Pharmacy (Mini-Essay #2)
Ten things about lupus life and trauma recovery
This is part of a series about living with lupus and trauma recovery. I hope those of you with chronic illness or struggling with your mental health might feel less alone as you read these. This is also written for those who want to care, but need an insider’s perspective to help you develop compassion and empathy.
2. Pharmacy trips are part of my weekly rhythms.
I usually have to go to the pharmacy once a week. Sometimes twice. My doctor points out that I am on half the medication I was on last year. True. But I still have to pick up a refill regularly.
Sometimes, my doctors forget to renew something.
Sometimes, a different doctor has to prescribe something prescribed by someone else.
Sometimes they mess things up, so I have to keep going back to the pharmacy until it get’s figured out, making calls and putting pressure on the right people.
I get my injections sent to me on ice from a different pharmacy. I often have to call or text them back, too. Then there are calls to understand the billing, trying to figure out where to store sharps (currently in milk jugs in the back yard), and what to do with the non-recyclable foam ice chests they send my meds in. (My son has taken to making them into targets for his bow and arrows.)
Med management is just another thing added to my already capsizing mental load.
Going from no med to having to organize a system to stay on top of medication has been a struggle for me. When you have no capacity, like I’ve experienced at times, managing medications becomes impossible. Once I was even assigned a nurse who told me she had one less patient than usual simply because my meds counted as a patient!
But these days I have a sustainable rhythm. As long as nothing gets messed up…
*Looks at phone*
Ah, and there’s a text from the pharmacy saying it’s time to pick up a refill!
Side note #1: The Ziplock bag in the background is full of some of my unused meds!
Side note #2: I love that my med case states, “FULLY ALIVE” on its lid. Eventually I realized that it doesn’t actually say that, it is dyslexia that causes me to read this. But I am just fine and good with believing that it does.
Read the rest of this series:
Please Don't Simplify the Complexities (Mini-Essay #1)
Pharmacy (Mini-Essay #2)
PTSD Et Al. (Mini-Essay #3)
Not-So-Friendly Insomnia (Mini-Essay #4)
Phantom Pain (Mini-Essay #5)
Hello, Hair! (Mini-Essay #6)
Homebody (Mini-Essay #7)
The Scars (Mini-Essay #8)
Betrayal (Mini-Essay #9)
Grief for a Lost Year (Mini-Essay #10)
Here are other lupus/trauma related posts from the last year-and-a-half:
House of Life, Washing Hands, Do Your Job Well, and the Lupus, Pregnancy, and Autoimmune Illness series posted at AverageAdvocate.com.On Average Advocate this week: How Do You Honor a Story?
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