I had an interesting conversation today.
One of the themes of the conversation was the 'ease' of taking certain medications.
So what is easier?
1. Taking a pill once a day, or
2. Giving yourself sub-cutaneous injections twice a week.
The thing for me is that this is kind of a trick question.
There are so many other factors than the ease of use.
Which medication works better?
Which one has fewer side effects?
Which offers the fastest relief?
Which is the most reliable?
For instance, what if the pill takes several weeks taking it each day to build up in your system, but the injections take a few days?
If you miss one pill, what is the fallout compared to missing an injection?
If you get off schedule, which medication is affected more by that change?
The specific question posed to me was whether or not I would switch to a daily pill from my current medication that I inject twice a week.
The answer:
No, probably not.
First of all, my body is particularly sensitive to medications. I have several allergies and intolerances to medications, so trying something new is always a little unnerving.
Secondly, the medication I am currently taking has been monumental in reducing symptoms and reducing trips to the emergency room. Why would I switch from something that obviously works for an unknown?
Most medications will have a reduction in efficacy. Most medications will only work for so long - many are not meant to be taken long-term. If something works for me, I would prefer to continue with that medication until it no longer works or until I can no longer take it.
Finding a medication that WORKS, and that I am not allergic to/intolerant of, has been one of the biggest struggles in my medical history.
Sure, a pill a day sounds a lot easier when compared to a needle. If that was the only issue then of course a pill is much 'easier to swallow' (hehe pun intended). I would not, however, want to switch to a new medication over a medication that has me currently well-controlled.
What are your thoughts on this??