What’s in my pill box?

What’s in my pill box?

Like most people who are fighting chronic illness my list of pills, injections and inhalers is non-trivial. So, for today’s entry I thought I’d introduce you to my current kit of lifesavers.

Bag 1 – The Emergency Lifesavers

Bag 1 is currently a small white and pink leather bag which lives in whatever handbag I’m using that day and doubles as a purse. It contains:

2 x Epi-Pen autoinjectors – an adrenaline injection for using when I have an anaphylactic reaction.

1 x Ventolin Evohaler – a reliever inhaler for asthma

1 strip of Chlorphenamine Malate tablets (Piriton to you and me) – antihistamines for use when having a reaction to hopefully nip it in the bud before the Epi-Pen becomes necessary.

Bag 2 – The Day to Day Lifesavers

Bag 2 is currently a 7 day pill organiser, mine is from amazon. It contains:

2 x Ivabradine – Ivabradine is the first of my heart failure meds, it slows my heart rate which hopefully should lessen the load on my heart. I take one of these in a morning and 1 at night.

1 x Fluoxetine – Brain drug for those pesky anxiety causing brain chemistry issues.

1 x Losartan Potassium – This is the other heart medication (although my consultant is considering changing it) Losartan lowers my blood pressure and makes it easier to pump blood around my body.

1 or 2 x Cetirizine Hydrochloride – This is another antihistamine, I take either 1 or 2 a day depending on my individual risk at the time (where I’m going/pollen count etc)

1 x Montelukast – Montelukast is a Leukotriene Receptor Antagonist (LTRA) which helps to keep my asthma under control, it is an add on inhaler which works with the next category

Bag 3 – The Inhalers  

Bag three is currently a small plastic storage box on a high shelf in our kitchen which also contains plasters, Calpol and junior Ibuprofen. In terms of inhalers it contains:

1 x Seretide (fluticasone with salmeterol) – This is affectionately named the Asthma Doughnut in our house due to it being round this is my daily preventer inhaler and has been for many years now (although the dose goes up and down)

1 x Spiriva Respimat – This is my newest inhaler and was prescribed at the very start of the bad asthma flare up I had in January which unveiled my heart failure. Spiriva is a long-acting bronchodilator