I Take How Many Tablets?!

I see everyone writing about their blogging stats, eg how many followers they have on each platform or how many views they get in a year on their blog. However, I thought I would try writing statistics which are something completely different to that.

I Take How Many Tablets?!


If you didn't know already from reading my blog, I have Cystic Fibrosis. Which means I take a hella lot of medication to keep myself ticking over. I can't even tell you how I got this idea in my head, it just popped up in this little brain of mine one evening. I know how many tablets I swallow, nebulisers I breathe in and how many inhalers I puff a day, but how many times do I do that in a whole calendar year?!


I Take How Many Tablets?!



Let me just say, I'm crap at maths. I can do the basics of the adding, subtracting, multiplying and division, I can calculate the odd percentage here and there, fractions are hit or miss and don't get me started on equations! Why do we need equations for anyway? Pythagoras's Theorem is one theorem I have yet to fathom.



Anyway, after many calculations and double checking to make sure the numbers were correct, here are my CF stats -


Azithromycin - 3 tablets a week = 144 tablets a year
Colomycin - Inhaled nebuliser twice a day = 730 nebulisers a year
Creon 10,000 - 2 a day (at most) = 730 tablets a year
Creon 25,000 - 10 a day, with food, my favourite part of the day = 3,650 tablets a year
Evacal (calcium chewables, which taste rank) - chew 2 a day = 730 tablets a year
Fostair - Inhaler, 2 puffs twice a day = 1,460 puffs a year
Hypertonic Saline - feels like inhaling 7% of the sea, twice a day = 730 salty nebulisers a year
Itraconazole - 2 twice a day = 1,460 tablets a year
Lantus - Insulin, 11 units a day = 4,015 units injected a year
Laxido - a laxative a day to allow movement down...there = 365 sachets poured into a glass of squash a year
Prednisolone - the little white tablets which I can't seem to stop, 5mg a day = 1,825mg of steroids every year
Pulmozyme - the nebuliser made out of Chinese hamsters (honestly, I'm not joking), puff it once a day = 365 Chinese hamsters lost to medical science
Saline - to be used with the Colomycin - 5ml for the two doses of Colomycin = 3,650ml of Saline a year
Spiriva - simple inhaler, two puffs twice a day = 1,460 puffs a year
Unifine Pentips - or in short, needles for insulin, one a day = 365 needles used a year
Vitamin E - well, Vitamins are good, one a day = 365 capsules a year
Vitamin A+D - again, double vitmains are good, two a day = 730 more capsules a year



So the grand total is -
8,174 tablets a year
4,015 units of insulin a year
2,920 puffs of inhalers a year
1,825 inhaled nebulisers a year
and a lot of Chinese hamsters.



Hmm. That's quite a lot. When I came up with this idea for a post, I never realised these numbers would be so big. I hope this gives you a better understanding that having CF takes a lot of hard work. Not only do I swallow umpteen amounts of tablets and inhale god knows how many nebulisers a day, let alone a year, but I have to do physiotherapy and exercise on top of all that. I would like to think that your mind is blown, as well as mine is right now.
I Take How Many Tablets?!
Like I always say at the end of each CF post, if you have any questions about this post or anything about CF, just ask. I'd rather you ask me for the right answer rather than make the wrong assumption.
 
 
Lucy
12 comments
  1. Wow that is an awful lot of tablets per day! I have a blood condition so I take 8 per day and I honestly thought that was a lot! X

    Kayleigh Zara 🌿 www.kayleighzaraa.com

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    1. Ah I didn't realise you had a blood condition! It sound like you're managing your condition well though! x

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  2. This has seriously opened my eyes to your condition even more. I'm not sure if you already have more posts about your CF but I'd definitely be interested in hearing more about your life with CF!

    Jenny
    http://www.jennyinneverland.com

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    1. I do have quite a few more Jenny! If you click the 'Health' tab in the categories section, you'll find more there! x

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  3. This is such an eye opener into living with CF and those are some quite hefty numbers for sure. This post will do such a great job at raising awareness of CF and what it's like to live with! X x

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    1. Ah thank you Amy, I hope it does raise more awareness! xx

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  4. Wow, this has shocked me quite a bit! I'm diabetic so obviously inject insulin as well, I had no idea that you had to take it for CF too, that's a new one for me. I would love more educational posts like that if it's something you were open to posting about in the future x

    Sophie
    www.glowsteady.co.uk

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    1. Yeah I'm more than happy to write more posts like this Sophie! Aww I didn't realise you are a diabetic! x

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  5. That is an impressive amount of tablets! Which isn't a bad thing, because you're taking them to feel better and manage your CF! My dad had pulmonary fibrosis and a lung transplant last year, so I'd say his pill count is probably as high as yours at the moment, but it's keeping him and his lungs healthy, so it's worth it. Thank you for such an informative piece about a side of CF I didn't know about. Also, your pics were AMAZING! I love the pills and inhaler in the wine glass! So perfect!

    Emily | https://www.thatweirdgirllife.com

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    1. I hope your Dad is doing well! A lung transplant is such a huge life changing operation! Thank you Emily, I'm glad you liked this post!

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  6. This is such an eye opening post! I've learned a lot about CF from reading your blog posts but I had no idea how many tablets you take. x

    https://www.femaleoriginal.com

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    1. I don't think anybody really did to be honest Faye! x

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