Back on medications

Image via WikipediaYesterday I went to my doctor's appointment and she is generally displeased about my progress. I think in over a year of seeing her this visit lasted the longest. She even performed a concentration test that consisted of recalling the date, remembering three words and even writing a sentence. She said that I was a bit slow with my answers and seemed to require some thought before answering.

My doctor stated that she, as well as my counselor, have noticed a decline in my mood since being off the medications and that it is imperative that I resume taking them.

The last medication regiment that I was on would cost $100.00 per month in co-pays and I simply could not afford it so I stopped taking them. Since then the cost is all I thought about when considering if I should or should not be taking medications.

Yesterday I managed to think out of the box and asked which two medications would be the minimum that I could get by on. She had the answer quickly. One mood stabilizer, Lithium, and an anti-depressant, Effexor Xr. I knew that Lithium is cheap because it isn't a name brand, so the cost on that would only be $15.00, Effexor is a name brand and would cost $25.00. That sounded reasonable to me.

After the appointment I went to the pharmacy to get the prescription filled and to my surprise the total was only $25.00; I guess the costs' that I remembered were wrong.

I did get used to not taking medications. With Lithium it is important to limit coffee and increase water intake. I do just the opposite, plenty of coffee and little water. I also cannot take Aspirin, Ibuprofen, or Naproxen Sodium but only Acetaminophen, of which I do not have.

Even though I will need to make a couple of changes and get used to taking medications regularly it will probably be a good thing.