All my life I took one daily vitamin.
I thought that was enough. I eat healthy, I get outside, I exercise; what more could I possibly need? Then I broke my ankle (while just beginning a jog approximately 10 feet outside my house, eating shit for no apparent reason in front of a guy who had pretty royally just screwed me over a few nights prior [think the girl on the bike in Wayne’s World]... because that's my life), and suddenly I was told I needed to add a Calcium and a Magnesium vitamin (2 of each a day) to my daily repertoire to avoid such breaks in the future.
"No big deal" I thought, I can totally handle that. Then my curly hair started to die in San Diego (too much sun, sand, and beach) and my stylist suggested I get a Hair, Skin and Nails supplement (basically a horse pill that you need to take 3 of).
I obediently obliged, after all, I'm not getting any younger, it's not like I couldn't use the help. Then I moved to Alaska, and every Dr. I met touted the importance of my taking a vitamin D pill (since we are sun deprived up here in the Great White North a good 4-6 months a year) so, even though my Daily Vitamin, My Calcium supplement, and my Hair, Skin and Nails pill all had Vitamin D in them (totaling 1800 IU's), I added another pill.
Then I found out I had endometriosis, and the barrier on sane pill popping completely broke down. Wanting to be the helpful patient I am, I got online and studied every possible thing I could be taking that may help. That's when I added in 3 Evening Primroses (which bestie Syrah read could help induce labor when inserted in your cootchie, so she stole half of those a few weeks ago! At least I’m not the only one willing to try whatever I read! P.S. They still haven’t done what she took them for, and all I got out of it was a nasty story about how they made her mucus plug fall out!), 1 Vitamin E, 1 Vitamin C, 1 B-Complex, 1 Zinc Chelate, and 1 Chromium to my daily intake.
At this point I have to admit, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed. I was taking more pills than I was eating food, and I had to spread them out throughout the day just to make sure I could keep them all down (as it is, I still always gag on the hair, skin and nails pills). It was a process, but... I figured I would do whatever I could. Then, at my last appointment (with the ANP at the naturopathic clinic), I was told that 2800 IU's of Vitamin D (the amount in all my pills combined) simply wasn't enough, and I needed to add more pills to make sure I was getting at least 5000. I went to Costco today and when I looked down into my cart, filled with just apples, bananas, and the bottles and bottles of pills (60+ dollars worth of pills... only about a quarter of my supply), I realized this has gotten out of hand.
And these are just my vitamins, I still take hormones and the occasional (or more than occasional) pain pill too. I am taking more pills than I would wager my grandmother takes, and is any of it really fixing anything? It's actually really embarrasing every time I have to recite my regime to a new health care provider (when I had my last surgery I had to repeat the list no less than 4 times to 4 different nurses). Granted, I haven't gotten sick-sick (non-endo related) in at least 2 years (I thought I was getting the swine flu this summer, but then the very minor aches and pains never turned into anything... I convinced myself I was immune), but is any of this really doing anything? I'd be curious to know what percentage of these vitamins I'm taking end up in that pee jug.
Who am I kidding though, it's not like it would change anything. I would probably just start taking more. When somebody offers you a solution that might help, there is something comforting about trying it. I’m pretty sure if someone created a legitimate looking website that said that eating 3 slices of greasy, fatty, bacon a day would fix my insides, I would give up 13 years of vegetarianism and try it (blech... I just threw up in my mouth).
Whatever you do, don't tell me about any more miracle supplements! My stomach can’t handle any more pills!
