Daily Pill? No Thanks, I'll Take Early Death

[Huh?]

http://www.medpagetoday.com/Cardiology/ ... 2015-02-14

Crazy. Do you guys feel like this? I assume not because one pill seems minor compared to CPAP.

[Drowsy Dancer]

http://www.medpagetoday.com/Cardiology/ ... 2015-02-14

Crazy. Do you guys feel like this? I assume not because one pill seems minor compared to CPAP.

That was an interesting read. Adherence to medication regimes is a big issue (as is adherence to CPAP).

[Wulfman...]

I think it boils down to cost. (which was sort of mentioned in the article)
If, for example, an aspirin a day would do it, I think that would be reasonable. But, if you're talking about a pill that costs hundreds or thousands of dollars......mmmmm......probably not.
And, then there's "quantity" versus "quality".


Den

.

[bwexler]

I am and always have been very resistant to taking prescription medications. It has nothing to do with my ability to swallow pills or to do so on a daily basis.
I don't trust prescription medications to do what they claim or not to have unwelcome side effects.
I am in the process of adding my third daily prescription. I am not sure I would be taking any of them if it weren't for my wife's histerical response to the doctors scare tactics.
The doctor also suggested Nuerontin, a fourth prescription. But after reading about it I think I will deal with the pain of neuropathy for now rather than that pill.

My current insurance pays for my medications with no copay.

I do spend a significant amount of money on supplements which my insurance ignores.

I would appreciate any feedback from those who have experience with Nuerontin.

[VVV]

I would appreciate any feedback from those who have experience with Nuerontin.

I take 3 x 300 mg gabapentin (Neurontin) nightly for RLS. My RLS is painful, but I have not been diagnosed with neuropathy. It's been great stuff for me.

The first time I tried it, the sleep doc told me to take one capsule the first night, two the second and the full three the third night. This was a disaster - side effects.

So a couple of year later a friend advised me to try again taking one capsule for the first month, two the second month and three the third month. This worked. I guess my body needed time to adjust to the full dose.

BTW, I told the sleep doc that 900 mg seemed like a large dosage. She laughed and said she had little old ladies taking three times that. I didn't think it was too damn funny.

[Darth Lady]

The doctor also suggested Nuerontin, a fourth prescription. But after reading about it I think I will deal with the pain of neuropathy for now rather than that pill.

I too am not a fan of prescription meds, and sadly, I've gone from 0 to about five of them because of one illness, for which sleep apnea may even have been the root problem! There are things like statins that I will never take, much to the annoyance of my cardiologist, because the science (the honest science anyway) just isn't there to show that they are actually beneficial, and there is evidence that for my demographic (middle age woman) they are even harmful. So doing research is a good thing. You just have to be able to evaluate the worth of what you are reading, which on the equal opportunity internet isn't always easy. Making friends with a pharmacist might help.

I started Neurontin a couple of weeks ago for nerve pain in my legs, after I ended up resorting to narcotics one night, it got so bad. Neurontin is an anticonvulsant, and seems to cancel out a lot of nerve "noise" that can generate the pain of neuropathy. I was able to get substantial relief at a relatively low dose (100 mg. 3 times a day). It has cut my night-time awakenings due to pain way down. It even solved body pain issues that I was just putting up with. It lists drowsiness as a side effect, but I haven't had a problem with that.

On the down side, it can make some people clumsy or give them tremors. It may be affecting my gait a bit. But I'm no ballet dancer anyway, and for me, it beats being in pain. I'm told that as my body adjusts, some of the side effect may reduce.

Neurontin has been around long enough to be available as a generic. The drugs to REALLY watch out for are the ones you see on TV - no long-term track record, pressure to make money, and too often, faked study results.

Good luck, and I hope you find some way, whether pharmaceutical or not, to address your pain. Being in that kind of pain is just miserable.

[Sleeprider]

Please post your current age as you answer.

As you get older, more pills seem to line up. My 91 year old mother in law has a slew of them. My wife has 4 per day. I get one 50 mg Lisinopril for blood pressure, but it's free. I don't mind. Makes my BP look like a kid again. At 62 I'm one of the lucky ones. CPAP and one low-level BP pill.

[chunkyfrog]

Long ago, I accepted the fact that I am physically imperfect, as are many others.
"What Nature has forgotten, we supplement with cotton." Is only a small part.
If not for glasses, I would have been nearly blind for years.
If not for the miracle of modern medicine, I would not have survived my own birth.
Why stop at that? I can live better and longer than originally programmed. Why not?
I'm nearly 68, but thanks to CPAP, I feel better than I did at 50.

[Julie]

I saw that article and found it hard to believe too. If they were talking mostly about expense, they didn't make the point very pointedly, and if it was a question of 'one more pill is one more too many' (of very many) even that seems a bit strange if they do already take a bunch... what's one more? Some things I might understand as being 'too much' but a pill?

[Darth Lady]

Please post your current age as you answer.

As it happens, Darth Lady is 51 chronologically, but for "pill age", well, I know 80+ year olds taking fewer pills than I do.

Our theory is that I've probably had sleep apnea at least since college, and that it just really beat up my body. Now that it's being treated, maybe some of my other problems will subside...hoping, anyway.

[chunkyfrog]

Maybe the article was a "plant", intended to discourage elders from using their part D coverage.
Too many news articles are just junk inserted to occupy space.
After all, aren't writers paid by the word?

[JeffV]

I agree very much with frog - I am physically imperfect, and modern medicine can do things to help me. I'm 31 and take 10 pills daily (five different medications), one of which I've been on for six years. I've also worn prescription glasses since age 9. I've seen concrete benefits from all of the above (including CPAP). I probably should have started taking the first prescription years sooner than I did, but the prospect of taking a daily pill (quite possibly permanently) in my early 20s just wasn't something I was willing to do until I pretty much no longer had a choice. I don't know how I would translate that into time or money like that study laid out, but at that point in my life those wouldn't have been zeroes.

[sthnreb]

I've been taking 1 pill a day for the last year and a half which is about $116 each after Medicare insurance for Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) . I've found that on many drugs the Medicare Part D coverage is a joke and you can purchase the medication for less without insurance. Digoxin is one. 30 with insurance was $9.50, without it cost was $11.99 for 90. Those are relatively inexpensive prices though. The sotalol is $60 for 180 (before hitting the doughnut hole) and $20 without insurance. I know many have type 2 diabetes, Publix Pharmacy gives 30 day supplies free. I believe they are $10 for 90 days at many pharmacies. So, it pays to look around. If you could pick the day you die, when would it be? Tomorrow, a week, year or a good while away? We as humans have a desire normally to live forever as we were created. That was the original purpose. Many in pain may prefer death over a lengthy life though. For more expensive drugs like I take there are networks that assist. For me personally I prefer the lengthy life over death as long as I can remain relatively pain free. I enjoy my grand kids.

[archangle]

I would say that this is just evolution in action, but unfortunately, the non pill takers and holistic health people tend to bang out lots of kids before their poor thinking kills them off.

I do believe in being skeptical of the medical mafia and pharma in general, but for most of us, the risks of many of the daily pills are enormously less than the risk of not taking them.

"I read a study that suggests a 3% increase in brain cancer among people who take this pill."

"Yea, but if you don't take it, you have a 50% increase in chance of fatal heart attack. And there is a lot more heart attacks than brain cancer to begin with."

[bwexler]

I am a youthful 69 year old with no intention of leaving any time soon.
I have been discovering that aging is not for sissies. Once I agree to take a prescription I am compliant baring emergencies.
Since I joined Medicare I have questioned every doctor I saw about neuropathy. A few ran tests but until this past Thursday none would admit to the possibility of neuropathy.
Now that I know I have it I will research possible treatment other than the ONLY one being drug treatment. I will have to compare the pain level with my tolerance level and my aversion to drugs until I come to a conclusion.
I too have had glasses since I was 8. Now I don't need them. I only wear them when I want to see. I also got my first hearing aids Thursday. Does that mean I will be able to see and hear at the same time.
With all my equipment I am beginning to wonder if I can just get some replacement feet to go along with my eyes and ears.
I also have afib so maybe I should stop by Kmart and get a blue light special on all my deteriorating parts. If Steve Austin can do it why can't we.