So, where have I been?

[DandyDon]

I'm amazed at how many pills I am taking. I suspect that once a doctor puts you on one, no one else is going to suggest stopping one. Like Meloxicam for the arthritic knee which went on to become the recently operated knee. Does it still help? I'll have to ask one of my two Orthopedics I guess.

I have a surplus of the old meds that are shipped to me on auto-renewal as my part-D kept sending them for the nearly three months I was hospitalized even tho the hospitals gave those to me daily. I need to review my inventory, make sure which is which and how to skip a shipment, and then skip some 90 supply shipments.

My daughter finally got me to try some Pill Organizers,/Weekly Pill Boxes. I have two large boxes, one marked Mornings and the other Evenings. I just resupplied both for the week except the vitamins, fish oil, and probiotics are in overflow bottles for now.
I keep the 90 day bottles in a kitchen cabinet to refill the smaller bottles I use to stock the daily boxes as needed, then try to keep the smaller bottles rounded up for use. The 1½" and 1¾" wide bottles are space hogs in my crude system. I have a few 1¼" wide bottles I talked a Walmart employee into giving me even tho I don't use their pharmacy for meds. I need more really so I looked to Ebay. Got to watch those listings as some are selling Used bottles! I don't want to buy 50 but I did find a listing for 10 New bottles 1.12" wide for $6.63. I'll label them as needed and if those work ok, get more.

 

[RIHappyDiver]

I'm amazed at how many pills I am taking. I suspect that once a doctor puts you on one, no one else is going to suggest stopping one. Like Meloxicam for the arthritic knee which went on to become the recently operated knee. Does it still help? I'll have to ask one of my two Orthopedics I guess.

I have a surplus of the old meds that are shipped to me on auto-renewal as my part-D kept sending them for the nearly three months I was hospitalized even tho the hospitals gave those to me daily. I need to review my inventory, make sure which is which and how to skip a shipment, and then skip some 90 supply shipments.

My daughter finally got me to try some Pill Organizers,/Weekly Pill Boxes. I have two large boxes, one marked Mornings and the other Evenings. I just resupplied both for the week except the vitamins, fish oil, and probiotics are in overflow bottles for now.
I keep the 90 day bottles in a kitchen cabinet to refill the smaller bottles I use to stock the daily boxes as needed, then try to keep the smaller bottles rounded up for use. The 1½" and 1¾" wide bottles are space hogs in my crude system. I have a few 1¼" wide bottles I talked a Walmart employee into giving me even tho I don't use their pharmacy for meds. I need more really so I looked to Ebay. Got to watch those listings as some are selling Used bottles! I don't want to buy 50 but I did find a listing for 10 New bottles 1.12" wide for $6.63. I'll label them as needed and if those work ok, get more.

Meloxicam is a NSAID, so think of it as a stronger ibuprofen. In the veterinary industry we recommend trying to get down to the lowest effective dose by cutting it back a little, for example 3/4 of a pill versus a full pill, until it doesn’t seem to be working as well. At that point you increase just up to the dose that still worked well. That way you’re only getting what is actually working for you.
Now, I’m not a doctor, not even a veterinarian, so check with your doc before you start taking the advice of some stranger on the internet. I mean, sure, I’ll take advice on stuff that keeps me alive underwater from strangers, but not anti inflammatories . Seriously, check with your doc first, cause you, my friend, are not a dog.

Erik

 

[CathyE]

I resisted weekly pill trays for a long time, I was not an old person!
I finally accepted that filling one up for a week vacation instead of dragging all the bottles (no narcotics) made sense.
I now accept that there is no other way to keep track of my weeks meds, but I fill them myself, old people get the pharmacist to do it.

 

[DandyDon]

I fill them myself, old people get the pharmacist to do it.

I use mailorder for almost all of my meds so I can't do that. I have a Home Health nurse coming weekly for a while who offered, but I need to understand what I have and what I am taking, etc.

 

[Boarderguy]

My daughter finally got me to try some Pill Organizers,/Weekly Pill Boxes. I have two large boxes, one marked Mornings and the other Evenings.

Once you get your pills situated it would be a good idea to check out Pill Pack. Pill pack gets all your prescriptions from you or your doc and they build a single baggy of all the correct dosages that you take at whatever time is indicated. My parents and grand parents use them. My father in law and grandmother in law use it. It is about the same overall cost on Medicare/cade. It makes life much easier and reduces the chance of missing a dose.

PillPack - Pharmacy Simplified

We’re a full-service online pharmacy that packages your medication and delivers to your door every month.

www.pillpack.com

 

[CathyE]

I use mailorder for almost all of my meds so I can't do that. I have a Home Health nurse coming weekly for a while who offered, but I need to understand what I have and what I am taking, etc.

Absolutely!
I am in Canada with two good drug plans, I have a local pharmacist who is very good.
It is important to know what you take and why. I try to explain to my husband the OTC pills I put out for him and why, but he just takes them. It is fortunate that he is still working and financing our diving vacations.

 

[Bubblesong]

Glad to hear from you! I was looking for your posts, but didn’t want to text to ask in case you were on vacation.
Best Wishes for a speedy recovery!

 

[CathyE]

Once you get your pills situated it would be a good idea to check out Pill Pack. Pill pack gets all your prescriptions from you or your doc and they build a single baggy of all the correct dosages that you take at whatever time is indicated. My parents and grand parents use them. My father in law and grandmother in law use it. It is about the same overall cost on Medicare/cade. It makes life much easier and reduces the chance of missing a dose.

PillPack - Pharmacy Simplified

We’re a full-service online pharmacy that packages your medication and delivers to your door every month.

www.pillpack.com

This is similar to what my dad used to get, here it was a free service (you bought all the OTC items from the pharmacy). 28 days, all partitioned out, 4 daily spots, scripts and OTC meds. I am not yet willing to relinquish that much control.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I am glad to hear you are doing as well as you are. Walkers and wheelchairs suck. My late wife was confined to a chair and I thought I knew what to expect when I broke my hip last year. Not even f'ing close when you are the one needing it and in pain like you never felt before. The walker was a step up but yeah, you have to realize that there is a center of gravity that you better now stray too far from.
It felt like total freedom going from it to the cane.
You didn't mention PT that I saw. Physical Therapy was a double edged sword. I wanted to kill my PT's the first couple of days. They were just slightly above ambitious sadists to me. At the end of that first week and from then on, if they'd told me I needed to get on my knees and kiss their feet I would have. I did work my ass off, but they and their skills and knowledge are why I am where I'm a today.
Back to work, doing 100 kilometer bike rides, and feeling in better shape than I have in years.
USE THE PILL ORGANIZERS!
They were so helpful to keep thing straight when I was fuzzy from the opioid pain killers I needed.
I still use them daily.
But for my vitamins, fish oil, and ibuprofen. Because I can still forget to take them.
Wishing you continued improvement.

 

[DandyDon]

It felt like total freedom going from it to the cane.

I keep a cane in the backseat that I use when I stow my walker there and need to get to the driver's seat or going back for the walker. I used it today gassing up the red beast. $2.659/gallon at one station in Lubbock and it was crowded.