It's heck getting older. Don't get me wrong; it beats the alternative, but dang.
You know you're getting old when your calendar consists exclusively of doctors' appointments, grandkids' birthdays, and notes to yourself otherwise you'll never remember to take that pill the doctor prescribed to keep some part of your body from (a) causing excruciating pain, (b) falling off, (c) falling off and causing excruciating pain or (d) having your mind wander off. Maybe permanently.
I've never been a fan of pill taking unless the doctor has assured me I'll suffer dire consequences if I don't and even then it's iffy that I will 'take as directed.' Our mother was of the philosophy that if the doctor prescribed it, she had to take it. It didn't matter that all those pills contradicted each other and either kept her asleep or wondering where the heck she was. A few times, according to her, my 'boyfriend' was coming into her house at night and rearranging her furniture. Ssshhh! Don't tell David; he's unaware of my 'secret' boyfriend although so was I. I wish I'd known who he was. We could have used his help with a few projects around my house. That's why, even if I have the prescription filled, it's not a guarantee that I'll take it.
Anyway, right now I take one pill in the morning and a different one in the evening with my vitamins sprinkled throughout the day IF I can remember to take them with a meal. I have to take my vitamins on a full stomach, or I get nauseous. It gives me a good excuse when David catches me eating–again. I have to take these with food, I tell him. Uh-huh, he answers, shaking his head, and walking off.
Have you ever had trouble remembering if you've taken a pill when you or not? I have. I have to lay them out in advance as a visual aid although that did backfire on me once. I popped a pill that wasn't due yet and got double- dosed. Luckily for me, I suffered no dire consequences. At least I don't think I did. It's hard to tell sometimes.
Taking my medicine and the vitamins tends to be hit or miss because sometimes I just get so tired of swallowing pills, pills, pills. I made the mistake ONCE of telling my oncologist that I hated swallowing pills so she prescribed a liquid. All I'll say to that is, pills, please. It was not tasty.
As if that isn't bad enough, allergy season is upon us. The problem is I don't know if my issue is allergies or a side effect from treatment. Most of the listed side effects sound suspiciously like my everyday life.
As I was saying about appointments, at our age everything tends to get out of whack and a few times a year we go see our chiropractor who cracks everything back into alignment. Geez, makes us sound like an old car. Just hoist us up on the lift and check under our chassis. How the heck do we get so lopsided that one leg is shorter than the other which ends up making our hips hurt? I don't know how it happens to me seeing how I spend most of my day sedentary in my recliner, but it does.
This time he cracked my neck so loud I can't imagine anyone within a mile radius not hearing it. I've been dizzy(ish) ever since but, again, it could be a coincidence, allergies, or a side effect of my current treatment since this is one of the questions I get at each visit.
Tired as I was from having the room spin violently when I'd lie down, I finally scheduled an appointment with my ENT to get my head checked (I heard that) thinking she'd give me a magic pill that would make the dizziness go away. She didn't. What she did do was prescribe a bunch of pills, which I still haven't taken for fear of drug interactions, and a series of 'exercises' to do. The eye exercises consist of doing something teenagers have mastered for generations–the eye roll. I'm a little out of practice on that one but I'm sure it's a lot like riding a bicycle. Once you learn, you can get right back on. (That's not true. I tried riding a bicycle in my forties. I made it about a block, walked it back home, and never got on it again.)
The rest are head exercises, sitting (which I'm already a master of), standing, and walking. I fail to see how the last three can be helpful in curing my dizziness but I'll give them a whirl.
I'm trying but I'm not very consistent. What a shocker.