When Stressed... ORGANIZE!

I have a beautiful coping mechanism when I'm stressed out. I clear through my crap and organize what I keep. My medications have been begging for a spring cleaning since 2018. Hah. And my bedside cabinet has been many things over the years. All of these got a good cleaning inside and out, then a thorough organizing. 

The biggest change however came with my daily medications. I've been bursting out of my pillbox for months and months now and I can never seem to find one big enough for all of my needs. Enter the small glass jar.

I scoured the internet for a gross of glass jars. Spice jars, tiny jam jars, but landed on these little "honey" jars. The shape makes them very easy to hold and the lid is simple for me to screw on and off. Unlike my pill box's which were very difficult for me to open and close. I was constantly popping pills out all over myself and the floor. Not good when you have animals in the house.

This is what I was using. A typical three time a day plastic pill box. I've been using this style for about six years now. I literally wear them out like shoes. Crazy.

Now each time of day and day of the week has it's own jar. I have tons of space in case in the future new meds or supplements are added on. Horary!

I used a white paint pen I had laying around for the top. I hope it stays. Ideally I'll put some kind of a top coat on it. Either using nail polish (expensive) or a Krylon spray. I'm hesitant however since neither are food safe. So for now I'll just be careful and see how they hold up.

I feel a weird sense of relief having all of my needs organized like this now. My fan is in position for summer breezes, I have Gatorade and bottles of water by my bed for bad days, I know where my "Pain" basket is and what's in it. Everything is all put away neat and tidy. This is what my "self care" looked like today.

Reprieve

After my recent night of desperation I put into action some things that have been helping out my incredible pain.

1) Made a tote bag full of all my resources. Creams, gel, pills, patches. All the stuff I have for pain. Now instead of just laying in bed in pain I can grab that bag, go into the bathroom and choose something to try and relieve it.

2) I found my "stash." Back in 2020 I tried some CBD/THC products to help my pain and migraines. It worked, but I didn't like the side effects. I kept most of it and found that the high CBD low THC gummies did help my pain quite a bit. 

3) Tried something new! I found some new cream that so far helps better than any other topical product I've tried so far. All CBD. No THC.

I'm also being very watchful of my activity levels and how I use my leg. I'm trying to really be vigilant to give everything a chance to heal up. So far it still hurts, but not at all like it was. I'll take it!

What I take and why

I haven't talked about my medications in a few years. In fact I've only really talked about ALL of them twice.

March 2020 post

January 2020 post

Six years into this chronically ill life and here's what I'm taking and why.

 
TD means that I take it 3 times a day

Prescriptions

1. (LevoTHYROxine) Synthroid 125mcg AM (for hypothyroidism)

2. (Pregabalin) Lyrica 150mg TD (for neuropathy)

3. (Duloxetine) Cymbalta 20mg afternoon, 60 mg PM (for muscle pain)

4. (Lioresal) Baclofen 20 mg TD (for muscle spasms)

5. Botox for migraine, every 3 months

6. (Symmetrel) Amantadine 100mg AM & 2hrs later (for fatigue & muscle problems)

7. Aimovig auto injector 70mg, monthly (for migraine)

Supplements (Mito Cocktail) helps give me more energy & helps with muscle cramps & spasms

• COQ10 300mg TD (900mg total)

• L-Arginine 500mg AM

• Vit. D3 2,000IU AM

• Potassium Citrate 99mg TD

• Magnesium Citrate 420mg TD

• Fish Oil 1,000 mg Noon

• L-Lysine 1,000mg BD (for mouth sores)

• B Complex Noon (B1 1.2mg, B2 1.3mg, B3 16mg, B6 1.7mg, B5 5mg, Folate 680mcg, 1B12 1,500mcg, D-Biotin 400mcg)

PRN taken as needed 

• (Amerge) Naratriptan 2.5mg (take at onset of migraine - migraine cocktail)

• (Compazine) Prochlorperazine 10mg (take with Naratriptan - migraine cocktail)

• Acetaminophen 500mg x2 (for pain and w/ migraine cocktail)

• Albuterol Inhaler (asthma)

• Wixela inhaler (medium asthma)

• Albuterol Nebulizer (DME) (bad asthma)

• Baclofen 20 mg (if muscle spasms increase)

• Diclofenac 1% gel (muscle pain & nerve pain)

I've been taking most of these for so long now that it's hard to remember a time that I didn't. I did the math and by the time I'm 70. So from today to when I'm 70 years old I would have spent just over 300 hours filling my pillbox. Woah. That's a lot of my life. 12 1/2 days. Almost 2 whole weeks. Just filling my pillbox.

This is what I take just in the morning alone. I'm lucky that I don't have more problems swallowing pills. I'm also lucky that everything I take is helpful. I have it pretty dialed in at this point as far as dosing goes and where to find the best deals on my supplements. 

I think of my medication like my glasses. I can't function without them and my world is so much better with them. I'm grateful for my excellent medical team who helped me come up with the right things to take.