So I Cleared Out the Cabinet.
Tomorrow – Saturday, April 30 – is National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.
Since I don’t even have a doctor, this is not something that would normally interest me. But when I heard this news on the radio, I remembered my cupboard at home.
Half of that particular cupboard is full of spices and cooking sprays. The other half is full of the many, many, many, many prescription drugs we bought for Dylan over the years. In the course of the three years that Dylan took medication for ADHD, he tried almost everything. In fact, it would be easier to list the things he didn’t try than to list the things he did.
He didn’t try Vyvanse.
That’s all. He probably would have tried Vyvanse, which is just a time-released stimulant like all the other stimulants. But by the time we were down to only one option, we realized that drugs were not the answer for Dylan.
In fourth grade, drugs seemed to be immensely helpful. And there’s probably something to be said for the instant gratification of watching your ever-forgetful child finally able to remember what we said to him 20 seconds prior.
But with the drugs came side effects, moodiness, horrific depressions. And Dylan’s smile just kept disappearing for longer and longer periods of time. Finally, one day, we just quit.
And Dylan returned. He came back to us, full-force and head-on, the way he’d always been. Sure, he forgot everything again. He struggles constantly in school. But his personality is gloriously happy. Dylan is happy. And that matters more than everything else.
So I cleared out the cabinet. I got rid of a dozen or so prescription bottles, full to the brim of medications that didn’t work. I kept a few – just in case Dylan decides that he needs help in the future. The drugs I’ve kept expired years ago, so I’m not sure they’ll do him much good. But it beats having him seek drugs on the street.
And of course, there’s always next year’s National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.