Poll:How many daily medications do you take?

[6miths]

Wondering how many meds the early-retirement.org community is on? I was originally thinking of asking about prescription medications but that would miss a few things. So I would not include vitamin and mineral supplements (perhaps excepting those that are on calcium and vitamin D) but would include low dose ASA or regular NSAIDs like ibuprofen or naproxen and acetaminophen.

 

[arky]

So far, none.

 

[pacergal]

Not quite sure how to answer. I have 2 daily prescriptions, one oral, one eye drops. Plus two prescriptions that are taken as needed, so sometimes daily, sometimes not.
Plus multiple OTC supplements and vitamins recommended by PCP, but not prescription.
If I counted everything, it would be 8-10, but not all are taken every day and not all are "prescribed".

 

[Amethyst]

Calcium/D3 for many years now. Not sure it is doing any good for my bones, as I keep losing bone density despite drinking a pint of milk daily, eating salmon with bones, broccoli etc.

 

[6miths]

Not quite sure how to answer. I have 2 daily prescriptions, one oral, one eye drops. Plus two prescriptions that are taken as needed, so sometimes daily, sometimes not.
Plus multiple OTC supplements and vitamins recommended by PCP, but not prescription.
If I counted everything, it would be 8-10, but not all are taken every day and not all are "prescribed".

So don't count vitamins and minerals unless vitamin D/calcium for diagnosed osteoporosis or let's say something prescribed specifically for a clinically apparent deficiency (so almost nothing unless you have just returned from a long sea journey or truly have pernicious anemia). You would have to be the judge of a prescription that is taken intermittently - let's arbitrarily say more than half of the days in a typical month...

Daily eye drops or inhalers or nasal sprays or vaginal/rectal/sc/IM/transdermal/sl/etc dosing counts.

 

[Midpack]

So far none, not even daily vitamins or supplements. Antihistamines for hay fever about 4 weeks/year and the occasional aspirin, that’s it - so far.

 

[davebarnes]

Voted for 1.
I take a magnesium pill every M, W, F. I started 3 weeks ago.
It has reduced my nighttime random leg cramps significantly.

 

[Dash man]

Let’s see...
On meds for:
Depression (2)
High blood pressure (1)
Essential tremors (1)
Heart disease (1)
Arthritis (1)
Daily aspirin (1)
Vitamin D (1) (doctor’s orders)
Pain meds as needed (2)
Asthma (2)

Total is too many.

 

[athena53]

No prescriptions but a small pile of supplements, which I'm gradually whittling down after discussing with my sister the doctor. (She thought a multivitamin would cover most of it, plus calcium and glucosamine/chondratin.)

 

[LOL!]

Calcium/D3 for many years now. Not sure it is doing any good for my bones, as I keep losing bone density despite drinking a pint of milk daily, eating salmon with bones, broccoli etc.

Have you ever thought that drinking cow's milk might be aggravating the problem?

 

[MRG]

Three.

I desperately want off the 50mg of metoprolol I'm on. Going down from 100mg to 50mg was a terrible time. I got so freaking sick of being in tachycardia and bradycardia(at different times[emoji12]) . Now my heartrate is always normal. I'm pretty sure I could get by on 25mg, but I'm not sure I want to go through that same process again.

I'm down from 10+ a couple of years ago. Amazing how diet, exercise, and losing weight made the need for many prescription meds go away. Some made sense, like statins. Others like meds for chronic cluster headaches, or anxiety make no sense to me, however I'm not complaining.

ETA: I didn't include the medical Cannabis I use for pain management. It beats the mild opioids I was on for many years.

 

[NW-Bound]

There was a thread a while back on this very same subject.

Back then, I had no prescription drug. Now, have to take Lisinopril for "essential hypertension".

 

[Cobra9777]

Three. Two prescription drugs for high blood pressure plus 81 mg aspirin.

 

[l2ridehd]

Based on observation only, I believe it is age related. As folks get older they tend to take more. I am very lucky at 73 to still be at zero. I sometimes take an antacid if I eat certain things like Italian foods, red wine and a couple other. But only as needed. Doctor would like me to take a daily aspirin but haven't gone there yet.

With medicine, I feel less is best if at all possible.

 

[MissMolly]

2 - low dose aspirin just because and Tylenol/Advil at bedtime or otherwise I ache too much and can't sleep.

 

[6miths]

There was a thread a while back on this very same subject.

Back then, I had no prescription drug. Now, have to take Lisinopril for "essential hypertension".

Sorry I couldn't find one. One from 2013 on 'how many pills do you take daily' so similar. I don't know if I have missed a more recent or similar one.

 

[kcowan]

In 2011, I took none. Been adding one a year on average. Does taking the same pill twice count as 2?

 

[6miths]

In 2011, I took none. Been adding one a year on average. Does taking the same pill twice count as 2?

No I don't think that doesn't count (in this poll). Taking two or three different meds for the same condition would count as more than one med. But goal is how many different meds per day. Not pills. I wouldn't even count short acting versus long acting or oral versus sublingual if it is the same med. Like someone taking different types of insulin. But insulin and an oral hypoglycemic counts as two...

 

[pb4uski]

None for me. My new PCP was surprised by that.

But if I don't get things together a statin may be in my future.... I'm borderline at last check but have been borderline for quite a while now.

 

[Dtail]

None for me, but I expect down the road....

 

[aja8888]

Two prescribed (@ age 74 3/4):

25 mg Metotropol (mild HBP)
40 mg Flowmax (improved urine flow)

I do pop a few Aleve's when the hip implant starts acting up (after 10 years, no less!) and a small aspirin daily.

Now DW........thar's a whole different story (13 at last count).

Oh, and all you women facing osteoporosis (or loss of bone density)......don't go with heavy doses of steroids like prednisone or your bones will soon look like swiss cheese.

 

[RAE]

Calcium/D3 for many years now. Not sure it is doing any good for my bones, as I keep losing bone density despite drinking a pint of milk daily, eating salmon with bones, broccoli etc.

You might want to consider adding Vitamin K to your regimen, if you are not doing so already. Vitamin K (especially K2), taken in conjunction with Vitamin D3 and calcium, helps make sure that the calcium gets to the right place (bones), and not to the arteries.


https://saveourbones.com/vitamin-k-osteoporosis/

 

[6miths]

Based on observation only, I believe it is age related. As folks get older they tend to take more. I am very lucky at 73 to still be at zero. I sometimes take an antacid if I eat certain things like Italian foods, red wine and a couple other. But only as needed. Doctor would like me to take a daily aspirin but haven't gone there yet.

With medicine, I feel less is best if at all possible.

I think you are right on the correlation with age. I think there would also be correlations with geographic location (just considering high resource countries) and individual doctors. Also agree that, where possible, less is better.

 

[Teacher Terry]

2 hbp, 2 asthma, 1 allergy. Will never take a statin and hopefully don’t develop any more chronic conditions.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Just BP and Cholesterol for me.