Wellness

[JQG]

Age 73, take BP med ( runs in family), hypo thyroid med. 

[excpa]

It is well known that trolls have a very long (but unhappy) life expectancy.

[cherry]

Who is supposed to be a troll @excpa?

[151949]

@cherry  Apparently anyone who takes any Rx meds.

[catwhisperer]

Almost 66. No meds.

[Moonchilde]

Not everything can be solved or controlled just by "living a healthy lifestyle" or by following every new health recommendation for this or that.

"Perfectly healthy" people in their 30s and 40s drop dead of heart attacks, strokes, aneurysms as an example.  These are people who "eat right", exercise and never put a foreign substance in their mouth.

There is something called heredity. You have no control over it; it may be a ticking time bomb for you. You may or may not know you have a family history of something. It's not necessarily something you did (or didn't) "do" if you have a medical condition that requires medication.

It's not a "I don't need any meds so I live right (obviously) and you take meds so you (obviously) should have been doing something else, as you blew it" thing.

Certain common things known to be hereditary run in my family. I have a certain amount of responsibility to do whatever I can to minimize the likelihood of being affected, but I could "do everything right" and still have it. And I'm not some sort of failure because I need to take medication for some of it. It's just NOT all within our control.

Yep. Sure do take meds. Ones that both prolong my life (hopefully) and make it a reasonably pleasant life to live. And I'm within the OPs age demographic.

[Caligurll]

I take one prescription medication, once a week, Fosamax.  I have mixed feelings about taking it.  I have osteopenia in my hips but have osteoporosis in my spine.  It was highly recommended that I take this med for 5 years.  They carefully explained the risks and benefits to me so I decided to do what I can to stop some bone loss.

I have had no side effects from it, I tolerate the drug very well. 

BUT when I go to the dentist and I'm sitting there in the chair I can see the computer screen with my information on it and there is always a big prominent box that says Patient takes Fosamax.  My dentist hasn't said anything negative about it but it is the one thing that worries me, the potential for osteonecrosis of the jaw.

I'm worried about falling and breaking bones as I get older so taking the drug seems to be an acceptable risk at this point, but I do plan on talking to my doctor about it again at my next appointment.

[CelticCrafter]

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@sassenach1 wrote:

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@excpa wrote:

I'm 77(and a half) and stopped taking prescription meds about 3 or 4 years ago when I stopped going to a primary care provider.  I still see an opthamologist at least once a year.  When I finally came to accept that they just kept adding meds without re-evaluating the need (and I felt I was being treated as a collection of organs connected to a checkbook) I decided to give it all up.  I was taking a statin, 2 blood pressure meds, 2 diabetes meds and I think there were more, but I forget.   I was also sent to have all sorts of tests, usually expensive, time consuming and annoying, if not usually invasive.  I felt I was not listened to was concerned about drug interactions.  None of the medics I went to seemed to be concerned about drug interactions.  Strange thing:  my health improved greatly, as did my bank balance.  My eye doctor asks for my primary care physician and seems to accept (finally) that I don't have one.  I told him I had "trust issues" and he seems to agree.   I had a fall a few months back and found  my blood pressure was in the low-normal range, without meds.    My diabetes has not progressed and appears to have improved.   I don't know what my cholesterol is doing and I really don't care.  

I will (probably) seek medical help for an injury, but the idea of being tied down to some medical regimen that is not based on ME just doesn't appeal.  I did it for many, many years (40+) but no more.  I'm too old to die young and I really hate the modern medical climate that insists you meet some non-objective standard of measurements.  I object to being given anti-depressants and refuse them.  Since when do people not have the right to their emotions?  Why is everyone expected to be happy all the time?  Why is everyone so afraid of death?  (I'm not a fan of pain, but don't want to become adicted to some opioid medication.)  I rarely excercise, eat poorly and live a quiet, contemplative life.

 And I wonder a lot.  Ads for meds are followed by ads from lawyers wanting to represent you after you take the meds.   Ads for foods are followed by ads for weight loss plans.  I don't know what it  all means.

Don't know if this is what you wanted to know (or why you wanted to know) but I hope it helps.

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WELL SAID!  And my sentiments exactly.  I am not yet in my 60s.  I take no Rx drugs and only visit a doc when absolutely necessary.  My choice. I have long experience with close family members and some with myself that convinced me to stay away from the medical world if at all possible.  

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@sassenach1- I feel the same way, it seems like it just roller coastered from 1 thing to the next, each diagnosis and treatment leading to something else.