Pills, Pills, Pills

I now have to take a cocktail of some 9 pills every morning. I wouldn't mind, but it's essentially for one real condition, rather than a lifestyle condition which will change with some lifestyle modification, which is always preferable.

I take 5 blood pressure medications. It's to do with regulating the BP efficiently. There's not a single pill that accomplishes the desired effect. There are 3 pills of the 5 that are exactly the same, but in different doses. My GP wants me to take 6mg of a certain med, but you can't get it in 6mg and have to take 4 + 1 +1.

I failed a blood donation test a couple of weeks ago due to low iron levels, but both the doctor and I are convinced that this is a dietary problem due to going on a keto diet. Nevertheless, she recommended I take iron supplements. My haemoglobin is fine, it's my ferritin that low, so it's probably not a bleed or cancer. I'll just keep taking the supplements and eat black pudding and spinach for a while and see whether I pass the test at the next blood donation session, which is in 2 months.

I voluntarily take 2 x 10mg vitamin D supplements daily to improve my resistance to colds. It also has a positive effect on staving off cognitive decline. Sunlight is the normal way in which you replenish vitamin D, but our climate means that most older people are deficient in winter. 

Finally I have to take a statin to reduce my cholesterol, primarily because I was consuming industrial quantities of cheese to replace the carbohydrates in my keto diet. Again, a dietary issue and one that can be rectified by cutting down on one of my favourite foods - baked camembert with garlic, instead of potatoes or pasta. Oh, and the Lidl vintage Redstone I gobble before going to bed. A blood test in 3 months, plus resuming my exercise regime, should hopefully get me off the statins.

Hang on - the statin should be taken before going to bed, as the liver produces Cholesterol at night. I suppose that's a saving grace, if I remember to take it before going to bed....

Hay ordered me one of those pill boxes old people use to divvy up their pills into compartments for the week.

So long as they get me through Sniper's Alley, which is between age 60 and 70 and the age range beyond which medical professionals believe you're likely to survive to a decently ripe old age. It's notable that the 60-70 age range is the UK metric, whereas in the USA it's 50-60, but they're less healthy than we Brits anyway.