Medication Information

The role my medication plays in my life.

When I was diagnosed with Cushing's and the many things thereafter, I went from taking no medication at all. Maybe an occasional Excedrin Migraine, but not much else. Now I take a multitude of medications. Each of them has their own purpose and without them all I wouldn't function like I do right now. My daily functioning has been increased greatly by these medications. They also have allowed me to get well and I can gladly say that I have not been hospitalized or even to the ER for my own health in the last few months.

Now the list and their purpose:

Apidra... This is my short acting insulin and helps so much. I have been on other insulins but my body got used to them and they didn't work anymore. Apidra is definitely the best insulin I have used. It has gotten my numbers down in the 100s range for the first time in a very long time. I take 90 units of this with meals and a sliding scale depending on my blood sugar levels.

Levemir Flextouch... First, I have to say how much I love, love, love the new flextouch pens. They are absolutely wonderful. Just dial up your dosage and push. It's so easy. Second, I will tell you that this is my long acting insulin. It works throughout the day and night to keep the blood sugar levels down over the extended period of time. I take 90 units of Levemir twice a day.

Bupropion Sr or Wellbutrin (as most people know it): I take this to help with my depression. I have a huge issue with depression and anxiety. I luckily have this under control with my medications that I take for it. One of the things that Cushing's gave me as a present was my depression and anxiety issues. I have had a lot of problems with anxiety and panic attacks. It is very intense when I have anxiety attacks. I can start crying and shaking for no reason at all. I worry about everything.  Without the medication I get so depressed that all I want to do is sleep. I don't want to function in or be a part of society. I just want to sleep.  My doctor recently added the wellbutrin to my list of medications in addition to my Cymbalta to see if it would help better. It seems to be working very well.

Duloxetine DR or Cymbalta:  This is the medication that my doctor started me on when we identified that I had depression.  It has helped me over the last few years, but lately my level of depression has increased. In addition to Cushing's and my other medical issues, I am going through a divorce, have painful family issues going on, and just life in general is stressing me out. So, that is why my doctor decided to also add Wellbutrin to my mix of meds. The two of these meds work very well together and make me feel so much better about life. I can function fairly well as long as I remember to take my meds.

Hydrocortisone: The drug I seem to not be able to get rid of.  Of course, I started on hydrocortisone when my adrenal gland was removed. This helped me to come down from my high of all the hormones my body produced too much of all the time. I am currently taking 20 mg morning and evening. I am finally starting to wean myself off of it.  The times in the past I have tried this have resulted in me being hospitalized, so I am praying that it works this time. Wonderful drug that gives me the strength and energy to make it through the day.

Probiotic: This is a nutritional supplement that an ER doctor suggested to me.  I was having numerous bouts of pancreatitis and gastroparesis. The doctors cannot figure out why I got this issues. The only thing we can attribute it to is possibly the Cushing's messing up my body so much. This supplement has helped to greatly to be able to avoid the hospital, even when I have small bouts of these issues pop up.

Low dose Aspirin: This is to help with my heart health. Yes, another thing you can get because of Cushing's is heart problems. I am desperately trying to avoid them, but my family history is ugly with heart problems.

Trimethobenzamide or Tigan: This is my miracle drug. The worst bout of pancreatitis and gastroparesis I had resulted in me vomiting for over 36 hours straight. I was so dehydrated that I was dry heaving up stomach acids. It was exhausting me also because I was only sleeping in bouts of 10 - 15 minutes at a time and vomiting for about 30 minutes and repeat. The doctors had tried just about everything they could think of. The last hope was Tigan. If this didn't work I was going to have an NG tube. I did not want that. I prayed it would work. Luckily, the Tigan worked. I stopped vomiting and was able to get some rest. Whenever I get real nauseated I take the Tigan and it settles my stomach down.

Ondansetron ODT or Zofran: My other miracle medication to cease vomiting. One of these little beauties, dissolved under your tongue and it can keep sickness away. This usually works if I take one at the first feeling of nausea.

Ferrous Sulfate 325 mg or Iron: This helps me keep enough iron in my body. Another thing that Cushing's can do is deplete some of the vitamins and minerals that your body need. I have been admitted to the hospital and had to get IV iron and assorted other vitamins several times. So, now I have a prescription to try and keep my body replenished.

Vitamin D3: This helps with your immune health. Because of the Cushing's my immunity is deprived and basically sucks. With Cushing's and Diabetes to worry about any time I get sick, it is very hard on my body. So, I do all that I can to help my immunity out.

Vitamin C500 mg: Yet another vitamin to help my immunity out.

Metoprolol Tartrate: This medication helps out in a couple of ways. Because of the Cushing's I had an extremely high heart rate. I think at it's highest my heart rate was in the 180s. Metoprolol helps to slow down my heart rate to between 80 - 90. This is a much more acceptable heart rate. This medicine also helps with my high blood pressure. It has worked wonders and helped get the blood pressure under control.

Cicyclomine or Bentyl:  this medicine helps with my stomach. It helps with indigestion and also with keeping my stomach working properly and stomach acids under control.

Pantoprazole or Protonix: This medication helps me with a couple of issues. It helps reduce stomach acids and helps with heartburn and acid reflux, both problems I had before I started using this. It also helps regulate the stomach acids and decreases the occurance of gastroparesis and pancreatitis. I have missed a couple of doses of this medication in the past and paid dearly with a horrendous case of gastroparesis. I have not missed a dose since.

Metformin: This is pill form to help keep blood sugar under control. It takes the medication and the insulin to help regulate my blood sugar.

Gabapentin: This is a wonder pill that helps with my diabetic neuropathy pain as well as my fibromyalgia.  This pain can get pretty intense if left untreated. Luckily this medication works very well at alleviating this pain.

Butrans patch: I use the 20 mg patch once a week. It is a patch that I put on my back once a week to help with chronic pain in my lower back and body overall. I have 2 ruptured discs, 2 herniated discs, and degenerative back disorder, and arthritis in my lower back and my body. The Butrans patch helps me so much more than the Fentanyl and Morphine that I used to take for the same pain. I have become so much more functioning since starting the Butrans.

Suboxone: This is a strip that I dissolve under my tongue. It helps in conjunction with the Butrans patch to help with the pain. I still have pain, but we are still working on the right dosage of the Suboxone for me to take to get rid of as much pain as possible. This is a wonder strip. The instant the medication dissolves and goes into your blood stream it works instantly.

Each of these medicines help something in my body to work better and correctly. They help me be the person I am. A functioning, capable member of society . I still have pain and some issues, but with my medicines I am working on making a better functioning me.