Really, how hard is it? (An Addison's rant)

Really, how hard is it to split your doses of hydrocortisone in a physiologic manner?  Not very is my answer.  There are some people who want to be on longer lasting steroids because it's "too hard" to take hydrocortisone in split doses.

Yes, there are exceptions to this.  People with other diseases (Lyme, lupus, colitis) tend to do better with some or all long acting steroids.

Most people with Addison's will have a better quality of life with split dosing of hydrocortisone (look up the studies on Google Scholar, PubMed or Medscape using the key words "Quality of life, Addison's".  Split dosing means taking 2/3 of the dosing before noon in two doses and 1/3 after noon.  One example of this might be:

10 mg HC upon waking

5 mg HC at 11 am

5 mg HC at 3 pm

"It's too hard..."

PLEASE, SPARE ME!!!  It takes 3 easy steps...

#1  Buy a pill organizer and fill it ONCE A MONTH

Yes, it's a pain in the butt to get everything out and fill 124 little compartments.  It's worth it.

Once it's all completed, it's easy for the rest of the month!  I keep track of major med changes in the little red notebook.

#2 Set your alarm

Here's a cell phone with the alarm set.  Do it once and you won't have to do it again until you change your dosing schedule.

#3  Put your daily pill holder somewhere you will find it.

I start out by putting my before bed meds in one little cup and my first thing in the morning pills in another.  I promptly take the pill holder and ...

Put it in my pants pocket or my purse. Work at a desk, keep it in your desk drawer  When my alarm goes off (you can set yours to vibrate if you're self conscious), I take the pills.  Sometimes I hit snooze and take the pills 10 or 20 minutes later.  In recent years, my alarm has gone off, I have taken my pills by snapping open the lid and throwing back the pills no matter who I am in front of.  PEOPLE NEVER COMMENT OR EVEN SEEM TO NOTICE.  All that bullshit about, "people will discriminate against me so I can't let people know I am taking pills" is just that, bullshit.  People only care about themselves, not you. 

Just in case I manage to not have my pills with me, I keep a small stash in my wallet.  In this stash, I keep a couple thyroid pills, florinef, lots of HC, a migraine pill, a Zofran and some ibuprofen.  Yes, all that in something 1/2 inch thick and the size of a quarter.

Take care of your body, use bioidentical medications when possible.  Take your meds in a physiologic way.

It's not hard to take meds multiple times throughout the day.  If you feel bad and take a steroid other than hydrocortisone, take your meds once or only twice a day, try this.