I started thinking about whether I'm a hypochondriac or not after my doctor's appointment the other day. We reviewed the 22 medications that I'm currently taking every day, some twice a day - Allopurinol, Elavil, Synthroid, immunosuppressive drugs, gout medication, insulin...the list goes on.
Once I left the appointment, I considered my health situation and couldn't help but worry about what other medical complications I may encounter in my future. If I'm on 22 medications right now, how am ever going to get better? What else could happen to me?
Out of curiosity, I looked up "hypochondriac" in various dictionaries. A common definition defined hypochondriac as "a person who worries or talks excessively about his or her health."
So I guess I'm a hypochondriac now too. I'll just add it to the list of other disorders I have (LOL). I was raised to think the term hypochondriac was a negative word. But now that I think about it, it's not a negative term at all. In fact, I think it's extremely natural to worry and sometimes talk excessively about health. Doesn't that make most people hypochondriacs too?
By the way, I'm also considered to be a "drug addict" according to some dictionaries based on all the medications I'm on.
No, I don't think it makes you a hypochondriac just because you focus on your health and have many health problems to focus on! But I do have two thoughts: One it's easy for our lives (especially if we have several health problems!) to become nothing but health issues, and I think we need to make a concerted effort to make sure that doesn't happen. Two: I, of course, don't know your medical issues. But 22 meds sounds like a lot. I had a doctor tell me once that they get concerned when the number of drugs goes over 10. If I were you I would talk to my doctor about how you can consolidate your treatments and see if you can get that number down. If he doesn't seem willing to at least consider this, I would look to another doctor who would. The idea is to take the least possible medications to help with conditions. Especially when you have more than one doctor (who doesn't?) it's easy to get too many meds and nobody looking at the big picture.
I'm on so many meds because I'm t1 diabetic and I had a kidney transplant a year and a half ago. Prior to the transplant, I went into an extreme depression, which increased my blood sugar and anxiety levels, affected my heart drastically...and things progressed from there. Complications arose and here I am today. But the hospital, the doctors and several pharmacists have been working together with respect to my medications and I have to trust that they're telling me the right thing. It's nothing I'm proud of, it's just what I have to live with at the moment. They want to change my meds eventually, but not right now. I'm going to change that once I've completely healed.
I focus on my health with knowledge, and am very careful to research suggested scrips before filling. I often go back with questions and the doctor retreats from the scrip. I sometimes feel like the prescription pad is an easy way to move the patient along.....
I am not saying to not take them, but know what you are taking, why it is prescribed. what the impact will be. I have refused things on several occasions.
I am 60 and have been Type 1 a large number of those years. I take synthroid. lipitor, diovan (kidney protection,)baby aspirin and a multivitaman, plus the insulin.
