Brain Fog

Pills. Pills. More pills. My life centers around pills. One tiny pill first thing in the morning. Thirty minutes later, three more pills. Thirty minutes after THEM, I can finally have coffee, something to eat and...another two pills. Dinner time and another two pills. Nine o'clock and it's time for the insulin shot. And finally three more pills at bedtime.

None of these are vitamins or over the counter meds. Every one of them has weird side effects. One of the worst side effects is what I call fuzzy brain. You know that fog you live in after anesthesia? Yep, that's the one. It robs you of ambition, determination, and...I forgot the word I wanted to use here. Very frustrating.

When I watch commercials for pharmaceuticals, I have to laugh. They list this long string of possible side effects (speaking so fast you can't catch all of them) and then the actor says something like, "Ask your doctor if this medication is right for you." Why in the hell would you do something stupid like that?

Most days I'm thankful there are medications to keep me on the straight and narrow, but I have to confess I miss the days when my memory was sharp, when I knew what word I wanted to use, when I could remember what I planned to write, when my attention span was longer than the time it takes to drink a mug of coffee.

I'm not alone in the over-medication of the getting older crowd. I have friends who sleep most of their lives away. And some who eat like there's no tomorrow. Others sink into that murky brain fog bank like me. No one seems to notice an entire generation of folks have vanished into the medication swamp.

People worry about the economy or war or the idiot politicians running for President. Nah...don't worry, take another pill, and be happy...