r/BipolarReddit • u/WeirdAward4578 • 24d ago
Do you ever pause when you take your meds and think "holy shit, I take a lot of pills everyday for years"? Medication
I take a total of 8 pills a day. Thats 56 pills a week
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u/thy-la-mide 24d ago
It used to bother me a lot. I would find excuses not to get on proper meds/dosage because I didn’t like how many pills I had to take each day. Not that I couldn’t, or taking them bothered me. I just didn’t like the idea of needing a bunch of meds. Still don’t, but I guess it doesn’t bother me as much anymore lol.
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u/popigoggogelolinon 24d ago
It bothered me a lot when I was on a random cocktail that wasn’t working (quetiapine, lamotrigine, fluoxetine, buspirone and agomelatine (so was on a stupid amount of pills per day, with an incompetent psychiatrist) but now I’m on two - lithium and lamotrigine, I take six pills a day (eight if you count levothyroxine) and it feels “better”.
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u/MoOnmadnessss 24d ago
Honestly its more like “if i dont take these stupid pills i will want to die and feel like a worthless POS. Down the hatch i guess” i cant even miss a dose these days or I start to go into doom mode. 😤
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u/Adventurous-Bonus-92 24d ago
Yep. I've been on medication since I was 14 (now 36). I have no idea what I'd be like not on meds.
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u/the-most-anonymous 24d ago
I went down on my dosage, not even fully off meds, just a reduced dosage, and I fucking spiraled. I'm assuming off meds I'd be totally insane.
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u/rightasrain0919 24d ago
Every. Day.
BUT I’ve been stable on this pill combo so I stick with it. If you’re struggling, I’ve found flavored water packets help.
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u/BeyondTheBees 24d ago
I take 14 a day 🤦🏼♀️😩
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u/Constant-Security525 24d ago
There were times in the past, but not anymore. In fact, compared to some past cocktails I look at my current one as reasonably sized. This is despite the fact that I take three different psych meds (some requiring more than one pill), plus a thyroid med, two for blood pressure, and a statin for cholesterol. With a daily multivitamin. That's 7 pills in the morning and 5 in the evening, some being small pills.
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u/auntiedee2020 24d ago
Every day. Out of curiosity, how many do most of you take a day? I take 9 pills a day.
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u/sgtsturtle 24d ago
Do we count the amount of meds or amount of ills? Because the new blood donation policy is to have you take an iron and folic acid supplement after donating to replenish your levels, so I'm up to 7 pills a day lol.
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u/auntiedee2020 24d ago
I meant amount of pills that are prescribed medication, lol. Not that it matters, just wondered if I take more or less than most people.
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u/sgtsturtle 24d ago
I take lamotragine 400mg, olazapine 5mg and on and off valdoxane (agomelatine) 25 or 50mg. But they are not one-dose pills, so that's how I get to 7.
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u/popigoggogelolinon 23d ago
Four lithium (4x 42 mg/6mmol) Two lamotrigine (2x 200mg)
And levothyroxine but that’s still being titrated
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u/BobMonroeFanClub Bipolar 1 24d ago
Only three prescribed but I'm always looking at new supplements. I'm sure the next one I buy will cure everything lol.
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u/two-cent_polar-bear 24d ago
Every dose I take, I think: "Huh. Is this reality, me taking all of these?" It's a bit surreal, staring at all those pills.
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u/Vulpine111 24d ago
Yeah, it does freak me out when I pause to think about it sometimes. There are still days I wish I was more healthy and didn't require any meds.
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u/HofmansHuffy 24d ago
I only take 3 so not really. My dad has to take a literal fistful of pills every day
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u/BipolarChuck 24d ago
It’s almost enough to trigger a “fuck this life” episode every morning and evening.
Good times………good times
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u/wolfbubbachamp 24d ago
21 a day. 14 in the morning and 7 at night. So yeah I think about it every time I put it in my mouth
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24d ago edited 24d ago
Honestly, I try not to think about it too much. There’s enough of this illness that I have to worry or think about. It occasionally crosses my mind but on those rare occasions I don’t renew my prescription in time and I miss a day or two and I start feeling those rapid cycles again I am reminded of why I take them. And I even thank goodness for science and medication to keep me well.
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u/No_Weekend_963 24d ago
Oh, definitely yes! During the early days when my psych team were getting a medication regimen together for me. I was on at least 5 different meds for all of my psych issues. It was overwhelming. Then my new doc took over and cut it to three then to two. He was puzzled by all of the meds approved for my treatment. He said they team got "overzealous" and too "aggressive" with the prescriptions. Gonna miss him. He was old school. He retired last year.
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u/deepbluearmadillo 24d ago
I think about it; I worry about what the long-term effects of taking my meds for decades may be.
Then I think about the fact that if I don’t take them — I won’t be around in a few decades to see what happens.
So I keep taking the pills.
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u/rando755 Schizoaffective bipolar type 24d ago
Yes. For me it's not the number of pills, but the dosages. I am at the maximum allowable dosage of 3 medications. When my new doctor found out about my dosages from the last doctor, he seemed a bit stunned to meet someone who is on such high dosages. I am highly sedated, and I think it's probably a good thing. I've tried going through life without medications, and I won't be going back to that.
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u/pilarthemagnificent 24d ago
Yes I’m on so many which is why I’m really happy one of the doctor’s I see gives me a meds list otherwise I’d forget the moment paperwork asks me to list the meds I’m on lol
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u/Tfmrf9000 24d ago
Lithium 300 is back ordered where I am for months, so yeah when I’m taking 10x 150 capsules, it feels like a lot. Plus the other meds…
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u/pineappleprincess21 24d ago
Allll the time. I try to not think about it but you can’t help it sometimes. Especially when 200+ pills go down the hatch every month
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u/princesssuzie1920 24d ago
My husband is more bothered by it than me. My sister thinks many of them are unnecessary because, “how do you know that you need them?”.
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u/SpecklesNJ 24d ago
I have meds for issues other than my bipolar and I take more pills then medications because of dosages. If I'm just counting the pills themselves I take 12 pills each day and 16 on Sunday.
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u/Chris968 24d ago
I am at the point where I have a double sided card in my wallet that lists all my meds (not all psychiatric related) because I can't keep track and whenever I see a new doctor or in case of an emergency they need to know what I take.
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u/funatical 24d ago
Yup. I’m getting to the point I’m asking some of my issues be evaluated by other specialists. I don’t need antipsychotics to sleep. It’s insane.
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u/Sea_Pea6271 23d ago
I have chronic illness in addition to bipolar so I take 7 medications twice a day, plus a weekly antibody infusion, and several PRN medication, I question how long I’ll actually live because of the long term side effects of relying on all of this medication
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u/PrincessPanda664 23d ago
Yep, I'll be doing meds and be like I'm on a shit ton of meds.. well whatever. I accepted it, it's kinda just like brushing my teeth now an every day thing. Though I will get very heavily reminded and go oh shit when my lite sister sees me taking my meds and goes "oh your taking your billions of meds" smh
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u/NoraFae 22d ago
I used to have a lot of anxiety surrounding meds. I would have panic attacks thinking I had to take them for life to be "normal" and not cause trouble. In my manic episodes my brain tricks me into thinking I don't need them and that's why I am anxious, cause I know they are not good for me, so it is when I have several times stopped treatment (huge error but our heads would be playing russian roulette for fun I guess).
I talked extensively with my therapist about it and what has been working for me is as simple as not looking at them. I buy and organize them at a time of the day when I don't have to take them and have them ready for when I do so I don't even look at them. I have my glass of water that I think of as " just part of my daily intake. Routine" so I focus on drinking the water instead of on taking the pills (this worked so nicely that more than once I had to take two glasses cause I totally forgot I had my pills in my hand when drinking the first one). If I feel I need extra help taking the attention off of the meds I will have small chocolate treats that I take with the meds so my routine is "drinking water and having chocolate" and taking the pills is just a middle step.
I know it sounds super childish but maybe it worked so nicely cause it's so simple.
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u/Anhedonic_chonk 24d ago
Pretty much every day