I’m one of almost 60% of Americans on prescription medication. I started taking daily prescriptions at the age of 10 after a summer spent in excruciating and paralyzing stomach pain. I lost 20 lbs in three months refusing to eat for fear of the stomach cramping returning. Medicine is what gave me my life back. I could eat again. I could leave the house again. I could sleep through the night again.
Over the course of the next 13 years, I’ve developed more illnesses and have been put on more medications. Currently, I take 15 pills a day. There are some medications I like more than others–but I am the one that makes the decision about what goes into my body every morning and evening.
Being responsible for putting these powerful chemicals into your body every day teaches you a lot–especially when you do so for a long period of time. These are just a handful of the things that you learn.
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There are no quick fixes
If there’s a magic cure-all pill, sign me up. But every medication I’m aware of exists to neutralize the extremes in your life. Whether it’s pain, mood, sleep, whatever, it helps regulate you to a place where you can get some work done.
When I’m in chronic pain with out of control tachycardia and mood swings, there’s no way I can exercise or use the tools I learned in therapy to help me navigate my emotions.
But when I’m on a beta blocker that makes my heart beat a bit more normally and an anti-depressant that makes me feel more like myself, I can get out of bed in the morning, I can get on my exercise bike and I can self-talk my way through stressful situations later.
And speaking of quick, nothing moves quickly in the world of pharmaceuticals. I was handed a prescription once and told, “you’ll probably feel better in about three to four weeks.” Having to wait a month for the potential of feeling better is rough–but it’s something you learn to get used to.
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Side effects will annoy you like none other
You will gain weight. You will lose weight. Something weird will happen to your skin–you’ll get acne, or your acne will clear up, or your skin will dry up or maybe you’ll get hives or maybe everything will stay the same. Luck of the draw. You’ll start symptom tracking all the time. Is this a side effect, is this a symptom of the illness I have or is this just being a human being?
The daunting list of side effects at the end of every medication commercial would make anyone think twice about taking something, but there are plenty of meds out there whose only effects are the intended ones. And using the patience you learned from “no such things as quick fixes,” you’ll learn how to find the right medication for your body and your conditions.
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You will bargain with your doctor
Sometimes you’ll agree to try medication you don’t want to take for the purpose of “gathering data.” You and your doctor will engage in a dialogue about what you both believe is best. You might hate the medication you’re on, but you take it for a while because you want to prove it’s not right for you.
This is a part of the scientific process. This is a part of having a working relationship with your doctor, if you’re lucky. If you give a little, they’ll give a little.
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You will get really excited shopping for pill containers
You’ll have favorite pill containers. They’re reliable, they don’t pop open when they shouldn’t and they’re the right size, especially for travel and for your nightstand or whatever.
You’ll lose your favorite one day. It’ll be devastating. You’ll grieve. And one day, you’ll find an exact replica in a store. You’ll buy it in bulk, you never want to relive the same pain of losing it again. But in the time where you didn’t have your Beloved Pill Container, you learned that there are a few cool options out there. You became a pill container connoisseur. You like having a variety, and it’s not like they go unused.
You’re obsessed. But it’s OK, because at least you always make good use of them.
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Setting up your pills every week feels like it takes longer and longer
You’ve been doing this every week, and even though you have a method down, whether it’s by alphabet or by class of medicine or by doctor or by color or by WHATEVER, it feels like it takes longer every week. WHY does putting pills into compartments take so long?
There’s no good answer. It’s a time vacuum. But take the time to do it right, or else there are dire consequences.
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Everyone has an opinion that needs sharing, NOW
On the topic of medication, everyone is suddenly a doctor, holistic healer, pharmacist and a politician. They can’t pronounce what you take or what illness you have but they have a million and six opinions they want to shove down your throat instead of that pill. Because God forbid you practice autonomy over that body of yours! Don’t you know that rat poison tablet created by Big Pharma is all a part of a scheme to give you cancer and destroy the palm trees in the rainforest?
I’ve heard it all before, I’ve heard it from people I’ve just met who have seen my pill case, I’ve heard it from my friends’ parents and even my high school guidance counselor as a teenager. But their opinions don’t matter. I much prefer those of my doctors.
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If you go through withdrawal, you’ll be filled with understanding and empathy for individuals in all kinds of circumstances
Despite your dutiful planning and organizing of medication, one day, you will screw up and run out. And you’ll call your doctor and they’ll be out of the office and won’t call in a refill for you until they can see you next, or all of the pharmacies in the area will be out of your medication and can’t get you a refill until Tuesday… and so on. At some point in your life, you WILL go through withdrawal, and it WILL suck.
Withdrawal is different for different types of medications, but the underlying warning for all of them is this: even though it’ll happen to everyone at some point, avoid it at all costs. It sucks. It’s scary, it’s painful, it’s messy. You will treat the people you care about the most how you feel (like garbage), and you will spend the days after praying that they love you enough to forgive you. But because they love you, they probably will. And they’ll encourage you and help you to get your pills organized.
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You get to know the staff at your local pharmacy
Because sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, birthday and copays.
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You will become acquainted with the taste of dissolving pills
There’s always that one medication that dissolves a little too quickly, or maybe you’ll have an incident where you accidentally bite down on a pill forgetting it’s in your mouth and thinking it’s a mint.
You’ll never make that mistake again because the taste of that horror will never leave your memory. Words can’t do it justice.
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People will ask to buy your meds
Special shout out to everyone on ADHD medication: this one happens to you a lot.
People will find out what you take and and try to buy it off of you. They think a prescription for Adderall or Focalin or whatever it is they want entitles you to a never-ending supply of what you’re on. That, or they think that skipping a day won’t mess you up. (Spoiler alert for anyone not in the know: skipping your meds will mess you up, BIG TIME.) They don’t understand what you go through with your illnesses, they don’t understand the purpose of medication: to level the playing field to your well counterparts.
You know this truth, but not everyone else does: medication is supposed to give you back what illness has taken, not elevate you above others or give you a cheap high.
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Your day doesn’t start or end without your meds
You start and end your day where your medication is. If you keep it with you at all times, you have some freedom. But if your meds are at home, you have to be at home. There are no surprise sleepovers without your pills. Staying out late gets hard because maybe the meds you had to take a 10 PM make you beyond drowsy.
It’s not all bad though, because it provides structure. Take your meds, eat breakfast. Take your meds, get in bed, go to sleep. Those are the bookends of your day. Consistency gives your balance where it might not otherwise exist.
I so understand this! Also, boo for the doc who didn’t think ADHD was a real thing and told me I was a drug addict. So much nope.