They stopped taking their meds, huh? Wow. That's just ten kinds
of stupid right there. Did they suffer the consequences, and then
wonder why?
The Prograf and Cellcept are both anti-rejection drugs. The
Valcyte is an anti-bacterial which also fights against pneumocystis
carinii pneumonia (PCP). It also helps a lot since my immune system
is not up to snuff yet. Aspirin helps keep the blood thin, and keeps
it from forming clots. The Mteoprolol and Amlodipine are blood
pressure medications; I was on those prior to the operation, though
my dose has been reduced for the Metoprolol. Lipitor, as you noted,
is for cholesterol, since some of these meds can raise cholesterol
levels. The Nexium is taken to prevent ulcers in the stomach, no
doubt from all the damn pills they've got me on. I've already
dropped the Sodium Bicarbonate, Flagyl and Sulfamethoxazole
Trimethoprim. It was also discovered the last pill was causing
fevers for me, which is why is was stopped, and I was put on a once-a-
month nebulizer program.
Never been a big fan of medications (way too many people take shit
they don't need anyway these days), but I know I can't skip out of
these. Hell, I had refused to take the Morphine injections for 4-5
days after surgery because a) I have a high pain tolerance, and b) I
just plum didn't want to take Morphine, figuring it might fuck up
brain cells or something. But once they started yanking tubes and
lines out of me (especially that fucking catheter), you better
believe that Morphine was looking pretty good. So I at least found
out where the ceiling is for my pain tolerance. ;)
I've actually been doing better than the docs expected, and I think
part of that is due to my diet. I don't drink soda, eat sweets with
concentrated sugars (candy bars, etcetera), don't drink much tea or
coffee, don't smoke, drink alcohol, or do any kind of drugs. My diet
has meat, starches, low fat, low sodium, and lots of fruits and
vegetables. Prior to the surgery, I hadn't even had a cold or even a
case of the sniffles for about 4 years. And that's just from diet
and exercise, man. But I guess it's easier these days to take pills
to "correct" those kinds of issues, rather than doing it the natural
way. At least an apple doesn't have any damn side effects! :D
Jesus fuck, what a rant this turned out to be. Must be getting
better; I'm starting to type novels again...
--JMH
--- In SkunkworksAMA_at_yahoogroups.com, "Tashta" <Tashta@...> wrote:
>
> Not bad. *grin* I know (see take) three of those eight myself. The
Lipitor is likely one you'll be able to drop, eventually as it's a
med more for cholesterol control than anything. But I sympathize that
you'd never taken anything before and now you have to take so much. I
also admire your determination. I've known a few who've gone through
similar events as you, but got so frustrated with the quantity of
meds they just stopped taking them! Argh! I just wanted to smack 'em.
Each med is for something specific and important. So cool you're
taking the whole thing with such aplomb! Kudo's to you, Jim.
>
> Kishma
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Take a wild, friggin guess
> To: SkunkworksAMA_at_yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Wednesday, December 26, 2007 2:13 PM
> Subject: [SkunkworksAMA] Re: srry srry srry....=P
>
>
> --- In SkunkworksAMA_at_yahoogroups.com, Thog of Cave People <thog@>
> wrote:
> > Out of curiosity, what anti-rejection drugs do they have you
on?
>
> I take about 18 pills a day, 12 hours apart. There's Prograf,
> Cellcept, Valcyte, Aspirin, Metoprolol, Nexium, Amlodipine and
> Lipitor. I've already been able to drop a few medications, but
it'll
> be awhile before any more changes are made.
>
> Considering I never even took aspirin or Tylenol before all this,
> it's been quite a change.
>
> --JMH
>
Received on Thu Dec 27 2007 - 12:50:48 CST