being on medication....forever???

peridotlouise

this might sound stupid. tomorrow i will be going to 4 sulfasalazine a day, very nervous about it. i was getting down because ive never taken medication this long before. now im on meds for RA, does this mean i am going to be on medication forever?? because im 24 now, what will my body be like in 40 years time if i keep having to have pills. im panicking about it...my aunt died of complications to her liver because she was on so many meds in the end. she was 77 mind. like i know the benefits outweigh the risks. but im wondering if there will ever be a time in my life now when i can NOT take pills all the time?

traluvie

Hi..

You have every right to feel anxious about meds etc..
I have a load i have to take each day, at first it really done my head in to think i was going to have to continuously take tablets to make me feel ok..
For me my life is better for taking the meds than not and too be honest i have not seriously thought of how taking the tablets will affect me in later life, but for now they are helping so i am sticking to what i do best lol.
Maybe you could talk to your GP about your worries and they maybe able to explain things for you??
It is a lot to take in at first, so take each day as it comes..xx

hileena111

Hi
Like Tracy says...its a lot to take in at first......chat to your GP.
I have OA but am on a few different meds.....I also have epilepsy which is well controlled....but only because I'm taking tablets to control it.
I will be taking those the rest of my life but I think its a small price to pay to keep me stable at the minute
Love
Hileena

dreamdaisy

I've been on medication for more years than you have been alive and I'm still here. You are not your aunt, no-one knows how long you will be taking a med or some meds, it could be that as you have been diagnosed so efficiently that the sulph will be sufficient to help you. At the least the meds are there: I would hate to be have been me a hundred years ago.

You are in the very early days of all this, peridotlouise, and yes it is a deal to comprehend and come to terms with but none of us have a crystal ball. Undoubtedly we have our experiences (and how varied they are) but despite that we cannot see into the future. I wish you well. DD

peridotlouise

Thanks dreamdaisy, you're right. I think i'm going to try and relax a little bit about all this, worrying about this and that isn't really going to change anything or get me anywhere, just make me feel worse. I'm going to try and take each day as it comes

kellerman

Hi,
I can understand how concered you are as you are so young,but these meds are given for a reason,to help you.
I'm not happy myself with what I class as pill popping but without them I wouldn't function and I'm not prepared to just give up,so anything that I have to take I do.
My Gran had RA.She had it for years and all she was offered were gold injections....these didn't help but there wasn't alternatives.
I appreciate now much more than I did how much she suffered.
If you have a GP who you can talk to this might set your mind at rest.
Who knows what may happen in the future....a world without arthur!!!
Wouldn't that be marvellous....you never know.
Just take care. May

frogmorton

Hi Peridot Louise

Just thought l'd nip in and say that you are likely to be on some medication for life, (unless some cure is found), BUT if your condition gets under control/remission you may well be able to reduce your dosages (under medical advice of course!)

l try to see it this way - medication is there to damp down the disease activity so worth it. l do remember the days though when the only meds l took were a course of antibiotics every few years and there was a finite supply!!

Don't feel bad for worrying as you put it - we all do at first you know and most of us remember those days well-enough

You take care

love

Toni xx

ruby2

Hi Louise
I have been diagnosed since I was 30.
Taken sulpha and lots of other stuff along the way so 20 years plus now.
There have been times when I went into remission and so was drug free for several. But that was just my experience, and I think now rather than stopping all meds the sulpha can go to 1 per day as a maintenance dose.
The treatment and drugs are developing all the time and I know I have been told that starting the meds so young have helped dramatically slow down the progression, in my case sero negative arthritis (sorry not sure what yours is).
So you are on the right path Louise, take all the help and advice you are offered, the blood tests provide them with lots of information regarding liver and kidneys etc. they will monitor you closely.
It does take time to come to terms with it all, you are in good hands and in good company on here too, I am new here and reading back through the forums or searching for things is very helpful and reassuring hope you find it is too.

Roo

cakegirl

Hi Louise,

I started taking my meds when I was 24 too, I'm almost 38 now so 14 years pretty much.

I have my bloods done regularly and everthing is fine with my liver etc..

I am like you, I still hate the idea of being on medication for the rest of my life, I worry I'll die young and that my body will pack up with all the tablets I've taken and my kids will have no mum BUT I try and think of this way now.....I know people who have died young tragically, you never know what you're gonna get in life so I feel as though I really just have to try and make the best of the situation. If I have to take the meds, I take them, I will have a better quality of life at least and they'll get me through each day better than if I didn't take them (then I'd be permanantly laid up in bed merely existing)

It's so hard when you're young tho, you look at other people and wonder 'why me...'...

We're all here to support you (each other) - keep posting and big hugs xxxx