Thursday, October 25, 2018

At peace with self medication


True story: There is no cure for what I've got. All the doctors can do is “manage” my symptoms and they're doing a piss poor job of it. To date, every med but one has not only been ineffective, but has made me feel miles worse. It's not their fault for several reasons, not the least of which is, there are very few medicines I can tolerate. So, rather than torture myself and bombard my already fragile body with foreign substances, I've stopped going to the doctor on a regular basis to be poked, prodded and experimented on. As a result, I am more at peace with this illness than I have ever been.

Now, don't get me wrong. If there is a dire situation, I know the way to the ER. And admittedly, the doctors have saved my life on several occasions, using, of course, the only drug that works and that I can tolerate short term. Problem is, I'm told I can't take it long term without dire consequences. I don't disagree with that.

Furthermore, I live in Colorado, folks. Which means, I can seek an option that may be illegal in your state. And that's great, except that I have tried CBD oil, both with and without THC. I've also tried CBD tablets. Edibles get me high but that's about it. I can't smoke as Lupus has already compromised my lungs a few times and they are weak. In fact, no marijuana based solution does anything at all to alleviate any of my many, many symptoms. That is, barring the infused rubs, which are great for localized pain.

So, I use the rubs. I use the rubs and if the pain gets too bad, I take aspirin. And if the aspirin is not strong enough to decrease the inflammation responsible for most of my symptoms, I take advil. There may come a time when that's not enough to keep me from screaming in pain. When that happens, like I said, I know where the ER is.

I take all the nutritional supplements that help with Lupus and Rheumatoid, plus, I avoid trigger foods. At this point in my illness, I know what those are. I stay hydrated. My diet is about 95% vegan, which studies have shown is the optimal Lupus diet. I stay as active as is possible with body parts that have been impacted by chronic illness. I'm not running marathons but I don't spend the entire day eating bon-bons and watching soap operas either. Heck, I don't even like soap operas and bon-bons are not vegan.

I've also moved about an hour from the hectic and toxic city. That has helped in numerous ways. Nothing like a little fresh air and open space to help you function better! I could go on. There are other “treatments” I self medicate with, depending on my symptoms. None of them are illegal or harmful in any way. One is fresh pressed organic ginger tea. There's no point in listing them all. None of them are miracles. None will cure me entirely, but neither will anything the doctors have to offer.

Anyway... Folks, here we are. It's Thursday night and I just had an attack of acid re-flux. I can deal with that because it's the first one I've had since ditching prescription medications. Likely, that's because the meds are responsible for the acid re-flux. Never did have it until I started taking them. And none of the prescription meds my doctors prescribed worked for that either. So, this evening, once I was rid of the issue, so to speak, I took a precautionary antacid tablet and moved to my recliner, where I can sleep sitting up.

Folks, I'm at peace with using common sense solutions to self medicate, barring emergency, because they work better than anything the doctors ever prescribed me or suggested I do to alleviate my symptoms. I don't have to pay myself thousands of dollars to tell myself the same thing over and over or be experimented on, poked and prodded. And neither the doctors or I are going to cure this crap. Either way, it will get me sooner rather than later.

And so, I have opted for a peaceful solution. One that doesn't involve me running back and forth to the doctor to be bombarded with chemicals that make me feel worse than I already do. My brand of self medication doesn't involve any of the many poisons dished out by medical professionals. It involves living a peaceful life in the country, making my own decisions about what will and will not go into my body. It involves me being kind to myself for the first time in years.

I'm at peace with self medication because it works. And isn't that the point?

No comments:

Post a Comment