Pill Poppin'; Morbius (yes, you read that right)

[cjlasky7]

I hate taking pills. The idea of introducing potent chemicals into my body with the possibility of toxic side effects unnerves me. Taking multiple pills is even worse: who knows how the combination of drugs will affect my system?

So right now, I am not having a good time. Because I am taking nine pills daily.

Let me break it down for you:

Amoxicillin (antibiotic) - 2 pills, twice daily
Clarithromycin (antibiotic) - 1 pill, twice daily
Eliquis (blood thinner) - 1 pill, twice daily
Prilosec (acid blocker) - 1 pill daily

It's all (unfortunately) necessary, because I still need to wash out that blood clot, treat my ulcers and kill the bacterial infection nestled like a viper in my stomach. This is what I get for putting off a GI exam for fifteen years. Doesn't mean I have to like it. The antibiotics are screwing with my digestive system, and I have this chalky taste in my mouth that won't go away. But I just need to stick it out until next Friday; then I'm back down to the Eliquis.

(I have another endoscopy in six weeks to check out if the stomach medications worked. I hope that's the end of it.)

Nine pills. Last night, I wondered out loud if I needed one of those pill containers with a day of the week on each compartment. My wife glared at me: "You're not 100."

Time for my morning antibiotics. I'll be right back.....

*************************

Bleagh. That was awful.

Where was I?

Oh yes... Morbius!

My wife recorded it partly as a joke and partly as an exploration of bad cinema. Yes, we know it sucks, but why does it suck? We pulled out our notebooks in anticipation; and who knows?, I said, maybe the critics were wrong and it'll turn out to be a hidden gem!

Just kidding. No, it was pretty bad.

I don't want to go into too much detail.
You can read about the flaws in this movie in any internet review: the boilerplate script, the washed out characters, the unimaginative camera work and action scenes and the horrible (truly horrible) special effects. The movie isn't an all-time stinker, but it pounds you to death with its relentless mediocrity.

But thinking about it later, I had a realization: this movie was doomed from the get go.

The problem here is that Sony tried to create a Marvel level superhero movie on one-third of the Marvel budget. So you don't have the up and coming director, the quality screenwriter, the expert stunt coordinator and the top shelf FX studio. You spend the money on Jared Leto, but everything else looks and sounds like crap.

Could Morbius ever have been good? Hey, anything can be good, no matter how dumb the premise, if you put in the effort. Maybe they needed to scale things down a little, hone the screenplay, put more of an emphasis on practical effects, and hire an unknown as Morbius. The perfect example of this approach is (the Oscar-winning!) Godzilla Minus One; a franchise monster flick on a minimal budget, done with passion, strong characterization and visual flair.

I will give Morbius one thing though.

Matt Smith is having a ball. As the villain, he embraces his superpowerful vampiric state with wild enthusiasm. He struts, he poses, he dances in front of mirrors--he is groovin'. He almost makes the movie fun. (But not quite.)

Comments

[wendelah1]

You might try probiotics for the gut issues from the antibiotics. The pharmacist at Kaiser on the Big Island suggested it when he was put on megadoses for aspiration pneumonia. It helped Kyle.

[cjlasky7]

I was considering probiotic yogurt for my... plumbing issues. But should I encourage bacteria growth, even good bacteria, when I'm fighting a bacterial infection?

[wendelah1]

That's a good question. I don't know what sort of infection you're being treated for--but your gut flora have somehow become unbalanced, and the antibiotics are killing everything, the good along with the bad. I think a good quality yogurt might help with that, though the quantity needed is not clear to me. Kyle was lactose-intolerant so he took a supplement; the brand recommended by the pharmacist is Culturelle, and the larger pharmacies at Kaiser keep it in stock. Ever after, whenever he had to take antibiotics, he also took the probiotics, always two hours after each antibiotic pill, and then for a month following the course. He didn't get horrible diarrhea, he never had a c.dff infection.

I think it improved his quality of life.

You could check with your pharmacist, let them know what's happening, see what their take on it is.

[cjlasky7]

I appreciate the input. Thank you. I'll check with my GI doctor to see if probiotics are ok.

[wendelah1]

Sounds like a plan.

Oh, and as an aside to your wife: I use a pill organizer--seven days, with four compartments per day, morning, midday, evening and bedtime--and I am well short of a hundred years old. Moreover, when I'm taking antibiotics, I set an alarm on my phone for the mid-day dose(s) so I don't get busy and miss them. I don't think of myself as senile, I think of myself as practical and organized.

[shadowkat]

Thanks for the Moribus review.

Welcome to getting older - I have a daily pill tracker - multiple pills each day, twice a day. (high blood pressure, tremor, diabetes, cholestrol, allergies, antibiotic, probiotics, magnesium, vitamin D, vitamin B Stress Complex, melatonin). And I'm younger than you are. ;-)

[cjlasky7]

I had no idea you took that many pills. Are they effective? Do you have any adverse reactions?

We seem to be on a streak of bad movies in our house. Besides Morbius, we recently endured Criminal, a dumb sci-fi/spy thriller wasting Gary Oldman, Kevin Costner and Gal Gadot; and Brannigan, a late period John Wayne movie with the Duke as a Chicago cop visiting London to hunt down a gangster. The plot is dull and confusing, and Brannigan is a too obvious Dirty Harry knockoff. (Actual dialogue: "You have no rules, Brannigan!") The London scenery was nice.

My wife and I look forward to Madame Web--which should be on basic cable in a couple of weeks..

[shadowkat]

>>I had no idea you took that many pills. Are they effective? Do you have any adverse reactions?<<

Effective? Yes. For the most part.

Adverse reactions? No. The worst might be low appetite and a desire to eat carbs instead of meat? Which is well, frustrating because I can't eat carbs. But nothing I'm aware of at any rate.

The trick is to get a doctor who understands the interactions - she has me taking certain drugs at night and others in the morning. And not taking certain drugs together. Also to understand how your body reacts to things.

I can't do adrenaline boosters or depressants without throwing off my body chemistry, but melatonin is a safe alternative, better than CBD which dehydrates, and other over the counter sleep meds.

Probiotics are a must with anti-biotics - or the antibiotics will screw up the gut. (I get Probiotics via NOW or Blue Bonnett, and do yogurt.)

Magnesum Citrate helps balance the gut, and takes care of leg cramps. And most people in NY have a vitamin D deficency. (The trick with vitamins is to get ones without "additives" and just have D, Magnesium Citrate..., and none of the add ons, such as sugar or starches.)

Actually the problems with most drugs isn't the drug itself, but all the additives.

***

Brannigan is horrible, I've seen it - but no memory of the plot. Outside of maybe the Quiet Man, Wayne really only did Westerns well. Thanks for the head's up on Criminal and Morbius. Also have been warned off of : The Irish Wish and the RoadHouse reboot. I tried Mean Girls the musical - no. But American Fiction is really good.

[cjlasky7]

I just watched Brannigan, and I can't temember the plot.

I'll go out shopping for probiotic yogurt today.

[shadowkat]

Or get the tablets. They are usually in the fridge in health food stores. Also can find them in pharmacies.
The yogurt - it's just plain greek yogurt.