So I was doing my weekly medication arrangement thingamabob, where I take every pill I'm going to be drinking down throughout the week and putting them in my trusty 7-day pill organizer.  (It kinda looks like the one shown on this webpage, but as I got this one from Walgreens and not this retailer it will obv be different.)  And I got to thinking -- there was once a point in my life when all I had to take was the one pill in order to live my life.  This was back when I was 17 and in relatively good health.  Now that I am an old 28 year old spinster, I have to take many more pills in order to ensure that I can feel the same way I did when I was 17 and in relatively good health.  I thought I'd list for you the pills I have to take on a daily basis, just in case you're interested in that kind of thing.

1.  Lo/Ovral:  A birth control pill, it's the first daily medication I was put on.  Being that I've been diagnosed with PCOS since I was 16, this is necessary for my reproductive/hormonal health.  I have been off this precisely once since I was 17, a period of about six months when my ovaries almost literally kicked my ass.  I have not surprisingly not made that mistake since.
2.  Singulair:  For its anti-allergy/asthma control properties.  Helps out fantastically as far as the asthma control part goes, but as far as the anti-allergy part, I need the Green Berets of anti-allergy medicine for that, and that one is:
3.  OTC generic Claritin-a-like:  The only thing that can effectively keep my allergies at bay in this allergy-heavy part of the world, it's also great at aiding Singulair in my asthma control.  When I take this and the above listed medicine together, I only need to reach for my rescue inhaler once a month at most.
4.  OTC heartburn protection pill:  Because my digestive system has never quite particularly liked me, but it's disliked me even more now that my gallbladder is out and that vital member of the digestive team is missing.  I don't have super duper massive levels of heartburn, else I'd be asking for the real deal prescription strength dose of whatever it is I'm taking instead of this.
5.  Hydrochlorothiazide:  My most recently prescribed medication, it's for my borderline blood pressure... thing.  Yes, my blood pressure measures a little high.  Yes, it is partly because of my overreliance on convenience foods and also partly because of life's ever present stressors.  It is also partly because I am genetically predisposed to this kind of thing, so my doctor wants me to watch it before I get into the high blood pressure camp.
6.  OTC caffeine pill:  I know I mentioned borderline blood pressure and maybe it's not particularly healthy to be jacked up with that kind of sword of Damocles in my life, but I have to take at least one caffeine pill a day or else I just can't make it through the day.  Especially since I've cut down greatly on the sodas and iced teas I consume and am in fact imbibing far more water than anything else.  I need some way of replacing all of that lost caffeine, plus it just helps keep me going in my day to day.  Some days I need up to three a day.  Being that I'm a good girl and space them out to where I take one every six hours, these will be the especially long days.
7. Generic daily multivitamin:  So that I can be assured of getting the nutrition I need throughout the day and will also be able to manage my day to day, which I have only just recently found out go hand and hand, like peanut butter and jelly in a sandwich, or Depeche Mode and Camouflage back-to-back on the '80s radio.
8.  One acetominophen pill:  Helps manage my daily headaches very well, thank you.  In fact, I swear by acetominophen now.  No more nasty hydrocodone (Vicodin) unless I absolutely, positively HAVE TO, and even then I try to take a half a pill at most per day.  The back pains I get now from taking hydrocodone are seriously not worth me taking them for about 90% of all my aches and pains.  This is why I have a sizeable store of hydrocodone at home but have just recently purchased another big bottle of acetominophen.

Once I take all of these above pills, I feel as sprightly and healthy as I did when I was 17 and can manage everything life throws at me.  Lord knows what kind of medication super bonanza I'll be subjecting myself to when I get to my mom's age, though she's up to two pill organizers' worth of meds so maybe I'd be following in that kind of tradition.

(Now listening to this online radio station, BTW.  Shout out time!)