Medication….. What a dreaded word, surrounded by stigmas and scapegoats. I have been on over 35 prescription medications since I was 13. I am now 19, almost 20, and the list seems to just keep growing. Between My eczema, DH, allergies, and now my un-responsive celiac, I have been a mess of a teenager; but seemed to have grown quickly into an adult. A lot parents are quick to take their children to the doctor, pop pills in their mouth, rub creams on their asses, and expect a result; but that is not how it works. Both my mother and I learned the hard way that standing up agents your doctor is the best way to get the results you want. Now I’m not saying to march into your doctor’s office cussing and making a seen (though I have done that once….. or twice), but to ask the question you want to know. Too many people walk out of their doctor’s office not understanding a world that was said. Not understanding what they are taking or the side effects, and unable to do any research themselves on the effects this might have. So where is my rant taking this conversation? Well, sometimes it’s ok to tell your doctor no; maybe suggest your own solution. Numerous times I have walked into my doctor’s office with a better solution than the doctor had. It’s hard to imagine sometimes, but some doctors think they know EVERYTHING about you, about your body, and how to heal you. You know your body better than anyone else. Fight for that right. I had a very bad reaction to prednisone about 3 years ago, and my doctor at the time told me that I was lying because he had never heard of these side effects. He said that it must have been cause by something else. Really? Yes, because peeing my paints in my seat, at school is totally something a teenager goes through. It must be “just a phase”. The bull s$#& that patients have to go through when they don’t have the right doctor is just plain painful. As a patient, don’t expect your doctor to know and do everything they can to help you. Do your research! I could never emphasize that enough. Don’t become the stigma of medication, the “pill popper” that solves all of their problems through every single medication they are prescribed. Become your own person, and do not let your medication define who you are.
