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Actemra coverage on Medicare in California?
Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: Sep 23 8:24am | Replies (28)Comment receiving replies
Sometimes I don't know how much of a benefit there is to take many medications. My view point comes from having to give medications to patients every morning. I would need to carefully get their medications ready for them every day. They were very sick people so they might need to take 20 or more medications first thing every morning. I just wasn't sure all the medications were helping that much. Sometimes I felt like I was contributing to their demise by expecting people to take so many medications.
Actemra is the one medications that seems to do me a lot of good. I am back down to taking 2 medications now not counting Actemra. My remaining medications are "as needed" or for "prevention" or totally optional.
There were so many people that had no idea what medications they took. All they knew was a doctor told them they needed the medication but they didn't know why. The 5 medication limit was more about putting a limit on doctors from prescribing so many medications.
When I was diagnosed with PMR and "other things" I was in the same boat for a long time. Many of my medications were prescribed to me to treat Prednisone side effects. I was giving myself more than 10 medications and I wasn't so sure all my medications were doing that much good.
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@dadcue
Believe when I say I understand where you are coming from about the medications doctors prescribe!! What the heck!! Do we really need all this crap?! I have high blood pressure and when they couldn’t control with one medicine, they would add another. And then they added another one—I’m on three meds for my BP!! I’m thinking I will have a stroke if I don’t take all these meds! Both my mom and her mom passed from strokes from high BP…..so I take all my pills. This is very scary to me! I also take meds for my asthma, PMR , diabetes and inflammatory arthritis. I try to stay on top of any of these interacting with each other—the pharmacy is good for this also. But it still bothers me that I have to take so many meds. And then by my own choice I have added some supplements to the mix! I take Calcium/Magnesium for my bones and co-enzymeQ-10 for general health and sometimes Odor-free garlic extract when I can afford to pay for all this stuff! I know that my diet can play a part in controlling some of my conditions, especially my diabetes. But it is so hard for me as I have always been a picky eater! I was such a sickly, underweight child, my parents just pushed whatever foods I would eat on me! Unfortunately, this included a lot of pasta and bread ( my family is also Italian!), a lot of carbs, little protein other then hot dogs, cheese , and just a lot of junk food like cinnamon rolls and donuts!! I’m a lot better then this now, but I still don’t eat a lot of veggies other then salads, carrots, celery and corn! I do eat a lot more protein with chicken, pork, beef , eggs and a little non shellfish fish. ( I’m allergic to shellfish) So you see my problem and probably one of the reasons I’m on all these meds!