Since my previous post was too long, I won’t edit it, but will add it here. For someone my age, I take a lot of medications; genetics are not my friend in many ways (strong history of autoimmune disorders, high BP, very high cholesterol, heart disease at an early age, etc). I am on second and third generations of drugs that make them much easier to administer and be compliant with. I am pretty darned compliant; my morning meds are the most difficult because I can’t take anything (drugs or medication) within 30 minutes of taking my thyroid medication, so I’m always sure to get that one in, but sometimes three hours later I’ll go back in my bathroom and see my other two morning meds still sitting on the counter. Nighttime meds are easier because I can take them all at once. But I would LOVE it if they could develop a new formulary for Synthroid so that I didn’t have to time it with other medications. When my GERD is particularly bad, I temporarily add another medication called Carafate; I have to take it on an empty stomach, either one hour before eating, or 2-3 hours after eating, and not within two hours of my Nexium. It practically takes an algebraic equation to figure out when I can and can’t take my medications and/or eat. Again, it would make my life SOOOO much easier if the drug companies could come up with formularies that would eliminate these restrictions. I also use an estrogen hormone patch, but it only has to be changed twice a week - THANKFULLY!!! Otherwise, that’s another med, in either gel or cream form I’d have to rub into the forearm twice a day.
It’s human nature that the easier it is to maintain a schedule for taking medications, the more likely people are to be compliant and be healthy.
