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I am spinning this question off from another thread to start it as a brand new question.

Recently I noticed my Dad seems to be thinking a bit clearer since the doctor had taken him off of one of his blood pressure medicines a couple of weeks ago.... he still take BP pills but not as many per day.

I really believe we are being over medicated. I bet there are a lot of seniors out there that are taking something they don't really need or the dosage is too high. Even with vitamins. Wouldn't the quality of life be much better than trying to extend life???

I know if I had to choose, I would rather cut my life short by a year or two or three, and have *side-effect free* living which would make me feel so much better every day.

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I've noticed how many different types of vitamins that my Mom takes, and it makes me wonder if she needs all those. Multi-vitamins, vitamin D, vitamin B12, vitamin E, and vitamins for her eyes. I know she eats a well rounded diet.

Now, I can see taking an individual vitamin like D and B12 if one's blood test showed you were low... but do we really need all those other vitamins?
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i was looking around the NH lunchroom today and frankly its a freak show of basket case seniors in various states of disrepair . im getting off topic a bit but i believe in 5 years , with an advance directive , we'll be able to drop a pill and cease to live another moment . ive sent a few pets skidding across that rainbow bridge with a deer slug in their head in my lifetime . it wasnt that they were of no use to me but because their natural way of living was over . i think were really at a crossroad right now . haldol for the agitated ones , morphine for the ones in pain . its only one more baby step to being able to decide in advance how long we want to suffer .
veterans might be the pioneers in this concept . i say that because during the D - DAY anniversary this year some of the old paratroopers made mention of the two syringes they carried with them . 1 shot for pain , 2 shots for eternity .
often a vet will pull into a va parking lot and eat all of his pain patches . of course it kills him . that was his intent ..
sorry about getting so off topic . a male nurse came outside NH today and gave aunt edna a pill in some applesauce . she went thru the same old ' kid with the guy , make sour faces , routine . i gave her a drink of coke that seemed to make the pill go down fine . as he walked away she spit a stool softener pill into her hand and tossed it in the grass .. WTH is that defiant old gal up to ? shes made mention a few times that she has no use for the prospect of the dying process . i think shes tossing out meds cause she doesnt want to be sustained any longer .
* sigh *
im still off topic , as always ..
its just that ive rationed her daily meds to her for the last year and she always takes them . i think she no longer WANTS them .. trippy . i think its her equivalent of euthanasia . of course i let the nurse know what she did . i wouldnt want her turning down needed comfort drugs now or later ..
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Pam, ah yes, the quick fix pill instead of one adjusting their lifestyle to help themselves.

I always wondered about the dosage that are prescribed.... same dosage if the person is tiny petit or if the person is football player size.

I've always been one to cut my pills in halves or in quarters as a trial run... with my doctor knowing I am doing that. Depend on the medical issue, a half a pill works just as well for me, thus less side effect.
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There are tradeoffs with any medication. If dad wants to cut back meds, he can, all he has to do is tell the MD. The effect of cutting back will be explained along with the risks. It's easy to choose when your demise is 30 years away, but if it could happen next week, you take your meds. My MIL is 87 and insists she wants Jesus to come and get her, but she still takes her pills twice a day.
Doctors are very frustrated when a patient just wants a pill instead of losing weight and getting exercise. We are over medicated by choice, not by doctors.
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