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| this was on the wall in the bathroom at the yogurt place where I took my mom after the dentist--which was after the doctor's office for a brief blood pressure check as a follow-up to her new meds |
Of all the things I am thankful for, my good health is near the top of the list because it makes it possible for me to participate in many of life's other joys, and to care for those I love. I do a lot of things to care for my 61-year-old self on a regular basis ( yoga, t'ai chi chih, walking 10,000 steps a day, brushing and flossing, putting on sunscreen every morning, eating virtually no prepared or packaged foods), and then, of course, there's just plain luck. There are people who do all of these things and perhaps more, and yet some ill befalls them. When the bad thing strikes, there's always a pill to fix it, or to take away the pain, and then another pill to fix the side effects of the first pill, and then a third pill to fix the side effects of the second pill, etc.
I take no prescription drugs. No over the counter drugs either--except for an occasional couple of Advil. My mom has not been so lucky. I've lost count, but the list that reminds us what she takes hangs in the kitchen next to my drug manufacturing device (espresso maker).
This is just one of the slots in my mom's daily pillbox.
Every now and then, things get changed or the pharmacy fills a prescription with a drug that's the same drug but made by a different manufacturer so it has a different appearance (which alway turns me into an ax murderer for a few seconds)--so we consult my cheat sheet to help sort things out. The Internet is very helpful as well.
I think she'd prefer to just eat one of these every day.
As the man who loves me goes through chemo and radiation, his pills are multiplying, too. When I looked at his list and the pile of pill bottles yesterday, I thought I might need a pill--if they make a pill for anxiety about pills.... would that be pharmaphobia? Did you know that you could get hiccups from chemo? Did you know there's a pill for that?
4 comments:
No. But I am not surprised.
My mother took a ton of pills as well. She was worried that she was a drug addict. I told her that no, taking pills for your blood pressure, your heart, etc. does not qualify you as a drug addict.
You have created a very smart system there, but I wish you did not have to keep track of so much. Old age should be a walk in the park, literally and otherwise, because it's hard enough to try to prepare yourself to say goodbye to all you know. To add pills to the mix is just insulting. And you are so right about the luck factor. This life is a rolling, wandering casino.
Oy vey. I want so much to see you, to out for drinks for you, but I wonder if we'd make it out alive with the stories we could share.
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