Emma: Starting and changing medicines – Complex medication regimes (1)

Listen to patients and health professionals speak about their experience with taking multiple medicines.

Emma
Female
Age at interview: 41
Number of medicines: 19
Cultural background: Anglo-Australian

Emma finds it difficult to take her medicines when she has a gastric illness. She finds it really hard to stop taking them for the time she is sick because of the high number of medicines she takes.

It is really hard. I would probably not take all of my medicines. Like I would probably take, say, the Epilim and the Lyrica and the Durotram because I know that I can't stop them. I may leave out some of the others just because I know that Celebrex and Salazopyrin might upset my stomach being empty but you definitely need to take them slowly. You can't just take them all at once like I normally do, just take the lot and swallow them three or four at a time. Yes, you need to take them over a probably half an hour period just to make sure. Yes, getting sick is not a good thing.

 
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The Living with multiple medicines project was developed in collaboration with Healthtalk Australia.