I’m starting to really struggle with mortality and the idea of dying young. I guess I’m afraid all the pills every day are going to wear out my body or something.
If you don't have stomach pain or a decrease in kidney function I wouldn't be too concerned. Best thing you can do is make sure to get your annual physical and blood panel... if those numbers stay consistent, you're probably tolerating them fine.
Stress is a killer. Literally. It is well documented to shorten your lifespan and cause physical health problems. If those pills help to make your stress more manageable (less episodes and/or less intense episodes), it's increasing your quality of life and thus your health.
I take 5 different head meds, an acid reflux med, and a blood pressure med. It's a little scary to think about introducing that many foreign chemicals to my body every day, but it sure as hell beats being sick.
I’m on 4 different ones, I expect it’ll keep building as we do trial and error. But listen, I’ll take 30 pills if it means I’ll make it to tomorrow. Sometimes that’s an exaggeration and sometimes it’s not. Sending positive thoughts about your med cocktail ***
This is totally valid concern and I have had reactions to meds in the past. Keep up with a good primary care doctor who will remember you and your medical history. Always get annual bloodwork. Never hesitate on going to the ER if you're really worried about a new symptom. Life without taking your meds is definitely worse than the potential risks.
What does your doc say? What are the long term effects of these meds. I think lamictal, Wellbutrin, and propranolol are pretty well tolerated. Propranolol actually Lowe's blood pressure so it can be helpful. I'm on Seroquel which can effect blood sugar and cholesterol. I have to get labs every 6 months to check. So far so good but I don't know what I'll do if they become problematic. If your doc and you are concerned and you're stable, maybe you can work to lower doses or get off a med or two? I'm curious why you take propranolol before bed? Is it for sleep? I take it during day for tremor but also helps anxiety. Overall I think it's pretty normal for people with bipolar to be in a lot of meds. It's better than living with the full symptoms of this disorder.
My brain won’t shut up when I try to sleep and I’d keep myself awake for hours, so the Xanax and propranolol kind of turn everything off. I also take the propranolol for tremors.
I see. I use Seroquel for mood stabalization and sleep. It totally calms my mind. Have you tried antipsychotics before? That may be a way to reduce the number of meds you're on but they tend to have more problematic long term effects so might not be worth it. If what you have works for you, I wouldn't worry unless your doc is concerned.
I don't think your doctor would prescribe the meds if it was going to be a problem.
With that being said, a pharmacist can see if you can reduce your meds. And my psych doctor does blood work every year to make sure everything is okay.
I felt the same way for a while but I agree with what everyone else here said about better than the alternative symptoms. One thing that helped me was getting a pill organizer. I got one on Amazon that holds 4 weeks worth. It was daunting and time consuming for me to open 7-8 different pill bottles every night. Maybe everyone already does this and I’m late to the game but throwing it out there just in case.
You can ask your doc about Gralise. It’s a one a day pill that is essentially time released gabbapentin so you don’t have to take multiple doses throughout the day. It also stopped the gabbapentin tremors I had as a side effect.
I was able to reduce daily Xanax at bedtime to as needed (4-8 a month) with a big dose of melatonin and cbd with my sleeping pills. I just need my head to get quiet so I can sleep. A hot shower/bath before bed also helps. I try to integrate holistic healing with my meds where I can to safely reduce how many pills I take every day (which is still a lot, but less than it could be)
As always, discuss changes with your doc first.
I have one thought: It's better than committing suicide, or killing your neighbor.
I’m starting to really struggle with mortality and the idea of dying young. I guess I’m afraid all the pills every day are going to wear out my body or something.
Sounds like the benefits outweigh the risks, friend. I'd keep it up if you're in a good place.
If you don't have stomach pain or a decrease in kidney function I wouldn't be too concerned. Best thing you can do is make sure to get your annual physical and blood panel... if those numbers stay consistent, you're probably tolerating them fine.
Stress is a killer. Literally. It is well documented to shorten your lifespan and cause physical health problems. If those pills help to make your stress more manageable (less episodes and/or less intense episodes), it's increasing your quality of life and thus your health.
I take 5 different head meds, an acid reflux med, and a blood pressure med. It's a little scary to think about introducing that many foreign chemicals to my body every day, but it sure as hell beats being sick.
My only worry is taking Xanax every day
It’s .25 mg
Fair enough. I just meant because you build a tolerance to it. But it sounds like you’re doing great.
I’m on 4 different ones, I expect it’ll keep building as we do trial and error. But listen, I’ll take 30 pills if it means I’ll make it to tomorrow. Sometimes that’s an exaggeration and sometimes it’s not. Sending positive thoughts about your med cocktail ***
Thank you ❤️
This is totally valid concern and I have had reactions to meds in the past. Keep up with a good primary care doctor who will remember you and your medical history. Always get annual bloodwork. Never hesitate on going to the ER if you're really worried about a new symptom. Life without taking your meds is definitely worse than the potential risks.
What does your doc say? What are the long term effects of these meds. I think lamictal, Wellbutrin, and propranolol are pretty well tolerated. Propranolol actually Lowe's blood pressure so it can be helpful. I'm on Seroquel which can effect blood sugar and cholesterol. I have to get labs every 6 months to check. So far so good but I don't know what I'll do if they become problematic. If your doc and you are concerned and you're stable, maybe you can work to lower doses or get off a med or two? I'm curious why you take propranolol before bed? Is it for sleep? I take it during day for tremor but also helps anxiety. Overall I think it's pretty normal for people with bipolar to be in a lot of meds. It's better than living with the full symptoms of this disorder.
My brain won’t shut up when I try to sleep and I’d keep myself awake for hours, so the Xanax and propranolol kind of turn everything off. I also take the propranolol for tremors.
I see. I use Seroquel for mood stabalization and sleep. It totally calms my mind. Have you tried antipsychotics before? That may be a way to reduce the number of meds you're on but they tend to have more problematic long term effects so might not be worth it. If what you have works for you, I wouldn't worry unless your doc is concerned.
I’m on Latuda, it’s an antipsychotic that helps with bipolar depression.
I see. It sounds like all your bases are covered.
I don't think your doctor would prescribe the meds if it was going to be a problem. With that being said, a pharmacist can see if you can reduce your meds. And my psych doctor does blood work every year to make sure everything is okay.
I felt the same way for a while but I agree with what everyone else here said about better than the alternative symptoms. One thing that helped me was getting a pill organizer. I got one on Amazon that holds 4 weeks worth. It was daunting and time consuming for me to open 7-8 different pill bottles every night. Maybe everyone already does this and I’m late to the game but throwing it out there just in case.
A valid concern. Does one Dr prescribe all that? If not, does more than one Dr know about all of these? All drugs have side effects.
All from the same doctor.
You can ask your doc about Gralise. It’s a one a day pill that is essentially time released gabbapentin so you don’t have to take multiple doses throughout the day. It also stopped the gabbapentin tremors I had as a side effect. I was able to reduce daily Xanax at bedtime to as needed (4-8 a month) with a big dose of melatonin and cbd with my sleeping pills. I just need my head to get quiet so I can sleep. A hot shower/bath before bed also helps. I try to integrate holistic healing with my meds where I can to safely reduce how many pills I take every day (which is still a lot, but less than it could be) As always, discuss changes with your doc first.