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

I know that any medical or lifestyle measure that extends my life also increases my chances of getting cancer.
This is because cancer is so much more likely the older we get. It's at least partly mathematics, a big part.

bwexler wrote: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.

I don't take it or need it but it treats everything from seizures to RLS to bi-polar disorder and lots of other things. I take a bunch of vitamins and supplements and am on 2 different kinds of insulin but I like my drugs to be specific in what they do. And I don't like those ads that list the side effects that include increased thoughts of suicide. Sorry, I have a friend that takes Nuerontin and she uses it for diabetic neuropathy. Gained some weight after she started but seems fine otherwise.

Man if a daily pill is a drag, imagine what all the people here taking a daily injection feel.

It's valentines day! Anyone taking a BLUE pill?

BTW, DO research any drugs you take. Check for side effects, and weigh the risks vs. costs. Don't believe all the doom and gloom nutjobs on the internet, but don't put unlimited faith in the doctors, either. Doctors do often belittle the idea that there are side effects and pat you on the head like you're a dumb kid.

A few doctors told me Zestril wasn't causing my cough despite it being one of the side effects listed on the prescribing information. I finally told my doctor we were going change pills, and my cough went away. He later told me that they now refer to that as "the Zestril cough," and that he can diagnose it by hearing before he even sees the patient.

Also check for interactions between drugs. There are some web sites where you can enter all your meds and they'll list possible interactions.

Sleeprider wrote:Man if a daily pill is a drag, imagine what all the people here taking a daily injection feel.

It's valentines day! Anyone taking a BLUE pill?

Actually, I am, but it's not THAT blue pill. Yum! Blue #1 Lake.

archangle wrote:BTW, DO research any drugs you take. Check for side effects, and weigh the risks vs. costs. Don't believe all the doom and gloom nutjobs on the internet, but don't put unlimited faith in the doctors, either. Doctors do often belittle the idea that there are side effects and pat you on the head like you're a dumb kid.

A few doctors told me Zestril wasn't causing my cough despite it being one of the side effects listed on the prescribing information. I finally told my doctor we were going change pills, and my cough went away. He later told me that they now refer to that as "the Zestril cough," and that he can diagnose it by hearing before he even sees the patient.

Also check for interactions between drugs. There are some web sites where you can enter all your meds and they'll list possible interactions.

I wish I had listened to the doom and gloom nutjobs on the internet regarding psych meds because I feel they were right about their dangers. Could have saved me years of h-ll. And while I will never be able to prove it, I feel these meds completely messed up my sleep cycle that I am still trying to recover from.

You are right about meds coming down to risks vs. costs. Unfortunately, in this era of rush/rush medicine,doctors seem to want to push meds and not give you enough information to make a fully informed decision. Although in fairness to them, they are under pressure from their bosses for example to get patients blood pressure to a "normal" level quickly as their pay may depend on that.

With 3 million children dying of starvation every year, they should take the money from these stupid research projects and buy food and send it over there (or for that matter, there's plenty of places to send it over here).

"IMHO", it really doesn't matter if those self-centered PsOS who think it's SUCH an inconvenience to take a pill a day die at 78 or 76, just as long as they die.

Taking a pill to make 2-3 years longer - you have to balance the costs - not only monetary but the side effects with the benefits. I am 65. My doctor tried to get me to take statins a few years ago, after researching them I decided the costs far out weighed the possible benefits.

49er wrote:I wish I had listened to the doom and gloom nutjobs on the internet regarding psych meds because I feel they were right about their dangers. Could have saved me years of h-ll. And while I will never be able to prove it, I feel these meds completely messed up my sleep cycle that I am still trying to recover from.

Well, you have to be selective about the nutjobs and the doctors both.

If you listened to all the nutjobs, you wouldn't be doing CPAP because it's just a scam, and the machines all have microphones that let big brother listen in to you. Also, it's addictive and you become dependent on the machines.

We wouldn't take vaccines, chlorinated drinking water, antibiotics, or insulin.

Don't forget that some medicines have side effects, but are still better than not taking them. Insulin is a very nasty drug with lots of side effects, but it beats going blind and having your limbs fall off.

Re: Living 2 years longer

That's a bad way to think about the question. Not taking your daily pill for some medical condition may only make you die 2 years earlier, but you will often have many years of misery before you die from it.