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Too many meds and supplements?

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 1/7/2010 4:40 AM (GMT 0)
I feel like it takes me forever to swallow all of these pills. What makes it worse some of these have to be taken at different times because some affect the way others work if taken too close together. The welchol and apriso alone account for 7 pills a day. Altogether there are 20 pills to take.

I know I'm not alone but I feel like this can't be good for me in the long run as I am supposed to take them everyday for the rest of my life.

The supplements account for 7 of the 20 and I don't mind taking them. I don't mind taking the Apriso because it makes me feel better.

I have mild side effects with the cholesterol drugs. They do keep my cholesterol levels down but I feel better when not taking them.

Wellbutrin keeps me happy!

Cardizem causes upset stomach but my bp averages 117/78. I take the protonix to help with the upset stomach which in turn causes my anemia so I have to take B Complex and B12. I wasn't anemic even with the Crohns.

I think the probiotics are beginning to help my crohn's symptom to settle down along with the Apriso.

So to summarize, if I stop taking the cholesterol drugs then I'd have high cholesterol but no side effects. If I stop the Cardizem, I could stop taking the Protonix because I wouldn't have an upset stomach and then I wouldn't be anemic because of the Protonix. That accounts for 8 pills! Of course I'd have high cholesterol and high blood pressure but I'd feel good. I don't know for how long but who knows what additional damage taking these pills are doing.

Sorry but sometimes I need to complain!
Posted 1/7/2010 4:48 AM (GMT 0)
Jamci, I know it's frustrating, but I do hope you're not seriously considering stopping some of your meds.

This really is typical for Crohn's, and probably moreso once you start having extra medical conditions as well. I was on 50+ tablets a day at one point, and I know I'm not the only person on this forum to have been in that position.

Our regime is unusually complex. My mother had terminal cancer, and even she couldn't believe how much more complicated my medication regime was than hers.

All the best,

Ivy.

ps. Would you be able to shorten your signature so that it is less than ten lines long, including blank lines, please? It's expensive to store long sigs, so we need to keep them short if this site is to remain free. Maybe you could just list all your meds on one line? Ta :-).
Posted 1/7/2010 11:30 AM (GMT 0)
1 pill leads to another!
Posted 1/7/2010 12:54 PM (GMT 0)
I feel the same way! In the morning with my breakfast I take about a million pills... oh well, hopefully someday I will be healthier and able to take less. Alot of mine are supplements too!
Posted 1/7/2010 1:23 PM (GMT 0)
I was taking 20+ pills about 4 or 5 years back, when I was 25 years old.  Now I am down to about 10, so it has gotten better.  It will go back and forth over the years, I'm sure.  So yes, the pills can't be good for the liver, etc., but you have to pick between the lesser of the two evils. 

Posted 1/7/2010 2:36 PM (GMT 0)
All those pills I take keep me in much better health, so I don't mind taking them anymore.
Posted 1/7/2010 6:20 PM (GMT 0)
Pills aren't necessarily bad for the liver. It depends what the pill is.

Just read an article yesterday that said most scientific evidnece points to the conclusion that multi-vitamins are completely useless. Of course, we may be a special case...
Posted 1/8/2010 1:34 AM (GMT 0)
With my doctor's blessing, I am stopping the Welchol and Cardizem. That's four pills. I'll go back in three months to test my cholesterol. Hopefully, it won't go up too much. Besides, I think the Welchol may cause some absorption problems and counter act some of the other meds/supplements. My blood pressure is much lower now that I workout at least 4 days a week. I'll keep check on it daily to make sure it doesn't get too high. Only 16 pills a day now!!!
Posted 1/8/2010 1:55 AM (GMT 0)
I don't mind them so much except that I worry about my liver and kidneys. I'm only on 16 pills right now so that's an improvement over certain times before, but it does get a bit tedious every now and then. I'm more concerned about my general health though. As long as I can make sure that doesn't go down to zero then I'm okay with as many pills as it takes.
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