Do You Take Your Fibromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Meds Like You're Supposed To?
There are a lot of reasons that some people don't take meds like they should. Brain fog, the expense, uncertainty about a drug's effectiveness ... they can all add up to being undertreated.
If memory is your problem, here are a few tips to help you remember:
- Get a pill sorter that holds everything you need for an entire week.
- Keep all your pill bottles in a container together, and put in a list of what you take, how many, and at what time of day.
- Leave your pill sorter where you'll see it - by the coffee pot, by your toothbrush, on the kitchen counter, or wherever makes sense for you.
- Mark on a calendar (preferably close to where you take your pills) when you've taken them, so if you forget you can look at both the sorter and the calendar to check.
I recently read that people with fibromyalgia are the most likely to skip their prescribed medications, and cost was a major factor in that. If you can't afford your drugs, you have several options. You can contact the pharmaceutical company directly - most of them have programs to help you get the drugs you need. You can also talk to your doctor about less expensive alternatives. If your insurance company won't pay, you can appeal the decision. In addition, you can look into supplemental prescription drug insurance or state programs that may be able to help.
If you don't think a drug is effective, check with your doctor or pharmacist. Some drugs (including many antidepressants) can take a month to be at full effectiveness. It could also be that it's the wrong drug for you, so you may want to look into different options.
What helps you take the medications you've been prescribed? Have you found ways to get financial help? Memory tricks? How many drugs have you tried that simply weren't effective for you? Leave your comments here or in About.com's Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome community forum (under Newsletter & Blog Topics.)
Suggested Reading:
- Drug Treatments for Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- Alternative Treatments: Acupuncture, Massage & Other Bodywork, Finding the Right Chiropractor or Physical Therapist
- Diet, Supplements & Exercise for Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Photo © Stockbyte/Getty Images
Comments
Here’s a wonderful place to get help for obtaining your meds if you can’t afford them.
Partnership for Prescription Assistance
https://www.pparx.org
The Partnership for Prescription Assistance brings together America’s pharmaceutical companies, doctors, other health care providers, patient advocacy organizations and community groups to help qualifying patients who lack prescription coverage get the medicines they need through the public or private program that’s right for them. Many will get them free or nearly free. Its mission is to increase awareness of patient assistance programs and boost enrollment of those who are eligible. Through this site, the Partnership for Prescription Assistance offers a single point of access to more than 475 public and private patient assistance programs, including more than 180 programs offered by pharmaceutical companies. To access the Partnership for Prescription Assistance by phone, you can call toll-free, 1-888-4PPA-NOW (1-888-477-2669).
What Chronic Fatigue meds? You mean the antidepressants they keep trying to push on us because they think we’re depressed?
Chris,
Actually, there are dozens of medications and supplements prescribed or suggested for people with ME/CFS, and not all of them are antidepressants. Here’s an article that looks at the wide array of drug options:
Drugs for Treating Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
Also, while I don’t necessarily endorse antidepressants, they can help with both FMS & ME/CFS because they boost the neurotransmitters of which we’re known to have deficiencies. They help some people with energy, brain fog, and a lot of other symptoms. This doesn’t mean the people they help are depressed, it just means that the drugs correct a physiological abnormality.
(And BTW, my personal opinion is that any doctors who say someone with the broad range of bizzare symptoms we get is “just depressed” ought to have their license revoked!)
I don’t have a problem with forgetting to take my meds, my pain reminds me every 2-4 hours. I have been on Ultram for a long time, when I couldn’t get it because of money issues, I could tell a difference, especially in my energy level, or lack of anyway. I think it does help boost it some. Even though it’s really pretty low most of the time, it gets even lower without the Ultram. I haven’t tried the extended release, I take 6 a day of the regular ones.
Yes, I have to get most of my meds thru the drug companies, since I have no insurance. You have to be pretty much broke or have several living in your home with a low income to get it though. The WalMart $4 plan has helped some too. Just depends on what meds you take. Sometimes you really have to do alot of homework to find the help to get whatever you can. Being lazy about it isn’t an option. I wrote letters to the Drug co. and then they want all sorts of financial info too. Especially when you are self employed.
Good luck to all who are trying to find help and just hang in there.