# How many different prescription meds do you take? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 14, 2012, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-prescription-meds-do-you-take/609535 "2012-01-14T22:28:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2012, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-prescription-meds-do-you-take/609535/41 "2012-01-15T17:31:34Z")
25, female, paroxetine, quetiapine (which I should hopefully be off of in a couple months!) and BC. The paroxetine is a forever drug. I’ve been taking it since I was about 11, but I don’t mind. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2012, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-prescription-meds-do-you-take/609535/42 "2012-01-15T17:36:37Z")
28, female. 1 BC for non-BC reasons and two psychotropics. So, three. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2012, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-prescription-meds-do-you-take/609535/43 "2012-01-15T18:25:19Z")
Absolutely none. And this is one of my bugaboos: Over prescription of drugs. I was wrongly sent to a mental facility where it took 14 hours to get something to eat, 38 hours to get basic toiletries, but in two hours they were pushing drugs at me. When I told the nice guy I didn’t do drugs, he responded: This is not drugs. This is medication. When I snapped off the top of my wristbone, they tried to get me to take Osycotin. I requested an icepack, and got through the first week with asprin and Aleve, then with nothing. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2012, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-prescription-meds-do-you-take/609535/44 "2012-01-15T18:31:23Z")
Male, late 50s. I take Hytrin or its generic equivalent for an enlarged prostate. That’s it. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2012, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-prescription-meds-do-you-take/609535/45 "2012-01-15T18:34:15Z")
BCP so I said one (and I didn’t read the OP) _hangs head_ ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2012, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-prescription-meds-do-you-take/609535/46 "2012-01-15T19:12:46Z")
For asthma: salbutamol, seretide and beclomathesone, and lately prednisilone steroids because my asthma’s got worse and stayed that way. Ropinirole for a sleep disorder. Plus currently some extra-strong paid meds for a slipped disc. I’m taking them as little as possible though. UK, so fortunately cost isn’t an issue. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2012, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-prescription-meds-do-you-take/609535/47 "2012-01-15T19:21:06Z")
Male, 37. I take something called Bezafibrate to keep my doctor happy about my triglyceride level. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2012, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-prescription-meds-do-you-take/609535/48 "2012-01-15T19:25:45Z")
Forgot to say: female, 36. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-prescription-meds-do-you-take/609535/49 "2012-01-16T20:44:15Z")
I take six. I had a conversation with my doctor last week. He has a mostly geriatric clientele since he hasn’t taken new patients in over 15 years. He told me that since most of his patients have controlled their blood pressure and are taking statins and since the ones who smoked are most gone, very few of his patients are suffering strokes or heart attacks. They are dying of cancer and degenerative diseases. So, I take coumadin (for atrial fibrillation), metformin (to lower blood sugar), two blood pressure drugs, and two different statins. I would doubtless survive the next month without any of them, but they are all long-terms preventives. ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-prescription-meds-do-you-take/609535/50 "2012-01-16T21:19:26Z")
Female, 50. I take Synthroid daily, and will (or something like it) for the rest of my life. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-prescription-meds-do-you-take/609535/51 "2012-01-16T21:26:12Z")
BCP only here. Although I do get coldsores and when I was in NYC last week, I was surprised to discover Zovirax is prescription only in the US! ---
**Author:** ![randomface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@randomface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randomface)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-prescription-meds-do-you-take/609535/52 "2012-01-16T21:28:00Z")
Male, 23. I have been taking Provigil and Ritalin for Narcolepsy, but have drastically changed my diet and currently a morning cup of buttered coffee and a short afternoon nap is enough to keep me functioning from 6 am to around 9 pm. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-prescription-meds-do-you-take/609535/53 "2012-01-16T21:36:49Z")
Female, early 50s. I take 2 medications (counting an inhaler) regularly for asthma. I take 2 BP medications and one thyroid medication. So there’s 5 that I take every day, that I _have_ to take. I also have Provigil to help with daytime wakefulness, but I can skip that if I don’t mind being a zombie. I also take Zyrtec and Singulair for allergies, ditto (a sniffling, runny-nosed zombie, how charming). And Prilosec (a gooey zombie with heartburn from eating too many bad brains) and Requip (ditto, with twitchy legs on top of it all). So that’s another 5 “lifestyle” medications - I could live without them, but it would be hard to function. Theoretically if I pulled off a lot of weight, I might be able to get rid of one or both of the BP meds. I could even imagine having a remission from the asthma (though after 25+ years that seems unlikely). But the thyroid med is a rest-of-the-life thing. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-prescription-meds-do-you-take/609535/54 "2012-01-16T22:37:00Z")
Two; I use Adderall and Ativan as-needed to treat my ADD and currently-flaring anxiety. But I procure them illegally (no current prescriptions), since I don’t have insurance ATM and I don’t use them very frequently, so I don’t need bottles of the stuff. Adderall maybe 2-3 times per month, Ativan only when I have a panic attack. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2012, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-prescription-meds-do-you-take/609535/55 "2012-01-16T23:50:36Z")
Male, 37, no medications on a regular basis. I do have some cream for psoriosis that flares up every now and then. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-prescription-meds-do-you-take/609535/56 "2012-01-17T00:06:44Z")
> [@rhubarbarin](#): > > Two; I use Adderall and Ativan as-needed to treat my ADD and currently-flaring anxiety. > > But I procure them illegally (no current prescriptions), since I don’t have insurance ATM and I don’t use them very frequently, so I don’t need bottles of the stuff. Adderall maybe 2-3 times per month, Ativan only when I have a panic attack. Don’t reveal any trade secrets if you don’t want to, but if someone wants to share - how does one get non-narcotic rx meds without a prescription? The only way I can think of is from friends who don’t use up all their scrips and are willing to pass them on (not that this is a great idea necessarily.) Other than that I wouldn’t have a clue. On second thought, never mind; I think the answer to my question above involves illegal shit and ought not be discussed here. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-prescription-meds-do-you-take/609535/57 "2012-01-17T04:04:32Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > I take six. I had a conversation with my doctor last week. He has a mostly geriatric clientele since he hasn’t taken new patients in over 15 years. He told me that since most of his patients have controlled their blood pressure and are taking statins and since the ones who smoked are most gone, very few of his patients are suffering strokes or heart attacks. They are dying of cancer and degenerative diseases. So, I take coumadin (for atrial fibrillation), metformin (to lower blood sugar), two blood pressure drugs, and two different statins. I would doubtless survive the next month without any of them, but they are all long-terms preventives. What is the motive to take 2 different statins? ---
**Author:** ![porcupine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ac91a4/32.png) [@porcupine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porcupine)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-prescription-meds-do-you-take/609535/58 "2012-01-17T04:15:06Z")
Female 46, with chronic migraine. I’m on multiple daily preventative meds. I have scripts for when a migraine happens (frequently) and other meds for symptoms like nausea, vertigo, and pain. ---
**Author:** ![scootergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e99b99/32.png) [@scootergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scootergirl)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-prescription-meds-do-you-take/609535/59 "2012-01-17T05:50:58Z")
Female, 48. No meds. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-prescription-meds-do-you-take/609535/60 "2012-01-17T05:59:30Z")
Female, 43 and no current meds. I do have full prescription coverage. There have been times in my life where I was taking 3 or 4 however this is just a good year so far. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-prescription-meds-do-you-take/609535.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-different-prescription-meds-do-you-take/609535.md?page=4)