"No one should feel ashamed about taking medication."

Written by Shae Iddles. 

My name is Cathy and at just 46 years of age, I had to retire from my love of nursing and ironically, transition to becoming a recipient of care. This was because I am living with bipolar disorder and while it is well managed now, it wasn’t at the time. I also have osteoarthritis, high blood pressure, an underactive thyroid and since retirement, have become a stroke survivor.

The stroke was very atypical, affecting me neurologically, rather than physically. My memory is not the best and I have some difficulty when conversing with people because I lose words. For example, I might know what an object is (such as a table), but I won’t be able to put my finger on what it is called until hours later. While it is frustrating, it is something I have learned to live with over the years.

As I am living with various health conditions, I take more than 10 different medications a day. While some may be forgetful with taking their medications, I am obsessive about making sure I have taken them. Every night as I am getting ready for the next day, I place visual cues around my house alongside with my medication, to prompt me that I have to take my tablets at breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

I am also paranoid about running out of my medications because I know how important they are. MedAdvisor has really helped in this aspect as I can order all of my repeats on a Sunday evening and the pharmacy will process my request first thing Monday morning. When I am visiting my GP, I can go through MedAdvisor with her and check what new scripts I need, so I know I am safe. Looking back, I’m not sure what I ever did without it!

And if I am having a bad day, I have a wonderful group of friends who will drop past the pharmacy and pick up my medications for me. They are a great support to lean on and are happy to also have their ears chewed off when I want to talk about my health. I don’t believe anyone should feel ashamed about taking medication but by talking about it with my friends, I’m helping to break down the stigma.

This post was written by Shae Iddles. Shae is a digital marketer, blogger and also slightly obsessed with anything related to health. She’s on a mission to share your health stories and make talking about our health sexy.