10/5/09
Yes, and so what's your FAVORITE PRESCRIPTION or NON-PRESCRIPTION DRUG?
How's about one of each: cymbalta and ibuprofen. keepin' this dancer going since 1995. . .:D
SineOff. That stuff will dessicate your head. It dries everything up to the point that I find I have to apply lip balm because even my lips feel dry!
Prescription: dead heat between Lexapro and Xanax. Both basically saved me from terminal agoraphobia.
Nonprescription: Tie between the antihistamine Zyrtec (take it year-round and have had no ear/sinus infections since I began) and Aleve (sodium naproxen).
I hate to ignore the antibiotics, miracle drugs that they are; and prednisone. But I don't rely on them 24/365 the way I do the preceding meds.
Prescription: Ambien is #1 on my list. I don't have to take it as often as I used to, but when my insomnia is raging it really works for me. I should also acknowledge coumadin for keeping my mom stroke-free for over a year, although it's such a nasty drug to manage.
Non-prescription: Benadryl is the only thing that chases the allergies away for me.
Metformin wins for me -- and I presume, many other type 2 diabetics. It helps regulate blood sugar with minimal side effects and now, come to find out, it may lower your cancer risk.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/2007/08/16/28828.aspx
And for the Ibuprofen fans (and I am one), take it easy on the little brown pill -- if you overdo it, it can damage your liver, and it raises the risk of myocardial infarction.
And weirdly, priapism is also cited as a side effect.
For life of me, I can't remember the name, but whatever they gave me when I got my vasectomy (sorry for the overshare) was the best drug I've ever taken. I was in the best mood, everything was wonderful, and I didn't feel a thing during the procedure. I remember that drug fondly...
Prescription: Ambien, for sure
OTC: Claritin
Ambien!!!!
As I age, I find I am allergic to many more things. Over the last 2 years i have been prescribed steroids to combat the reactions i was having.. I LOVE STEROIDS... I feel great when I take them.. I can ride all day it seems..am faster... more alert all day long..
I understand why athletes would want to take these drugs. Now long term....... not so much.
Prescription: Ambien or whatever generic of it my insurance allows.
Non-prescription: Beer/wine. I probably don't average more than 3 alcohol units a week, but I sure enjoy the ones I drink.
Insulin - it keeps my daughter alive.
non-prescription: Prilosec (I've always had bad heartburn at night and now I can sleep and not wake up in pain). Followed closely by this OTC sleeping medicine I got in Spain one time to get me back on a regular sleep cycle - dormedina or something like that - it knocked me out for 12 straight hours.
prescription: Demerol - I had a really really really bad leg injury and they had to set up a drip of this stuff to keep me out of severe pain for several hours.
Prescription - Gonal f, for the two sweet side effects I now have. ;-)
Eh, I don't take much - didn't take any pain meds after my two c-sections, so I'll say elderberry. I like it when I begin feeling cold or flu symptoms coming on. Tastes yummy, too.
TJ: I think I had that same drug during my colonoscopy this summer. Woke up and was happy, happy, happy; mellow, mellow; mellow for hours afterward. Life Was Good! Later I thought: Hmmm, so that's why heroin is so addictive. (not that the drug was heroin. It was Versed or something.)
anon -- I agree; insulin, it keeps my little girl alive too. Also, bonus points to the inventors of insulin pumps :)
Lexapro, oral contraceptives, ibuprofen
I've had great luck with amino acids including 5HTP, L-serine and tyrosine. I think anyone with sleep, stress or mood issues would benefit from these.
Megan, I'm interested that you listed both Lexapro and oral contraceptives. Once I discontinued oral contraceptives after many years of use, I realized they were little depression pills for me.
I ended up in the emergency room with a kidney stone and they gave me an IV of Dilaudid. It definitely took the edge off.
Happily drug-free for years, but 15 years ago, Ativan sure made everything groovy.
nothing beats a morphine drip. and for OTC i would have to go with immodium.
St. Joseph's baby aspirin. You cannot beat the taste or the nostalgia it conjures.
Like Kelly, I was in the ER a couple times this summer and was given Dilaudid. The pain relief was almost immediate and lasted a long time. Once they admitted me to WakeMed, however, they switched me to Morphine. Not nearly as effective.
Non-prescription? Probably Aleve.
Atripla. One pill once a day for HIV infection, easy to take and very potent; it's a crime that it is still so expensive and basically unavailable in Africa. Runner-up: Imipenem, the IV antibiotic that still kills just about everything.
Non-prescription. Benadryl for sleeping on really long flights and avoiding jet lag, also works for rashes and allergies.
Presciption: Aleve, Tylenol 3. Vicodin
Non: Sudafed, Benadryl
Illicit: Cocaine, Marijuana
Like Kelly and Kate, I have to go with Dilaudid. It was the only thing that took the pain of a spinal meningitis headache away, and I didn't even feel the spinal tap the doc did. Oh yeah!
Non-prescription? Excedrin Migraine. Hands down.