Tag Archives: drugs

Sep6

Take This Drug

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Take This Drug

The mountains have disappeared for a change. There are wildfires burning all around us. All we have are masks to protect us. Why isn’t there a drug to combat the effect of smoke on the body?

There are drugs for just about everything else. Hypertension. Memory Loss. Constipation. Weight Loss. Heartburn. Arthritis. Sciatica. Hair Loss. Depression. And those are just a handful of the commercials I zap through when I watch TV.

The side effects alone are enough to dissuade me from ever using them. But unfortunately many people tend to ignore the warnings and are only more than eager to take these wonder??? drugs. Especially when some doctors are more than willing to prescribe them.

Kickbacks. How tempting these are for medical professionals; far too often too tempting to resist. The result is that patients often take inappropriate drugs that may not benefit them or indeed may even prove harmful to them.

One of the most controversial regarding kickbacks is Ozempic. I personally have a friend who two years ago lost a substantial amount of weight. However she has found that not only has the weight crept back on when she discontinued the use of this drug, but other health issues have surfaced. This miracle drug has been around for approximately six years. Unfortunately, research regarding its usage, especially long-term, is just not readily available yet.

Seniors are especially vulnerable when it comes to the drugs which claim to improve memory. I personally know people who hungrily grab at the latest drug on the market in a futile attempt to improve their memory or to prevent more memory loss.

It is important to check with your pharmacist about how these wonder drugs will interact with the drugs you are already on for other health conditions. Your pharmacist is far more knowledgeable about these than your doctor. Seriously consider the potential side effects. They can prove to be deadly.

As for me, I will continue to zap through the commercials advertising all these products. These drugs have no place in my life.

Apr23

New To My Carry On

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New To My Carry On

When I come up here to Washington each spring, there are things I do as a matter of routine although I am not a person who does well with routine. Some people thrive on it, but I prefer flexibility and my middle name should be “Change.”

The first week back I did do something which has become a biannual routine. I did a CPR refresher. I did them in Canada when I was working in social services and then there was a lull for a few years when I lived fulltime in Mexico. Once I moved to Leavenworth CPR refreshers became routine in my volunteer work at church and in teaching fitness classes. It’s interesting how ideas change from course to course, especially with regards to the issue of providing breaths in addition to compressions.

This year the course was a combo of CPR and First Aid. And I was introduced to Naloxone, an emergency treatment in case of opioid overdose. I had read about it previously but at the course our instructor encouraged us to obtain at least one kit and to keep it handy. I went home that night, went online and ordered a kit. I opted for the nasal spray. The kit contains two single dose nasal spray devices and arrived in the mail in one week.

I did some research and it is legal to have it in my carry-on. It is also legal in Canada, my destination next month, although it is not as easily obtainable in that country. And I’m thinking it’s something that I can easily throw in my purse as well. So forget guns and pepper spray; this Washingtonian will be carrying Naloxone.

Oct26

It’s Humpday Again

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It’s Humpday Again

My friends in Washington are telling me how smoky it still is there. My friends in Puerto Vallarta are telling me how wet it is there after Hurricane Roslyn hit. Here in Aguascalientes the air is clear and it’s sunny and hot.

I went for a walk to the pharmacy on Monday. I picked up six months worth of blood pressure medication for under $10. Yes, it’s exactly what I get when I’m in Wenatchee. But it’s nowhere near as expensive. It really makes you think about the pharmaceutical industry. The markup is ridiculously high.

Day of the Dead is coming up next week. Marigolds are everywhere. I always loved marigolds even when I was a child. My dad was quite the gardener back then but he always made sure there was a special space for my marigolds. When I was older and had my own garden, my marigolds always had a prominent place.

I was saddened to learn that one of my friends in Winnipeg passed away. We were both working towards our accounting certifications back in the early 90s when we first met. She struggled with several health issues and spent the last few years in a personal care home.

I finally switched over to my Mexican phone chip yesterday. It’s usually one of the first things I do but it somehow got put on the backburner this time around. So my friends up north….you’ve been warned that when you see the country code 52 it’s me. I’m not a scammer or a telemarketer.

Have a Wonderful Wednesday!

Apr14

Habit or Addiction

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Habit or Addiction

When does a habit become an addiction? When does one become delusional using denial as a defence mechanism when it does?

Over the past few months I’ve had some interesting conversations with people surrounding this topic. Covid seems to present us with more than enough time to indulge, or in some cases, overindulge.

A friend remarked the other day that Creme de Menthe is nasty. Apparently she had run out of wine and the only alcohol she had at home was left over from being drizzled over ice cream quite some time before. She doesn’t consider herself an alcoholic. Yet she couldn’t go one day without alcohol. Hmmm. When had her occasional evening glass of wine turned into more than 8 ounces daily? Chalk another one up to Covid?

I love my morning coffee. I also love chocolate. Both are notorious in terms of caffeine content. While I can go days without chocolate, I’ve never gone days without coffee. Is my morning habit of coffee an addiction? I don’t think so. The odd time I’ve missed a morning I’m just a little on the lethargic side, not shakey or headachey. But maybe I am delusional. Maybe I am addicted to caffeine.

Tranks. Now those are drugs that once were my best friends. The drawback was that I couldn’t feel emotions such as anger. I merely floated through life on a cloud. Teetering on the edge of addiction, (according to my then therapist), I somehow managed to leave the pills behind more than a decade ago. I must admit that occasionally I wish I were still floating but I also realize that it is far healthier for me to feel emotions and to learn to control them.

Videogames. Sadly, I believe that I have become addicted to Candy Crush Friends. That Yeti is just so darn cute! I love the way he prances about when I pass a level. I also started playing Candy Crush Saga again after taking a year off. I started that game back in 2013 while recuperating from knee surgery. These games have become more than just a habit.

My ex was a hopeless TV addict. It drove me crazy. Half the time he didn’t even know what he was watching as he’d doze off. But God forbid if I tried to turn the idiot box off. Suddenly he was wide awake. Grrrrr.

There are a myriad of other things from sex to hoarding that can easily evolve from habit into an addiction. There are two choices. The easy one is delusion and denial. The hard one is confronting it and dealing with it.

OK. Call me delusional. I’m not ready to give up coffee, chocolate or candy crush.