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In 2010 after I was diagnosed my doctor started me on Copaxone and Baclofen. She thought I'd had MS for at least 15 years, and wanted to try and curtail troubling emerging symptoms before they got out of hand. I overcame the initial aversion to giving myself an injection everyday. In my mind, if the Copaxone worked it was worth it to take 5 or 10 minutes out of my day to inject. If poking myself with a needle meant fewer or no exacerbations (one of the the aforementioned troubling symptoms) then this was the right thing for me. The Baclofen though, was another story.
I suppose I thought of muscle relaxers as "bad" drugs. I worried about becoming addicted to them. I thought, for the purpose they are intended for, I can do better than having to take a pill. I thought I could manage a bit of muscle tightness with stretching. So, I tapered off and stopped taking it.
For a while I was fine. I figured a "natural" approach to this disease was certainly better than relying on pharmaceuticals. My doctor didn't complain. I remembered she said that it would take about two months for the Baclofen to really start to help. Well, after almost two months without the drug, the spasticity had become a real challenge. My joints and tendons were constantly painful and I was having trouble standing up from a seated position.
One of my kids is diabetic. He has Type 1, juvenile diabetes and was diagnosed when he was in middle school. A few years later the novelty wore off, he stopped monitoring his blood sugar, skipped injections and ended up with a wake up call stay in the hospital.
I have wanted to write something here about medication compliance. It has been a challenge to put my thoughts together in recent weeks because I am reeling from circumstances involving another close family member's decision to stop taking their medications. The predicament we are in because of it has been pretty stressful.
No matter what the medical need, whether it is a 10-day course of antibiotics or a daily life-saving injection it is common to struggle with taking medication. The choice to have a good quality of life would seem the sensible way to go, but it often is not the initial response.
From my experiences with medication and from seeing friends and family wrestle with their own regimens, I have come to believe if it works it's worth taking. I continue to make the healthy lifestyle choices that are beneficial and as needed, I will take medication. I will work with a doctor I can communicate well with and pay attention to what my body is telling me. It is small effort to make for my own well being and for the ones I love.
It is important to me that my family knows that I am taking steps towards doing whatever I can to enjoy my life. Good self care gives back a little every day and is a wise investment in the future.
I suppose I thought of muscle relaxers as "bad" drugs. I worried about becoming addicted to them. I thought, for the purpose they are intended for, I can do better than having to take a pill. I thought I could manage a bit of muscle tightness with stretching. So, I tapered off and stopped taking it.
For a while I was fine. I figured a "natural" approach to this disease was certainly better than relying on pharmaceuticals. My doctor didn't complain. I remembered she said that it would take about two months for the Baclofen to really start to help. Well, after almost two months without the drug, the spasticity had become a real challenge. My joints and tendons were constantly painful and I was having trouble standing up from a seated position.
One of my kids is diabetic. He has Type 1, juvenile diabetes and was diagnosed when he was in middle school. A few years later the novelty wore off, he stopped monitoring his blood sugar, skipped injections and ended up with a wake up call stay in the hospital.
I have wanted to write something here about medication compliance. It has been a challenge to put my thoughts together in recent weeks because I am reeling from circumstances involving another close family member's decision to stop taking their medications. The predicament we are in because of it has been pretty stressful.
No matter what the medical need, whether it is a 10-day course of antibiotics or a daily life-saving injection it is common to struggle with taking medication. The choice to have a good quality of life would seem the sensible way to go, but it often is not the initial response.
From my experiences with medication and from seeing friends and family wrestle with their own regimens, I have come to believe if it works it's worth taking. I continue to make the healthy lifestyle choices that are beneficial and as needed, I will take medication. I will work with a doctor I can communicate well with and pay attention to what my body is telling me. It is small effort to make for my own well being and for the ones I love.
It is important to me that my family knows that I am taking steps towards doing whatever I can to enjoy my life. Good self care gives back a little every day and is a wise investment in the future.
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