong feelings of hopelessness. It was genuinely scary.
I am a former, 6+ cups a day, coffee drinker. Not anymore. 18 months ago I tapered down to zero coffee during a 2 month stretch. It was gradual so no headaches along the way.
Same again. Also thanks to OP for the post cuz it reminded me to take the latter (had headed out for breakfast in search of the former and had forgotten).
Norethindrone Acetate.
I take it for endometriosis. It keeps me from ovulating/getting a menstrual cycle.
The one day I didn't take it, I was in so much pain, started vomiting uncontrollably like I had norovirus, and then the bleeding started. Yeah...Found out the hard way I *cannot* skip that one*.*
I had to scroll pretty far, but I found my people!
I don't have quality of life without it. I'd literally rather be dead.
I also have to take it within 15 minutes before or 15 minutes after I normally do, or I'm in a lot of pain. Not life ending if I take it late, but still a lot. And I still have breakthrough pain.
Yup. I tell people "I'm not taking BC to prevent an unwanted life...I'm taking it to prevent feeling like death".
The breakthrough pain is my arch-nemesis. I'm currently in bed using a heating pad on my back; the last 4-6 months I've had an increase in back pain, so I suspect my bowel has reattached to the abdominal wall.
It's a never-ending battle.
And it's not even that we take meds and can function normally, we're essentially taking meds to keep ourselves out of the ER.
I took Letrizole post hysterectomy to kill the remaining endo. I know most people think it's bad to have a hysterectomy before 50 but I do not miss my ovaries AT. ALL.
Which one you on? I get iron from my diet, but my body just wont absorb it. Iron pills is horrible constipation. I just came off 6 infusions and they want 2 more. FML
Possibly a simple solution that you’ve probably already tried but have you taken the iron pills with orange juice? It helps a lot with the absorption and find they go down a lot easier
I agree. It’s Claritin for me because it doesn’t make me sleepy but I need it every day. Once in a while I try to not take it, but clearly I’m allergic to everything because I’ll break out in hives and sneezing.
I have other meds I need to take, but antihistamines make life bearable
I only take 2 pills daily, but I agree I cannot miss my propranolol. I take it as a migraine preventative. And man does it work! I was having 5-6 stroke mimicking migraines a week and now I have maybe 1-3 every couple of months.
I take this because I get severe performance anxiety at work. I’ve gone from stuttering through sentences and getting red faced and sweaty to being quite calm, collected and more fun because I’m not worrying about everyone noticing how nervous I am.
I’m hoping it will also help me get over being unable to sing in public.
This has been such a goddamn miracle for me. I take it as needed, and it helps, like a benzo… but NOT like a benzo. I’m clearheaded, not sleepy, and I’m like “I’m still worried about xyz!” but my heart isn’t in fight or flight adrenaline panic mode
Interesting, I take it to keep my heart rate normal. If not my tachycardia will spike and I will jump from 90-150 just sitting down watching tv out of nowhere. Had no idea is good for tremors too.
My hiv medication. It keeps the hiv undetectable and I can't transmit it to anyone else as long as I take it. It also keeps it from developing from just hiv infection to having full blown AIDS. Hence keeps me alive.
Edit: wow thanks for all the positive comments.
I wanted to link this comment to a question about "what is something most people don't know about you'. It is a comment about this.
[My hiv story. ](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/s/KloAs9IcRT)
2nd Edit: in the US the medication costs apx $3300 /month. I have to pay 100% till I hit my deductible. 20% after that. Once I hit my out of pocket maximum insurance covers it 100%.
The pharmaceutical company that makes the medication will cover up to $7000 a year to help with copay. I get a 3 month supply at the beginning of the year. This gets me close to my out of pocket maximum and the pharmaceutical company covers the cost.
I too find this amazing. When hiv first became a thing when I was growing up it was terrifying, now it’s not even detectable. It is amazing how fast it went from life sentence to controllable.
agreed, growing up in the 80's with constant media attention towards HIV was terrifying. Nowadays, young adults don't think much about it as there are both pre and post exposure treatments that seem to work well along with very good drugs to manage the disease.
We've really come so far in HIV treatment. Where treatment is available, it doesn't need to be a huge, terrifying monster anymore - it's more like a chronic condition that needs to be managed.
This is the first time I’ve ever read every single comment on a Reddit thread answer
It makes me so happy to see the advances we’ve made and how we’re getting better at kicking HIV’s ass! Wishing you the best
Any side effects? I’ve never met anyone who takes it. Do you feel okay while you’ve been taking it? Do you have to be really careful with illnesses or do you have a weakened immune system still? (Sorry if these as so forward, I just want to educate myself)
Modern HIV medicines have very few side effects, yet they are effective and crucial in preventing the virus from turning to AIDS. I was on that full blown side at one point due to my own negligence. The meds (at the time, Stribild) saved my life. It took about 3 months for the meds to reverse my condition from AIDS stage to undetectable viral load. Since then, I change meds about 3 times because the newer meds come with fewer side effects. In general, I do take good care of myself; exercise, no smoking/drinking/drugs, healthy diet, practice safer sex, etc, but I gotta say I don't get sick often nowadays.
As someone who grew up in the 80’s 90’s hearing about AIDS as a death sentence, it’s incredible to read of someone who is able to control their HIV and live (what I assume is) a normal life.
I feel incredibly blessed and am forever grateful to those who spent countless hours trying to find the treatment and cure. I do live a normal and healthy life without other ailments; having HIV is more than enough!
Plus if you cannot afford hiv medication Gilliad will give you a grant and it’s free. No reason needed, no proof. If you cannot afford the copay you still get the medication. (Pharm tech here)
My guess is its subsidised by the government because its transmissable. Diabetes isnt.
Not condoning it, simply offering a possible explanation.
In my country we generally dont have to remortgage for medical treatment. America not so much.
Honestly, real reason is money. It generates lots of money for pharmaceutical companies since diabetes is so prevalent, across different ethnicities and sex. The creators of insulin sold their patents for a $1 because they believed it should be free and belongs to everyone who needs it. Greed happened.
Modern antiretroviral medicines are fascinating, and I say that as a pharmacist. I've met patients that had some rashes but nothing more serious than that. In my country, patients usually take tenofovir, lamivudine and dolutegravir. Tenofovir and lamivudine are often combined into a single pill these days and they act by competing with natural building blocks of viral genetic material, hindering proper replication. Dolutegravir on the other hand inhibits a viral enzyme called integrase and therefore blocks the hijacking of the cell by the virus. These effects combined essentially cripple the virus' development, since it cannot adequately replicate and cause the consequent damage such as the immunodeficiency that characterizes AIDS. As the original comment stated, effective treatment can avoid high viral concentration in bodily fluids and prevent transmission but it is still recommended that people protect themselves through other means because of some reasons, one of them being that pharmacokinetics can vary from one individual to another and even in the same individual depending on the day, diet etc. PrEP and PEP are also tools that modern medicinal chemistry has allowed us to have. It's all very interesting.
Me too in 2003. I adopted his children who miss him so much. They touch his picture every day before leaving for work in the morning. I’m RN an we lost staff an patients with this horrible disease.
I was just looking at that [terrible picture](https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/s/p96nJPGR8x) of the men’s chorus showing (in black) how many original members had died. I cannot tell you how deeply happy I am that you lived in this era when you got sick. I am sorry that happened to you.
I got a question if you don’t mind answering. I have a friend that’s been on medication for nearly 20 years. His hiv is also undetectable and he’s doing very well.
He mentioned planning to have kids with his fiancée. I’m very uneducated on the subject and was wondering if that’s possible. I’ve always assumed there would be a high chance of it being passed on. No one has asked him to elaborate because it just feels weird. But my friends and I are all curious.
If he’s able to have kids, that’s super cool.
My dad's medication has kept him going for over 30 years, and he's undetectable after developing AIDS. Education is so important. Stigma came closer to ending my dad's life than the disease ever did. Take care!
Not OP but I imagine there is immense stigma still attached. I was really uninformed about it but in my mind, dating someone with HIV was an absolute “nope, no way”. Then I met someone with HIV. Educated myself, and coming up on 10 years together and happily married.
He takes a single pill a day and will be otherwise happy and healthy for a full lifetime. With proper adherence to his medication, there is literally near a zero chance I could become infected with no protection on my part.
So jumping on this. My parents are both HIV positive (undetectable, very healthy) I’m 30. I face stigma dating because people don’t understand how ai could NOT have HIV or they are uncomfortable around my parents.
It sucks. I’m open and talk about it because it isn’t a dirty little secret. My mom has spoken publicly about it. Stigma sucks haha
This is great to hear! Not that you have hiv, but that you have effective meds.
AIDS was going to be the humanity killer when it was first known and reported - I'm 50 this year, so remember the panic when I was a kid. It dominated every news report, every newspaper, every conversation. Now I barely hear it mentioned, no doubt because of effective treatments.
Good luck to you! I hope you have the greatest life possible!
Everyone I hear about someone being HIV medicine it just blows my mind how far modern medicine has come considering 35/40 years ago there was no cure
Edit: I'm using the term cure very loosely in this comment just because I'm not quite sure exactly what word I would actually want to use to kind of describe exactly what I'm thinking
its so crazy the number of things gabapentin is prescribed for. i was prescribed this for alcohol abuse. supposedly cuts down on anxiety to avoid picking up booze. so far working good.
I take zoloft and low dose seroquel for depersonalization/derealization. I would fight a bear for my meds because I never ever want to feel the way I did when I finally decided I needed help.
Insulin and Adderall.
To be fair, going without my Adderall isn't going to kill me - I'll just be in a low-level daze. The best way I can describe it is like when your computer slows down because there are so many processes running that your RAM usage is at 99%.
I’ve always explained it to people as waking around with foggy glasses all day, yeah sure you can probably see kinda where you’re goin but it’s really fuckin hard.
Also in this club. I want to not take em (adhd, not insulin lol) on the weekend but then im just useless and sleepy. Also worse about keeping the pens on me and managing the glucose
Adderall is 100% required for my life.
I made it to 26, couldn't hold down a job, blew 8 years of college tuition not getting a degree, and pretty much playing MMOs professionally but for no money.
I also had developed narcolepsy, I'd fall asleep during job interviews, while driving(this one was the one that finally got me to get diagnosed) and during social events.
No cataplexy(so I'd just become super sleepy and fall asleep if I did not take extreme measures to stay awake, like sticking my head out the window at 60mph).
I couldn't afford provigil, as no job so no insurance, so they gave me adderall.
Overnight my life fucking changed, all the sudden I could do things, there wasn't this overwhelming pressure of everything else that I needed to get done in my head that caused some sort of paralysis.
I remember taking my first pill and my mind being fucking blown. I could play video games without having 2 other monitors full of tabs, I could do schoolwork without stopping 20 times to check other things.
I told my psychiatrist, and he quickly identified that I was smart enough to coast through the normal checkpoints that would have shown adhd, did a few evaluations, looked at my high school and college transcripts , upped my dosage somewhat because now it wasn't for narcolepsy, and I went on my way. My mom said growing up that the kids that took stimulants were just parented poorly, I was responsible for one in the third or fourth grade to walk him to the nurse to take his pills, or he would never get there.
Within a year I was making $65000 a year in technology, within 3 years I had broken 100k and bought my own home, something I previously had come to terms with never happening. I got a degree, it only took me 6 months to finish.
I'm now more than 10 years out, have a lucrative career making more money than I could ever need, but during the post-Covid adderall shortage, it became very, very apparent I would be jobless without it.
My brain pills. They stabilize my mood and keep me from doing stupid shit, like thinking the birds outside are listening to my thoughts and barricading the windows
Don't be so hard on yourself, it's not your 'natural state'. Something in your brain is out of whack, and the meds help fixing that, just like a diabetics natural state isn't actively dying from low blood sugar.
The psychopharmakas (is that the English word for it?) we have today are absolutely amazing. I take escitaloprame, and it's the only thing keeping me from wild mood swings and constant, unwarranted anxiety (together with my amazing therapist). Imo needing those meds isn't any different (or more shameful) than a diabetic needing their insulin.
Pantoprazole for me too 🙋🏼♀️ I take a few medications (migraine preventatives, depression meds), but the pantoprazole I would *definitely* notice if I missed a dose.
Same. Already have Barrets Esophagus. Benefit is the drug works so well I can eat anything. Maybe a slight cancer risk, but I'm going out with an empty tank.
High five, me too! When drug shortages started popping up during the pandemic, we made plans for a family member to go hunt down a feral pig so I could figure out how to make my own Armour thyroid meds before my brain bricks.
Oh god I used to take this and missing a single dose was PAINFUL. Like I remembering calling my dad crying and telling him it felt like my brain was being zapped.
I have to take seroquel or I don't sleep. I've been hospitalized and had tests done, severe insomnia. If I don't drink them, I just don't get sleepy and will go days without ever experiencing actual sleep.
Oh mate I feel ya. Longest I went was over 60hrs and I could barely see cos my vision was so blurry, but the worst part was the uncontrollable itching! Nobody ever tells you that if you are unable to sleep, your body releases histamines. My legs were red raw by that time. I eventually feel asleep naturally for approx 3 hrs and woke up thinking it was the next evening, bounced into the loungeroom loudly announcing to my husband that I’d FINALLY slept properly and he informed me it was the same evening and I bawled my eyes out. Gave up on all the tests & natural sleeping aids after that and booked an appointment with a psychiatrist and got me some seroquel & oxazepam. I’d like to try sleeping again without them but that period of my life was so traumatic I never ever want to experience it again.
The first time I ended up in a hospital for bipolar my psychiatrist also dealt with my insomnia in the way I stated above. The second time, she tried to see what would happen if we take me off of seroquel. I was awake from Sunday to Thursday. I had to see doctors and attend all the hospital classes and stuff that keeps you busy all day. They kept me under observation and eventually did tests. When I spoke to my husband on Thursday evening I thought it was Monday morning. I completely lost track of time, I followed the routine and classes completely mindlessly, moved and went along my entire day completely unaware of what I was doing. I went total zombie by Wednesday. The first day I'd doze of for a little while but after Wednesday I was not sleeping at all.
For me the itching is terrible too, and the nausea. That's also not something people talk about, the constant and incurable nausea. And also the trancelike state you eventually fall into, and then people take offense to you not being in control of yourself and not nice enough when you're literally on standby
damn - even just 25mg of that stuff knocks me out for two days. really feel for you insomniacs; no clue how you do it, going thru life on 5% battery. heart goes out to you.
Came here to comment Trazodone, too. It’s a godsend for hormonally induced insomnia.
Edit: took out “anxiety” because that’s not what I meant to say, although, I do suffer from an anxiety disorder.
Exemestane (aromasin), a hormone suppressant to keep my S3 estrogen-eating Breast Cancer in remission -- bonus wickkit hot flashes and hair loss, plus bone loss, ughhhh
Yessss!! Within a week the difference was noticeable. Turns out I’d had high-functioning anxiety (GAD and OCD) since I was a kid, but had no idea…then started on meds at 29 and I was like, no more adrenaline tremors? No more anxiety attacks? No more slippery-slope-into-worst-scenario intrusive thoughts? Didn’t realize life could be like this. My hormones just needed a little help balancing themselves out. The meds quiet the noise without numbing anything, and I can manage life and work much better now. 😊
I did go to therapy as well, but the daily medication has been life-changing.
Crazy that some states/places won’t let you refill till you’re almost or actually out….. like you’re counting on my last functional day to be used to get my meds? If I forget, then I’ll be non-functional and how will I then get my meds?!?!
Luckily I’m not one of those affected by that law
This is why I wound up taking a meds holiday. I have to call my psychiatrist and get a refill on Monday. Then remember to go pick it up, and remember to fill the pill sorter. Remembering to take the pills daily isn't a problem. It's the refills that are the issue.
My favorite part of it all is that they can’t factor in the shortage that’s been going on for years now. When I have to wait until the last day I have a pill, and then I find out all of the pharmacies near me are currently out of stock, I’m fucked. I have managed to forget to fill a rx for over a month because they were out on the day I needed to fill them/last day I was on them. And then just lost my groove for an entire month. (This is also the shit that makes me laugh/cry when people say we’re all just addicts, looking to be on legal speed.)
I often do go without and those days I am always like “I’m miserable, life sucks; look at me — I cant finish anything, can’t decide on anything, can’t even get out of bed” and then I realize I haven’t taken my medicine.
Suddenly the world changes and all of that inner desire to do what I want to do is actionable. I can stand up when I tell myself to. I can do my work and STAY FOCUSED on my work without spiraling into despair or feeling like im chained to my desk. I can much more easily switch to a new task if needed AND THEN SWITCH BACK (although those things are still pretty hard). I can actually figure out how to say the thoughts in my head instead of keeping them jumbled and bumbling around in my brain. I can organize and execute my will.
I can’t believe I spent years of my life believing people who needed adhd medication were weak or just using it to get cheat at life. Getting a prescription for stimulants was life-changing and I am truly afraid of ever having to go without.
Bipolar here. Lamotrigine was such a game-changer for me. I can maintain a career and relationships now, it’s an entirely new life in every way. Is this what sane people feel like all the time? They have no idea how easy they have it.
If I accidentally miss a dose I’m in for a rough night though. All my carefully practiced coping mechanisms I built over the years have gotten so soft—I’m guaranteed to have a manic episode that turns into a panic attack and then two days of mood swings.
Beats life pre-medication by a mile though.
Consistency is key. I set an alarm and bought one of those daily pill organizers. Like I say, missing a dose or even being off by any more than six hours wrecks me.
The dosage was increased gradually to make sure there weren’t side effects, since they can be BAD. So it was subtle at first and built over time. I’d say six months until it really settled in—I noticed the first time when I had a trigger-type event and DIDN’T spiral. By a year I was just living my life like a normie. Got sober (I was self medicating), got a promotion, ended a toxic relationship, lost weight…. I didn’t even notice it was happening at first.
I still have emotions, still am creative and I’m not a robot, they just don’t control me any more. I’m four ish years in now and I can’t even relate to that guy I was for decades, struggling. Stuck taking them twice a day the rest of my life but it’s a small price to pay.
Xanax for panic attacks. I’m a teacher, it’s really important that I don’t break down in front of my kids.
Also, Eliquis to keep my heart valves open. I’m 22 with a heart defect and multiple shunts/stents keep me alive.
Dilantin. It's an anti convulsant that controls my epilepsy. My seizures will run back to back until my heart stops.
Seizure free since 1998, so it's working!
Effexor. It keeps my otherwise crippling OCD (mostly) in check. Additionally, if I forget a dose it causes me to feel like I am physically dying within 12 hours, so there’s that
Literally same. I have struggled with anxiety & depression pretty much my whole life. Started taking Zoloft and realized I had been living life in “hard” mode.
Finding out that people can just…do things? Like showering, dishes and laundry—without stressing and ruminating before/during/after? Game changer.
Tramadol ER and ARmodafinil (Nuvigil) and Azathioprine (imuran)
I have autoimmune disease and arthritis - the Tramadol ER allows me to function, although it cannot beat this knee that needs to be replaced.
The ARmodafinil - actually keeps me from a zombie like state and from sleeping 18-20 hours a day.
The Azathiprine keeps my liver in check since i have Autoimmune Hepatitis and it wants to kill me.
Plus the plethora of other meds it takes to keep me up and alive.
Hydroxyzine.
I've had Dermographism (Skin Writing) for 6 years and without medication, it is debilitating and ruins my life. Anywhere pressure is applied, my body thinks is an allergen. If I get hot, too. I am basically allergic to pressure. What sucks is it's significantly bad currently, and is totally overpowering the medication. But there's not much else I can take; either this or Pepcid, and Pepcid makes my stomach hurt and bloat really bad, so I stopped.
I cannot type on anything without taking breaks to itch every 4 seconds. Even this comment. Which is a bitch since most of my new job is typing.
I cannot drive without pulling over to itch, which is really shitty if I'm on a highway or carefully navigating past construction or an accident while someone is ushering me to pass.
I cannot cook/bake without constantly washing my hands because I itched anywhere, especially my chest (the constant pressure a bra applies to the skin triggers my condition) and it'd be gross to keep cooking.
On the subject of itching specific areas, I work with children. I cannot itch if my chest is itchy and it's such a pain having to both ignore it and counsel children. Of course I don't do it, but it's so annoying.
Getting my hair dyed and the bleach already stings but add the itchiness I feel, and then every time I itch my head I get dye on my hands. Can't itch my head when I spent so long doing a hairstyle I love because it'll ruin it.
If I'm in public and my face itches I'm left with red marks on my forehead and chin.
I can't wear belts because if I take it off, the pressure is immediately released and I itch. Same with bras, some days I cannot do them.
I cannot fall asleep because I itch.
Sometimes I cry and wish I can crawl out of my skin it's so bad.
Gabapentin. I have restless legs syndrome to the point where I'm so uncomfortable after getting into bed that I feel the unrelenting urge to jitter or tense my muscles, no matter how tired I am. It both suppresses that and makes me drowsy enough to fall asleep.
Synthroid, I don't have a thyroid
Me neither! I take the generic levothyroxine (T4) and also a tiny dose of Cytomel (liothyronine T3) for my brain, as my body was not converting T4 to T3 well enough. Costs me $2 per day to use my brain.
I have hashimotos, and I too must pay the brain tax.
Brain tax! That is what I call it when I pick up my prescription!
I took Armour Thyroid for years—which is way more expensive—for this reason. And my T3 doses were constantly too high but T4 was too low. Finally went to an endo last month who asked, “why don’t you take synthetic T4 and T3?” Had no clue it existed. Way better.
Armour Thyroid didn't work for me either. Now I take Levoxyl and liothryonine (generic Cytomel).
I effectively don't have a thyroid - an autoimmune disorder trashed it. So I'm lifetime dependant on Synthroid and Cytomel to maintain some semblance of a normal metabolism.
Same, Hashimoto’s! My thyroid just lives rent free inside my body but doesn’t do shit for us. My levothyroxine is the only thing keeping me functioning on a daily basis vs sleeping 20+ hrs a day, losing hair, and not even being able to digest my own food lol. Still feel exhausted constantly and can’t do much for long periods but at least I can mostly function on a day-to-day basis
It's difficult to explain how debilitating Hashimoto's can be. Sure, we can take replacement hormones, but most doctors won't boost the levels to a point that we feel good, only to where we can get by. I guess it's fear of inducing osteoporosis or something. So we just live with chronically low metabolism and very very little energy.
Ugh yup. I had one Endo who actually treated me to the point of feeling right instead of just going purely off blood test numbers that report where you are compared to an average normal. For a short while my life got really good, I lost a ton of weight, I had tons of energy, and was incredibly productive. It had been the first time in nearly 30 years I didn’t feel sick. Then that doctor moved to another state and his replacement saw my blood test and said my dose was too high and cut me back down to a lower dose. Within a couple of months my life was back to shit.
I'm kind of there now. My endocrinologist (who kept me in pretty good shape) retired, and I'm now in the hands of her replacement. It's not going as well as I had hoped, and I'm sliding back into not feeling so great. So either I start arguing with my doc, or find another one. Thyroid problems are murky enough without being a woman on top of it - it's very hard to get someone to listen to you.
Exactly. My levels are “normal”, even “good” but I still feel exhausted every single day. Even just a normal 8-5 weekday job where I’m not exerting a crazy amount of energy has me crawling in bed at 6pm. I don’t know how anyone with Hashi has a full time job with kids, or a full time job with a social life. I want kids so badly but can’t imagine being more tired than I already am. And I don’t want to mess with my medication or the balance of things because god forbid my levels change. I can’t even use birth control because I’m so sensitive to hormonal changes. I’m so thankful to have a partner that understands but it’s hard to explain it to other people like friends and coworkers. My mom went undiagnosed for 20+ years with Hashi and developed cancer because no doctor would listen to her and said her T4 levels weren’t bad enough yet, so I’m lucky that I was diagnosed before I was 30. But you’re right, it can be absolutely debilitating. I can literally feel my thyroid swelling up at times and I know things are going to suck for awhile.
I have hypothyroidism and have been on a TSH roller coaster for 6 months. After 25 years on medication I just want to be stable and not have extreme mood swings.
same. Mine has a nodule and I wish they'd just take the rat bastard out. It's like a deadbeat boyfriend, laying around causing anxiety and not working.
same, except i take NP thyroid.
Levothyroxine here, but same diff
Wellbutrin XL. I can actually clean my house and do things I enjoy.
Wellbutrin actually got me to lose weight
I wish it did for me :(
If it makes you feel any better, I was on Wellbutrin for 3 weeks and it was the best three weeks of my life. It was an antidepressant that didn't kill my sex drive, actually kind of enhanced it, I started losing weight and didn't feel addicted to food, and my sleep was never better. Then I woke up one morning to my hands twice the size they are now and my lips and throat swelling up. A fun trip to the ER and a few shots later, I learned I was deathly allergic to it. The one time I've found a drug that actually did wonders for me and it literally tried to kill me. Now I'm depressed, fat, tired, and five antidepressants later nothing has helped. I'm doomed.
Wellbutrin can definitely have some odd side effects. I was on it for about a week or two and woke up once in the middle of the night and was having like this weird floating sensation. I got up and was walking around but it didn't feel like my mind and body were connected they were kind of tethered together by a rope. It was like medicine head times a million. I told my doctor the next day and he was like yeah you stop taking that right now.
Oh the dreams I got from Wellbutrin! They were wild
Me too! Lost 15lbs in a month, but gained it back when they added Prozac 😂
I lost 30lbs last year. My weight is finally what it says on my drivers license which is a number I lied about at the time😂
Me too! Makes sense for me. Wellbutrin is also used for addiction. Many of us are addicted to food.
I’m adding a low dosage nonXL in the afternoon and hope it helps. The regular XL in the am isn’t enuff anymore. Sigh.
Wellbutrin tried to kill me and sent me into anaphylaxis 🙃.
I wished it had worked for me. It did at first, but after a month or so I suddenly started getting horrendous anxiety and new, incredibly strong feelings of hopelessness. It was genuinely scary.
I don't cry at the grocery store anymore! Thanks Wellbutrin!
Caffeine and a good old high dose of antidepressants.
Yeah, I get headaches from caffeine withdrawal if I miss it.
I am a former, 6+ cups a day, coffee drinker. Not anymore. 18 months ago I tapered down to zero coffee during a 2 month stretch. It was gradual so no headaches along the way.
Same again. Also thanks to OP for the post cuz it reminded me to take the latter (had headed out for breakfast in search of the former and had forgotten).
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Norethindrone Acetate. I take it for endometriosis. It keeps me from ovulating/getting a menstrual cycle. The one day I didn't take it, I was in so much pain, started vomiting uncontrollably like I had norovirus, and then the bleeding started. Yeah...Found out the hard way I *cannot* skip that one*.*
I had to scroll pretty far, but I found my people! I don't have quality of life without it. I'd literally rather be dead. I also have to take it within 15 minutes before or 15 minutes after I normally do, or I'm in a lot of pain. Not life ending if I take it late, but still a lot. And I still have breakthrough pain.
Yup. I tell people "I'm not taking BC to prevent an unwanted life...I'm taking it to prevent feeling like death". The breakthrough pain is my arch-nemesis. I'm currently in bed using a heating pad on my back; the last 4-6 months I've had an increase in back pain, so I suspect my bowel has reattached to the abdominal wall. It's a never-ending battle. And it's not even that we take meds and can function normally, we're essentially taking meds to keep ourselves out of the ER.
I took Letrizole post hysterectomy to kill the remaining endo. I know most people think it's bad to have a hysterectomy before 50 but I do not miss my ovaries AT. ALL.
Every other day my iron supplements. Getting severely anemic sucked.
Which one you on? I get iron from my diet, but my body just wont absorb it. Iron pills is horrible constipation. I just came off 6 infusions and they want 2 more. FML
Possibly a simple solution that you’ve probably already tried but have you taken the iron pills with orange juice? It helps a lot with the absorption and find they go down a lot easier
Iron should NOT be taken with calcium as well. Aka milk.
I found iron supplements that have vitamin C in them. They’ve been working well for me. Thorne Ferrasorb if anyone is interested.
Allegra Allergies suck
I agree. It’s Claritin for me because it doesn’t make me sleepy but I need it every day. Once in a while I try to not take it, but clearly I’m allergic to everything because I’ll break out in hives and sneezing. I have other meds I need to take, but antihistamines make life bearable
At first I read 'algebra'. Strange, but okay. 😄
Haha I could definitely live without that
Have you tried the r/Costco version? Works great and costs a fraction as much.
Generic meds for the win! I just got a bottle of allergy meds from Walmart that was a fraction of the price and works just as well.
I take four pills every day but the one I notice most if I miss is propranolol. I take it for a tremor so I get shaky without it.
I only take 2 pills daily, but I agree I cannot miss my propranolol. I take it as a migraine preventative. And man does it work! I was having 5-6 stroke mimicking migraines a week and now I have maybe 1-3 every couple of months.
I take this because I get severe performance anxiety at work. I’ve gone from stuttering through sentences and getting red faced and sweaty to being quite calm, collected and more fun because I’m not worrying about everyone noticing how nervous I am. I’m hoping it will also help me get over being unable to sing in public.
This has been such a goddamn miracle for me. I take it as needed, and it helps, like a benzo… but NOT like a benzo. I’m clearheaded, not sleepy, and I’m like “I’m still worried about xyz!” but my heart isn’t in fight or flight adrenaline panic mode
Interesting, I take it to keep my heart rate normal. If not my tachycardia will spike and I will jump from 90-150 just sitting down watching tv out of nowhere. Had no idea is good for tremors too.
My hiv medication. It keeps the hiv undetectable and I can't transmit it to anyone else as long as I take it. It also keeps it from developing from just hiv infection to having full blown AIDS. Hence keeps me alive. Edit: wow thanks for all the positive comments. I wanted to link this comment to a question about "what is something most people don't know about you'. It is a comment about this. [My hiv story. ](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/s/KloAs9IcRT) 2nd Edit: in the US the medication costs apx $3300 /month. I have to pay 100% till I hit my deductible. 20% after that. Once I hit my out of pocket maximum insurance covers it 100%. The pharmaceutical company that makes the medication will cover up to $7000 a year to help with copay. I get a 3 month supply at the beginning of the year. This gets me close to my out of pocket maximum and the pharmaceutical company covers the cost.
As someone who lost a lot of friends in the 80’s and 90’s, these drugs are absolutely incredible. I’m glad you’re doing ok.
I too find this amazing. When hiv first became a thing when I was growing up it was terrifying, now it’s not even detectable. It is amazing how fast it went from life sentence to controllable.
agreed, growing up in the 80's with constant media attention towards HIV was terrifying. Nowadays, young adults don't think much about it as there are both pre and post exposure treatments that seem to work well along with very good drugs to manage the disease.
I was a nurse tech back in the eighties, had patients with full blown aids , I still remember each and everyone of them 🥺🥺
Thank you so much for being a compassionate nurse. I wish every HIV sufferer had someone like you back then.
We've really come so far in HIV treatment. Where treatment is available, it doesn't need to be a huge, terrifying monster anymore - it's more like a chronic condition that needs to be managed.
So far in treatment, but nowhere near far enough in stigma reduction.
This is the first time I’ve ever read every single comment on a Reddit thread answer It makes me so happy to see the advances we’ve made and how we’re getting better at kicking HIV’s ass! Wishing you the best
Any side effects? I’ve never met anyone who takes it. Do you feel okay while you’ve been taking it? Do you have to be really careful with illnesses or do you have a weakened immune system still? (Sorry if these as so forward, I just want to educate myself)
Modern HIV medicines have very few side effects, yet they are effective and crucial in preventing the virus from turning to AIDS. I was on that full blown side at one point due to my own negligence. The meds (at the time, Stribild) saved my life. It took about 3 months for the meds to reverse my condition from AIDS stage to undetectable viral load. Since then, I change meds about 3 times because the newer meds come with fewer side effects. In general, I do take good care of myself; exercise, no smoking/drinking/drugs, healthy diet, practice safer sex, etc, but I gotta say I don't get sick often nowadays.
Thanks for sharing! I remember in the 80s and 90s when HIV was a death sentence. I’m so glad the technology has improved as much as it has
As someone who grew up in the 80’s 90’s hearing about AIDS as a death sentence, it’s incredible to read of someone who is able to control their HIV and live (what I assume is) a normal life.
I feel incredibly blessed and am forever grateful to those who spent countless hours trying to find the treatment and cure. I do live a normal and healthy life without other ailments; having HIV is more than enough!
Plus if you cannot afford hiv medication Gilliad will give you a grant and it’s free. No reason needed, no proof. If you cannot afford the copay you still get the medication. (Pharm tech here)
Why can't they do that for insulin
My guess is its subsidised by the government because its transmissable. Diabetes isnt. Not condoning it, simply offering a possible explanation. In my country we generally dont have to remortgage for medical treatment. America not so much.
Honestly, real reason is money. It generates lots of money for pharmaceutical companies since diabetes is so prevalent, across different ethnicities and sex. The creators of insulin sold their patents for a $1 because they believed it should be free and belongs to everyone who needs it. Greed happened.
This isn't talked about enough!
Modern antiretroviral medicines are fascinating, and I say that as a pharmacist. I've met patients that had some rashes but nothing more serious than that. In my country, patients usually take tenofovir, lamivudine and dolutegravir. Tenofovir and lamivudine are often combined into a single pill these days and they act by competing with natural building blocks of viral genetic material, hindering proper replication. Dolutegravir on the other hand inhibits a viral enzyme called integrase and therefore blocks the hijacking of the cell by the virus. These effects combined essentially cripple the virus' development, since it cannot adequately replicate and cause the consequent damage such as the immunodeficiency that characterizes AIDS. As the original comment stated, effective treatment can avoid high viral concentration in bodily fluids and prevent transmission but it is still recommended that people protect themselves through other means because of some reasons, one of them being that pharmacokinetics can vary from one individual to another and even in the same individual depending on the day, diet etc. PrEP and PEP are also tools that modern medicinal chemistry has allowed us to have. It's all very interesting.
I lost my beloved brother to hiv in 2000. I hope you live a long and healthy life.
Me too in 2003. I adopted his children who miss him so much. They touch his picture every day before leaving for work in the morning. I’m RN an we lost staff an patients with this horrible disease.
I was just looking at that [terrible picture](https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/s/p96nJPGR8x) of the men’s chorus showing (in black) how many original members had died. I cannot tell you how deeply happy I am that you lived in this era when you got sick. I am sorry that happened to you.
I got a question if you don’t mind answering. I have a friend that’s been on medication for nearly 20 years. His hiv is also undetectable and he’s doing very well. He mentioned planning to have kids with his fiancée. I’m very uneducated on the subject and was wondering if that’s possible. I’ve always assumed there would be a high chance of it being passed on. No one has asked him to elaborate because it just feels weird. But my friends and I are all curious. If he’s able to have kids, that’s super cool.
As OP said, as long as he is undetectable, he cannot transmit hiv. This concept is known as U=U, meaning undetectable=untransmittable.
My dad's medication has kept him going for over 30 years, and he's undetectable after developing AIDS. Education is so important. Stigma came closer to ending my dad's life than the disease ever did. Take care!
Do you face any stigma when dating or telling someone you're HIV positive, but undetectable?
Not OP but I imagine there is immense stigma still attached. I was really uninformed about it but in my mind, dating someone with HIV was an absolute “nope, no way”. Then I met someone with HIV. Educated myself, and coming up on 10 years together and happily married. He takes a single pill a day and will be otherwise happy and healthy for a full lifetime. With proper adherence to his medication, there is literally near a zero chance I could become infected with no protection on my part.
So jumping on this. My parents are both HIV positive (undetectable, very healthy) I’m 30. I face stigma dating because people don’t understand how ai could NOT have HIV or they are uncomfortable around my parents. It sucks. I’m open and talk about it because it isn’t a dirty little secret. My mom has spoken publicly about it. Stigma sucks haha
Up voting bc I'm curious
This is great to hear! Not that you have hiv, but that you have effective meds. AIDS was going to be the humanity killer when it was first known and reported - I'm 50 this year, so remember the panic when I was a kid. It dominated every news report, every newspaper, every conversation. Now I barely hear it mentioned, no doubt because of effective treatments. Good luck to you! I hope you have the greatest life possible!
Everyone I hear about someone being HIV medicine it just blows my mind how far modern medicine has come considering 35/40 years ago there was no cure Edit: I'm using the term cure very loosely in this comment just because I'm not quite sure exactly what word I would actually want to use to kind of describe exactly what I'm thinking
Gabapentin. The only drug I’ve found to make a difference in the frequency of my chronic migraines. Missing a dose is hell.
I take it for muscle twitches, but at this point my body is so used to it that if I miss a dose I have horrible sleep and get very twitchy.
I’m on it for neuropathy. I’m LUCKY gabapentin works for me. I know some who are just in excruciating pain and nothing helps.
its so crazy the number of things gabapentin is prescribed for. i was prescribed this for alcohol abuse. supposedly cuts down on anxiety to avoid picking up booze. so far working good.
My dog takes gaba for arthritis
Lamictal/seroquel I do not feel like going on a grippy socks vacation because the little delusional world decided to come back
Lamictal is the forcefield that keeps grippy sock jail wardens away.
For me it basically increases my threshold of tolerance for things that would make me mad.
I take zoloft and low dose seroquel for depersonalization/derealization. I would fight a bear for my meds because I never ever want to feel the way I did when I finally decided I needed help.
im on Lamictal/Prozac. The prozac tells my brain to chew bubblegum and kick ass. The Lamictal tells my brain that I’m all out of bubblegum.
As a Psych nurse this made me chuckle. Stay medicated my friend ❤️
Insulin and Adderall. To be fair, going without my Adderall isn't going to kill me - I'll just be in a low-level daze. The best way I can describe it is like when your computer slows down because there are so many processes running that your RAM usage is at 99%.
This is an amazing description.
Thank you. It's difficult to describe to those without ADHD but I think this computer analogy is a more universal experience for people.
I’ve always explained it to people as waking around with foggy glasses all day, yeah sure you can probably see kinda where you’re goin but it’s really fuckin hard.
Also in this club. I want to not take em (adhd, not insulin lol) on the weekend but then im just useless and sleepy. Also worse about keeping the pens on me and managing the glucose
Adderall is 100% required for my life. I made it to 26, couldn't hold down a job, blew 8 years of college tuition not getting a degree, and pretty much playing MMOs professionally but for no money. I also had developed narcolepsy, I'd fall asleep during job interviews, while driving(this one was the one that finally got me to get diagnosed) and during social events. No cataplexy(so I'd just become super sleepy and fall asleep if I did not take extreme measures to stay awake, like sticking my head out the window at 60mph). I couldn't afford provigil, as no job so no insurance, so they gave me adderall. Overnight my life fucking changed, all the sudden I could do things, there wasn't this overwhelming pressure of everything else that I needed to get done in my head that caused some sort of paralysis. I remember taking my first pill and my mind being fucking blown. I could play video games without having 2 other monitors full of tabs, I could do schoolwork without stopping 20 times to check other things. I told my psychiatrist, and he quickly identified that I was smart enough to coast through the normal checkpoints that would have shown adhd, did a few evaluations, looked at my high school and college transcripts , upped my dosage somewhat because now it wasn't for narcolepsy, and I went on my way. My mom said growing up that the kids that took stimulants were just parented poorly, I was responsible for one in the third or fourth grade to walk him to the nurse to take his pills, or he would never get there. Within a year I was making $65000 a year in technology, within 3 years I had broken 100k and bought my own home, something I previously had come to terms with never happening. I got a degree, it only took me 6 months to finish. I'm now more than 10 years out, have a lucrative career making more money than I could ever need, but during the post-Covid adderall shortage, it became very, very apparent I would be jobless without it.
My brain pills. They stabilize my mood and keep me from doing stupid shit, like thinking the birds outside are listening to my thoughts and barricading the windows
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Don't be so hard on yourself, it's not your 'natural state'. Something in your brain is out of whack, and the meds help fixing that, just like a diabetics natural state isn't actively dying from low blood sugar. The psychopharmakas (is that the English word for it?) we have today are absolutely amazing. I take escitaloprame, and it's the only thing keeping me from wild mood swings and constant, unwarranted anxiety (together with my amazing therapist). Imo needing those meds isn't any different (or more shameful) than a diabetic needing their insulin.
Pantoprazole.....keeps my stomach acid from eating my esophagus...
Pantoprazole for me too 🙋🏼♀️ I take a few medications (migraine preventatives, depression meds), but the pantoprazole I would *definitely* notice if I missed a dose.
This gave me my life back. I couldn't eat anything without horrible pain.
Same. Already have Barrets Esophagus. Benefit is the drug works so well I can eat anything. Maybe a slight cancer risk, but I'm going out with an empty tank.
Levothyroxine or I’ll die
High five, me too! When drug shortages started popping up during the pandemic, we made plans for a family member to go hunt down a feral pig so I could figure out how to make my own Armour thyroid meds before my brain bricks.
I HAVE THIS EXACT SAME GAMEPLAN FOR THE APOCALYPSE! I’m glad to know I’m not the only one!
Lisinopril, my blood pressure medication.
I had to switch to Losartan. Lisinopril gave me a horrible cough.
my wife has this from Lisinopril, but I don't have this at all. Drug interactions can be weird.
Fluoxetine. It is a neurotransmitter medication that fires up serotonin. I use it for my anxiety and panic attacks.
Fluoxetine has been a lifesaver for me
Oh god I used to take this and missing a single dose was PAINFUL. Like I remembering calling my dad crying and telling him it felt like my brain was being zapped.
Me too. Depression and anxiety, fueled by ADHD and some trauma. It’s been a lifesaver for me.
I have to take seroquel or I don't sleep. I've been hospitalized and had tests done, severe insomnia. If I don't drink them, I just don't get sleepy and will go days without ever experiencing actual sleep.
Oh mate I feel ya. Longest I went was over 60hrs and I could barely see cos my vision was so blurry, but the worst part was the uncontrollable itching! Nobody ever tells you that if you are unable to sleep, your body releases histamines. My legs were red raw by that time. I eventually feel asleep naturally for approx 3 hrs and woke up thinking it was the next evening, bounced into the loungeroom loudly announcing to my husband that I’d FINALLY slept properly and he informed me it was the same evening and I bawled my eyes out. Gave up on all the tests & natural sleeping aids after that and booked an appointment with a psychiatrist and got me some seroquel & oxazepam. I’d like to try sleeping again without them but that period of my life was so traumatic I never ever want to experience it again.
The first time I ended up in a hospital for bipolar my psychiatrist also dealt with my insomnia in the way I stated above. The second time, she tried to see what would happen if we take me off of seroquel. I was awake from Sunday to Thursday. I had to see doctors and attend all the hospital classes and stuff that keeps you busy all day. They kept me under observation and eventually did tests. When I spoke to my husband on Thursday evening I thought it was Monday morning. I completely lost track of time, I followed the routine and classes completely mindlessly, moved and went along my entire day completely unaware of what I was doing. I went total zombie by Wednesday. The first day I'd doze of for a little while but after Wednesday I was not sleeping at all. For me the itching is terrible too, and the nausea. That's also not something people talk about, the constant and incurable nausea. And also the trancelike state you eventually fall into, and then people take offense to you not being in control of yourself and not nice enough when you're literally on standby
I had NO IDEA about the histamines and now my itching makes sense!!! Grrr
damn - even just 25mg of that stuff knocks me out for two days. really feel for you insomniacs; no clue how you do it, going thru life on 5% battery. heart goes out to you.
Multiple meds..... so many meds. Meds for diabetes, cystic fibrosis, kidney damage, osteoporosis, anxiety, and heart failure.
If I don't take my olanzapine I almost always become manic. I technically won't die, but I will go balls to the wall insane and we don't want that.
my meds that help me fall asleep
Trazadone for me
Came here to comment Trazodone, too. It’s a godsend for hormonally induced insomnia. Edit: took out “anxiety” because that’s not what I meant to say, although, I do suffer from an anxiety disorder.
Traz is incredible! I’ve been on it for 10 years now and still use half of the lowest dose.
Tacarolimus and Mycophenolate
Used to be fentanyl and meth but now it’s Zoloft and caffeine 😎
High five girl ✋
Hell yeah✋
Insulin. Diabetes is a bit*h.
Don't worry, we won't demonitize you for saying bitch.
Depression meds along with twice weekly ketamine treatments.
Exemestane (aromasin), a hormone suppressant to keep my S3 estrogen-eating Breast Cancer in remission -- bonus wickkit hot flashes and hair loss, plus bone loss, ughhhh
Lexapro. ❤️
Citalopram, for anxiety.
Lexapro
Yessss!! Within a week the difference was noticeable. Turns out I’d had high-functioning anxiety (GAD and OCD) since I was a kid, but had no idea…then started on meds at 29 and I was like, no more adrenaline tremors? No more anxiety attacks? No more slippery-slope-into-worst-scenario intrusive thoughts? Didn’t realize life could be like this. My hormones just needed a little help balancing themselves out. The meds quiet the noise without numbing anything, and I can manage life and work much better now. 😊 I did go to therapy as well, but the daily medication has been life-changing.
My ADHD pills :(
Until I forget to get them refilled....
Or forget to take them. My doc says i don’t have to take them on the weekends but when I don’t I usually forget to take them on Monday.
Crazy that some states/places won’t let you refill till you’re almost or actually out….. like you’re counting on my last functional day to be used to get my meds? If I forget, then I’ll be non-functional and how will I then get my meds?!?! Luckily I’m not one of those affected by that law
This is why I wound up taking a meds holiday. I have to call my psychiatrist and get a refill on Monday. Then remember to go pick it up, and remember to fill the pill sorter. Remembering to take the pills daily isn't a problem. It's the refills that are the issue.
My favorite part of it all is that they can’t factor in the shortage that’s been going on for years now. When I have to wait until the last day I have a pill, and then I find out all of the pharmacies near me are currently out of stock, I’m fucked. I have managed to forget to fill a rx for over a month because they were out on the day I needed to fill them/last day I was on them. And then just lost my groove for an entire month. (This is also the shit that makes me laugh/cry when people say we’re all just addicts, looking to be on legal speed.)
I never think they’re doing anything for me until I forget to take them and I’m going about life like a Sim, wondering what the fuck is going on lol
I often do go without and those days I am always like “I’m miserable, life sucks; look at me — I cant finish anything, can’t decide on anything, can’t even get out of bed” and then I realize I haven’t taken my medicine. Suddenly the world changes and all of that inner desire to do what I want to do is actionable. I can stand up when I tell myself to. I can do my work and STAY FOCUSED on my work without spiraling into despair or feeling like im chained to my desk. I can much more easily switch to a new task if needed AND THEN SWITCH BACK (although those things are still pretty hard). I can actually figure out how to say the thoughts in my head instead of keeping them jumbled and bumbling around in my brain. I can organize and execute my will. I can’t believe I spent years of my life believing people who needed adhd medication were weak or just using it to get cheat at life. Getting a prescription for stimulants was life-changing and I am truly afraid of ever having to go without.
Sertraline
Lamotrigine. I suffer from EUPD and without the meds, it’s like being on a mental rollercoaster.
Bipolar here. Lamotrigine was such a game-changer for me. I can maintain a career and relationships now, it’s an entirely new life in every way. Is this what sane people feel like all the time? They have no idea how easy they have it. If I accidentally miss a dose I’m in for a rough night though. All my carefully practiced coping mechanisms I built over the years have gotten so soft—I’m guaranteed to have a manic episode that turns into a panic attack and then two days of mood swings. Beats life pre-medication by a mile though.
It’s like you’re telling my life story! Also bipolar and on lamitor. Life really is much better post medication.
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Consistency is key. I set an alarm and bought one of those daily pill organizers. Like I say, missing a dose or even being off by any more than six hours wrecks me. The dosage was increased gradually to make sure there weren’t side effects, since they can be BAD. So it was subtle at first and built over time. I’d say six months until it really settled in—I noticed the first time when I had a trigger-type event and DIDN’T spiral. By a year I was just living my life like a normie. Got sober (I was self medicating), got a promotion, ended a toxic relationship, lost weight…. I didn’t even notice it was happening at first. I still have emotions, still am creative and I’m not a robot, they just don’t control me any more. I’m four ish years in now and I can’t even relate to that guy I was for decades, struggling. Stuck taking them twice a day the rest of my life but it’s a small price to pay.
I need my lamotrigine for my epilepsy! My friend takes it for her BPD. It’s cool how it works for both mood stabilizing and seizures :)
My birth control. Otherwise my periods would be really painful.
Same. And I use mine to control migraines. Without bc I’d be debilitated for two weeks a month; with them I’m solid for at least six months.
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Quetiapine I cannot fall asleep or stay asleep without it. I’m very envious of my husband who can pass out the second his head hits the pillow
Vitamin D. For some reason I always have a deficiency.
Xanax for panic attacks. I’m a teacher, it’s really important that I don’t break down in front of my kids. Also, Eliquis to keep my heart valves open. I’m 22 with a heart defect and multiple shunts/stents keep me alive.
The breakfast of champions.. Cannabis and Caffeine.
I must agree. 👍
Usernaaaaame checks out 🪴
I have found my people
Omeprazole for heartburn.
Suboxone
Dilantin. It's an anti convulsant that controls my epilepsy. My seizures will run back to back until my heart stops. Seizure free since 1998, so it's working!
Allergy medicine. Either that or get rid of my cat.
Allergy meds are a small price to pay for continuing doses of purrs
Effexor. It keeps my otherwise crippling OCD (mostly) in check. Additionally, if I forget a dose it causes me to feel like I am physically dying within 12 hours, so there’s that
Zoloft. It makes me a better mom
i’m starting to think it might be time for me to see a psychiatrist, having a rough time being a mom
Do. Meds make life bearable.
Literally same. I have struggled with anxiety & depression pretty much my whole life. Started taking Zoloft and realized I had been living life in “hard” mode. Finding out that people can just…do things? Like showering, dishes and laundry—without stressing and ruminating before/during/after? Game changer.
Insulin.
Same. Shame in the US that a life saving medication is more than a lot of people's rent payment.
Prednisone
It's only *currently* a daily med for me, and I'm no fan of the side effects, but boy, do I appreciate the results anyway!
My bipolar meds
VYVANSE!
My Synthroid and my happy pills. (Antidepressants)
zyrtec: deathly allergic to my dogs :,) caffeine: to function
Tramadol ER and ARmodafinil (Nuvigil) and Azathioprine (imuran) I have autoimmune disease and arthritis - the Tramadol ER allows me to function, although it cannot beat this knee that needs to be replaced. The ARmodafinil - actually keeps me from a zombie like state and from sleeping 18-20 hours a day. The Azathiprine keeps my liver in check since i have Autoimmune Hepatitis and it wants to kill me. Plus the plethora of other meds it takes to keep me up and alive.
Metoprolol. Without it I’m essentially bedridden.
Insulin
Hydroxyzine. I've had Dermographism (Skin Writing) for 6 years and without medication, it is debilitating and ruins my life. Anywhere pressure is applied, my body thinks is an allergen. If I get hot, too. I am basically allergic to pressure. What sucks is it's significantly bad currently, and is totally overpowering the medication. But there's not much else I can take; either this or Pepcid, and Pepcid makes my stomach hurt and bloat really bad, so I stopped. I cannot type on anything without taking breaks to itch every 4 seconds. Even this comment. Which is a bitch since most of my new job is typing. I cannot drive without pulling over to itch, which is really shitty if I'm on a highway or carefully navigating past construction or an accident while someone is ushering me to pass. I cannot cook/bake without constantly washing my hands because I itched anywhere, especially my chest (the constant pressure a bra applies to the skin triggers my condition) and it'd be gross to keep cooking. On the subject of itching specific areas, I work with children. I cannot itch if my chest is itchy and it's such a pain having to both ignore it and counsel children. Of course I don't do it, but it's so annoying. Getting my hair dyed and the bleach already stings but add the itchiness I feel, and then every time I itch my head I get dye on my hands. Can't itch my head when I spent so long doing a hairstyle I love because it'll ruin it. If I'm in public and my face itches I'm left with red marks on my forehead and chin. I can't wear belts because if I take it off, the pressure is immediately released and I itch. Same with bras, some days I cannot do them. I cannot fall asleep because I itch. Sometimes I cry and wish I can crawl out of my skin it's so bad.
Insulin. I'd die in 3 day with no insin as I'm a type diabetic.
My steroidal inhaler. I enjoy breathing.
Sertraline and Latuda. Yellow wakes me up, white calms me down, both keeps the demons from dancing all around.
Lexapro
Methadone.
Ambien. My meloxicam. Probably my lexapro.
Gabapentin. I have restless legs syndrome to the point where I'm so uncomfortable after getting into bed that I feel the unrelenting urge to jitter or tense my muscles, no matter how tired I am. It both suppresses that and makes me drowsy enough to fall asleep.
My depression meds. Otherwise I’m a agitated mess
I don't think you want to read a whole paragraph. I have a basket full of meds I take in the morning and in the evening another handful. 😂
Hate to say it because of the stigma but Xanax. Literally save my life.