Pill calculus

When my meds do not behave (see last post) and frustrate me, I have to start reciting reasons to not even think about giving up on them. Taking meds just isn't fun at best. Taking psychotropics is even worse than most meds because of the side effects. Taking meds when your body is like mine and every med is a new adventure into weirdness is even harder. But after the first 11 months I accepted that my body doesn't react normally and I'm so used to it that I forget this is the reason behind the frustration and that the frustration is not because of the meds themselves.

Tonight I counted the number of medications I have taken. Including a few antidepressants I took before my bipolar diagnosis I have been on a total of 28 psychotropics that I can remember off the top of my head. I have also been on 11 medications to deal with side effects or to attempt to handle the nausea and vomiting associated with my lithium toxicity last year. That is a total of 39 meds, most in the last 5 years. And with most of those meds I have taken pretty much every dose imaginable, and in the last year we have started creating our own doses by cutting pills into small pieces, etc. This does not include meds for the increased numbers of respiratory infections that is a side effect of one med. It also does not include multi-vitamins or vitamin B pills which I struggle to consistently take. It also does not include the 3 meds which I have tried, had major issues on, and recently resumed taking out of desperation.

I am 31 years old. Thanks to bipolar I have taken nearly 40 kinds of meds in 5 years. You do the math.