DON'T DRIVE WITH IT, and DON'T FALL!

I rarely fall, but sometimes I'm clumsy, or think my balance is worse than it is, or...

 This UPI Health News made me stop and think, and : remember
https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2019/07/27/Some-medications-driving-ar
https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2019/07/27/Some-medications-driving-are-dangerous-duo/3191564243177/

HEALTH NEWS

UPDATED JULY 27, 2019 AT 12:48 PM

"Some medications, driving are dangerous duo" by HealthDay News

I had to search in upi to find this article again under "driving." but I suggest you look it up if you're interested in the driving side of side effects.

" some prescription and over-the-counter medicines can cause side effects that make it unsafe to drive," the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns."

As I see it, The partial list of what these meds can do, has DON'T WALK Even at home written all over it. 

" side effects can include

sleepiness

drowsiness,

blurred vision,

dizziness, 

slowed movement,

fainting 

inability to focus or pay attention

nausea and excitability."     

They note that some meds wear off quickly, and others not til the next day.  That's helpful for driving, but maybe we fall most often at home. How do I know which is which?  I have to ask or look it up.

I had bad drowsiness years ago with codeine pills for  cleansing grains in my eye.  Had to set down the phone and lie down in the hall.  My LA doctor said once you've had such a problem, you could have  same years later!  So...I have a note at the top of my meds list "no codeine."  

I  fell a few years ago here in Texas, as I may have mentioned, after taking 1/3 of an Rx muscle relaxer .  So they are another warning at top of my meds list.

And, I write:" average dose of some medicines are TOO strong for me.  People of different ages have different needs sometimes.

Please tell me you have any warning you need at the top of your meds list.  And please tell me you HAVE a meds list for your doctors.  That way the Dr. may discuss falling with you.  Don't let an assistant dump all this under allergy.

Oh, and my friends confessed cutting allergy pills in half, and I confess I do, too, since they affect my dry eye as well.

So many drugs, so many dangers including falling!

The main thing I do for possible side effects including falling:

I look up the pill he suggests on line, from some real doctors medical group or major hospital I trust, and write down any side effects that might make me get careless, stumble, or fall.  

I don't have a good source for how long it takes after I take it for a pill to be safe against falls.

 There is a pharmacist I trust here, but he is often on anther shift.

 So I read that huge warning list that they stuff in the bag with the pill bottle!

I wish you health.

I also 

Most people I know seem to know that allergy pills can make us drowsy--I idn't really think much about it until lately.  But my doctor mentioned a couple I took years ago.  When I tried on here in my o livinwng room, I turned to my left to pick something off my desk, and had to grab a chair - instant dizziness!   

several friends and one relative now cut a popular allergy pill in half.  Confess I secretly do that, too.

You and I know by now what can happen 

How do I know which one is really dangerous for Me/  And HOw dangerous.

Maybe you stay at home if you only know which ones make you sleepy. 
Sleepy enough to forget about that pretty littel bathroom rug?  Should it be replaced with a big, safe real bath mat?  The good ones arent so eacy to slide around on, and I know mine is right there by tub and toilet.  I need one, though, that's hard to wrinkle up when I wake at night.

And I do use my cane at night when I've been asleep and no bright lights are on.  

Have to restrict myself to the bottom step of my "step stool" because the top step is just in the wrong place and has nothing to hang onto. Some people tell me to brace myself against the cupboard on that one, but.....NO.
     

Several meds are on my med list I give the doctor.  At the top are my warnings to doctor that at some time I have had trouble with them,
 the nurse or assitant asks twice or 3 times if I am allergic to them.  I should SPELL it out: 
" this stuff made me dizzy,:  : I fell after taking this med once," fell asleep once after taking it, 
faintness, dizziness, drowsiness. I fainted for a minute on this med.".


 Not to mention what else we do during the day, (or night.P

FALLS: You? Me? Why some fatal?

A wonderful showhouse, a nice, warm evening reception.  Wine, music, the whole thing.  I had been invited at the last minute to ride along.  Grabbed my purse, keys, all but one thing: a drink of water.

We mingled, admired rooms, picked a favorite, had some wine, of course.  Then, returning to  the ca,; I knew I was going to fold gently down onto the sidewalk.  The fire dept was summoned, the fireman gave me a bottle of water, told me not to get up until I drank the whole thing. Emergency over.  

Was that a fall?  Is sliding down onto the bathroom floor after a third of a muscle relaxant pill a fall? 

Falls, I always thought, are big, sudden things I do not want.  Still have a bit of gravel in one knee from learning to ride a bike in a gravel driveway.Those were falls.  In adulthood, decided not to learn to ski. 

Still afraid I might fall.  Is this curb too high for these shoes?

 On line, I see everybody is hellbent to be the Best  Experts on falls for OlderAdults. (Could the big $ profit  on "helper gadgets" have something to do with this?)   

Sometimes it really can be as simple as a drink of water, which, as whole countries check in with over-100 temps, many people may not get in time.

I decided to find out why older persons are racking up all those falls with accompanying broken bones or even death.  Along the way, readers please give me your experiences.  

Meanwhile, get Mom or Dad or yourself a dependable thermos or a water bottle.

The Leftover Tamoxifen, My Doctor, and me

Because of prescription dates, I had a jar or two of Tamoxifen left over on the last day of the five years.  I hate waste, so I asked the doctor if there was someone who needed the rest of the pills.

Suddenly I got an unwelcome shot of reality.  "Throw them away.  They're cheap." he said.  He looked me in the eye and added firmly, "Do you know one pill for cancer can cost $9.00?"

Suddenly we were in two different worlds.  I'd heard astonishing prices for any cancer medication;  Far more than $9.  Far more than I would be able to pay..

I also knew the cost of those last bottles of Tamox.was noticeable on a retirement budget and Medicare. Affordable at that price for people near me?  It didn't really feel cheap.
 And what about women who need Tamox along with other meds?

We're all (I hope) a little more aware of Rx costs because of the desperation of people needing Insulin.   And my measles test (not immune) and the shot that I did need.  Yes, I think I'm still paying.
These are tough time for other people, too.. Someone has attempted to forge my identity for her heart treatments.

So is it silly to pass along Tamoxifen?

I still secretly have some left. What are your thoughts?

WHY I PICKED TAMOXIFEN An Important, little-known, fact

 "Even if you have stopped menstruating, your body may still produce small amounts of estrogen in the adrenal glands, fat tissue and even breast tissue." (From JohnsHopkins)

My doctor and I chose Tamoxifen even tho I was definitely very post-menopausal.  .  
To understand why I was glad to, it is important to know the difference between Tamoxifen and "those pills."   

Tamoxifen inhibits cancer cells from acting in the breast tissue.  Hopkins says specifically:"This drug impacts the effects of estrogen in cancer cells and helps reduce the risk that the breast cancer will recur in women of any age by almost 50 percent."  

The Aromatase inhibitors (such as "Arimidex" on the other hand  belong to a class of drugs that work by reducing the levels of estrogen in the body. I didn't like thinking about how they would do that.  

In either case, when it comes to aches and pains and other side effects many of us on either medicine could sympathize with those in the other. 

 Also, I had had DCIS, and Tamoxifen was already accepted for use there.

And once my dose had been halved, I was glad of my choice.

So I'm glad I chose it.   

Do I worry now without it?  No.  If I do, I'll let you know.

Am I "better." without it?   The best way I can answer is only to say:  I'm even more determined to be as healthy as I possibly can be. 
I wish you health.

Now ANOTHER MONTH WITHOUT TAMOXIFEN.

Am I my better after two months and a couple days without Tamoxifen?   If my new pills would please stop confusing me, I might know the answer.

I actually went back thru old day-at-a-time notebooks to see what I was complaining about several years ago.  Alas, I did not have a day-by-day notebook for that crazy time -- those am-I-insane months before the doctor cut my dose in half.  

I did have some muscle aches, but not the horrid wake-up-all night aches and cramps that my friend suffered on "the other medicine". 

  

The sad thing is those first months of Tamox-brain still at times make me mistrust my memory for no reason.

The main difference on no-Tamox?  I have mild (so far) hot flashes!  How's that for a joke on an 80-year old woman?! In Texas.

Maybe I'll still be better after a few months.

I wish you health. 

BUT THEN...What the.....

 All thru February, I'd been inching slowly back up from the goal weight I had reached.  And I'd made a note at times that my ankles and feet were swelling.  But mostly no after-Tamox problems.

Somewhere along in there,I had seen my family doctor, mentioned the ankles, told him I was retaining water.  I wasn't ready for water pills; told him and my lab tech that I was using the drinking more water cure, keeping hydrated.

Read my trusted parts of the med advice on the web, took notes

March 1
Asked family doctor if he had any really mild diuretics.  He phoned in Rx for a thiazide pill, my secret choice, for 90 days.  Guess there's no instant cure.

Promise I'll let you know if something happens that isn't water but that could be Tamoxifen.

I wish you health.

ONE MONTH AFTER TAMOX

This is not an April fool!

After I stopped Tamoxifen at the end of February, life got way too busy, and I didn't have time to feel abandoned, uncovered, unprotected, or anything.

When the shoulder  and back of neck pains started, I couldn't remember anything quite like that when I was taking too much Tamox.  I did remember finally that years ago in rehab, they said that even my purse was too heavy to wear on my shoulder.  Now I'm learning to carry groceries like we used to carry them in bags - sorta like carrying a baby.

Bottom line this far...I can't blame Tamox or leaving Tamox for anything.  (And yes, sometimes I still look right at my phone and can't see it, and I still leave my keys in dumb places as I did decades before I ever heard of Tamoxifen.)

I wish you health.