The original question is really only answerable in an individual manner. There should not be a cut off re just age. However if the medication is a) causing too many or more risky side effects as age or b) the person is unable to follow dosage correctly and no one available to ensure it is, or c) polytherapy causing problems / side effects then these would be possible reasons to stop some treatments as the patient could self harm unintentionally.
Unfortunately this thread has gone completely off track with vast numbers of opinions and very little evidence. I don't know about the OP but - I fell out with my Dr, does not seem helpful or a positive contribution to me. If you have no knowledge apart from what comes from the latest gossip on drugs irrespective of its relevance to the topic perhaps it would be more use if you passed on commenting on this one - there is far too much heresay on this thread to help anyone in anyway - it seems to be pervading the forum recently, certainly to the level I see little point is reading most the posts and am doubting any point in belonging.
I am beginning to believe that the time frame is Medicare related. More frequent patient visits take more time from the medical staff. They used to say that frequent visits meant closer observation, thus better health care...but now that the number of seniors is increasing... hmmm. I wonder.
I am an old RN and I know that I do not feel that that my Medicare Advantage Plan is high quality, but it is all I can afford. I get a bit angry every time I attend the clinic. I have received quite a bit of treatment (including surgeries which turned out well) but don't think I ever met my primary physician in person... wouldn't recognize her if I did meet her.
I am seen by a Physicians Assistant or Nurse Practitioner, can't remember which is which, and I trust them both. BUT I have to DRAG information out of them. Sometimes they provide a health care worker of some other kind, (nor sure what), who takes vital signs but carries no paperwork nor computer-type anything and proceeds to tell me she is going to give me a couple of "shots". What drugs and with what purpose, she doesn't say. And does she know the allergies I have? I don't know if I had a fever when I came in, but I am fuming now! Does she have any idea how many thousand patients in my career I begged to ASK questions of their physicians! And have I had a flu shot this year? I believe so, but my aging memory is somewhat faulty. Don't they have some kind of medical history on me? Sorry, for the rant. I know that health care is expensive, and more so all the time. But these days I ASK the questions I have. I TELL them my possibly inconsequential concerns....even if I have to call the clinic back after I get back home. I insist on talking to someone who knows. I ask them to spell out the names of the medications they gave me so I can copy them down. (be sure and get the correct spelling, since the names of some drugs are similar). I used to be a nice person. Now I'm just a taxpayer who wants the attention I (and you) are paying for.
Yep, unless a problem arises. Plus I have an excellent relationship with her neurologist and I can call him on the phone anytime and he calls me back personally. Same with her primary doctor.
I think we have a responsibility to learn about their meds and address our concerns to the doctor. Not accept that he is the be-all and end-all glorious expert that treats us like idiots.
I have noticed that when my mom was over medicated it was often after being in a rehab or following a hospital visit. Once she was prescribed so much pain killer along with a nausea medicine, she began to pluck the air in front of her saying there were particles floating there. At the same time, she suddenly didn’t recognize some of us and was having hallucinations. The pharmacist admitted that some ppl react to the combination of those drugs.
I use the pill wizard on WebMD to look for adverse reactions but I also read the inserts from the pharmacies and go to the drug websites. I’ve even gone to personal forums to learn real ppl experiences. That’s where I found many complaints about the generic version of one of her rx causing uncontrollable diarrhea. It was too late, though, my mother had become reclusive after having too many accidents out in public.
I did accomplish fewer uti’s by asking the doctor to change that rx. Pharmacist still don’t recognize the problem as they are compelled to support generic drugs.
We got caught up in the donut hole one year and I had to learn about the four nongeneric rx she was paying over $2k a month for. One of those the dr replaced with baby aspirin!
I read the manufacturers inserts about the testing to get the drug approved. They had only tested 800 people on the final run of testing and they were comparing the drug to “itself” in the trials.
I am much more cautious with mom’s drugs than I am for myself and, of course, I take the doctors advice. I don’t know how much to trust what she says. When being evaluated for pain medications they would ask her pain level from 1-10. She always shouted “TEN” without listening to their description. Turned out she didn’t realize “10” was at the top of the scale, associated with the “worst pain you’ve ever had.”
At this point in her care plan, (she is 93 and still is lucid), my sis, the doc, mom and me agree that there will be no surgeries for her in the future. Knowing that, we also agreed to not having any invasive tests done. He is prone to say “I’m sure at 93 she will pass before any diseases can ruin her health,” at which time I severely censure his choice of words.
However, the doctor has limitations. She’s complained about itching that keeps her awake for 7 years now and he does not address it except to tell me not to give her Benadryl which does alleviate the symptom. I want to learn the cause and work on that but he pretty much ignores our complaints. He doesn’t recognize that it’s a serious problem for her. Beyond not being able to sleep she gets highly agitated saying that “it drives her crazy!” I continue to look for an answer there...thought it could be kidney problems most recently but he shot me down on that.
I'm sorry for going too far off subject. I don’t really mean to toot my own horn, I just wanted examples.
Having worked in medical for many years I note that the above are, generally, as a result of a persons lifestyle. Are you questioning the right for them to continue “maintenance” medication after a certain age (ageism) or the cost re supporting them as a result of their “causing” their disease? (Dis-ease meaning a disorder of structure or function in the human body). I would point out that ladies having early menopause are more at risk of type 2 diabetes and that of 2 people going through the same amount of stress - one might develop high blood pressure whilst the other doesn’t. So sex, race, family history all play a part too. Should they be checked re efficiency versus increased risks as age? - sure. If risks are too high then it defeats the object of prescribing them.
My question was asked out of curiosity only. My conditions are strictly hereditary. No lifestyle factors. Non smoker, no alcohol, not overweight, exercise regularly. I have CKD, type 2 diabetes and have had multiple cardiac surgeries - same conditions that several females in my father’s family have.
MJInslee, I’m 65. I have no schedule for discontinuing drugs. It will depend on my health and the advice of my doctors. I have chronic kidney disease so the progress of that may determine how medications are continued or discontinued, I would gladly discontinue a couple of my meds because of side effects, but doctor says that’s not a good idea.
Becky....I was my dear, sweet mother's caregiver for the 7 or so years of her life....she avoided taking meds, even though doctors always wanted her to be on bp meds for high blood pressure. She avoided meds...I likewise have chosen to avoid meds. I guess my point here is why ever start taking meds in the first place? Once one begins down that road, it's difficult to get off and stay off of them. My mother lived to almost 95 with very high blood pressure, and a heart murmur which eventually became AFib....she was alert, altho very weak up to her final day on this earth. I'm doing the same. No meds, ever, unless for pain control. The most important thing is to make sure Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior....we all default to eternity in Hell, apart from God, unless Jesus is our Savior. Smartest decision anyone can make, plus, it removes all fear of dying...to Know where one is headed. Heaven is a wonderful place! Christ is there! 🌺🕊🌺
NeedHelp: Yes, that is true that we need to be our parents' patient advocates. However, I disagree with seeing one's doctor, especially if a specialist, only every four to six to months. Depending on the situation/ailment, they should routinely be seen sooner. And yes, the patient may showtime in front of the doctor and that's where you speak up as you are their patient advocate.
That’s true. You should always see a doctor sooner if a problem arises. I agree. Mom’s routine visits are every four to six months and her labs are better than mine! She has Parkinson’s disease which is tough but no high blood pressure, no diabetes, no high cholesterol, no heart issues! She will be 94 in November. The doctors are amazed and tell me how she has the labs of a 30 year old!
Well I don’t seem to be able to reply to you individually on this forum so...
Biologic Obsolescence? Aging? Yes we are programmed to age. It accomplishes two things.
First, by clearing out the olders, aging makes room for the the new models, which is exactly what creates the room for change —- for evolution.
Second, aging can protect the rest of the group by eliminating individuals that have become laden with parasites, disease, illness.. preventing them from infecting the next generation. Sex and reproduction, in turn, are the way a species gets upgraded.
You hopefully will question yourselves if you’re bettering and contributing to your family/ community/ species and further generations. There are plenty of seniors that do.. just as there are plenty of seniors that do nothing but burden.
And staying alive due to pharmaceuticals? Is that even LIFE?
Maggieb said, 'This body, at This age, and in This condition", which makes such perfect sense to me! I know that with my FIL, at around age 82, his Dr began slowly eliminating his "maintenance" meds one by one as he had lost significant weight and had slowed down considerably, and also, the majority of his meds were low dose and only treating minor symptoms according to his physical findings and his lab results.
His Dr d/c'd his low dose BP pills first, then his Cholesterol meds, followed by his Type 2 diabetes meds and finally the Glaucoma eye drops. He continued to follow his condition closely via lab work, and there were never any significant changes that warranted him "re-prescribing" any of these meds, and we were always comfortable with the Drs decision. He did keep him on a baby aspirin and his Centrum Silver multi vitamin and that was it for the remaining years until his death from Lung Cancer at age 88.
Talk with your doctor about the possibility of discontinuing meds that may no longer be necessary, it might surprise you. It is important that the previous conditions be monitored and that follow up labs are done, but thankfully my FIL did well, and without repercussions.
Some doctors take elderly off blood pressure meds if theirs has gone too low. My aunt would pass out when she stood up, and we have a BP machine to show how low it went. She said it happens often with elderly.
Since it was determined that my aunt had Vascular Dementia, I took her off the just-in-case-Alzheimer's med the hospital had tried her on. Same with the anti-depressant a hospital psychiatrist put her on after talking with her only once. Slowly weaned her off with her doctr's knowledge. Thyroid she took till her last week alive. I still take my antidepressant, but it gets increased in the winters.
My concern would be if the person could stroke out. Medicine is certainly keeping my mother alive. She has so many issues. Her medication is administered at the AL she resides in. She is ambulatory although has real mobility issues. In her case stopping medication would likely cause a change but it could be one that puts her in a nursing home,bedridden. Obviously I would prefer that not to happen. I don't know that simply stopping medication will bring about a quick end that is not prolonged. I think there are so many factors involved with each individual.
I've heard same. And they've gotten clever about how to take the kickbacks into the shadows. My husband's cousin works for a maker of psych drugs. He throws parties at his house for his "business associates" and most of his guests are doctors. The doctors bring their spouses and kids, and the kids are set up around the pool with a lifeguard, drinks, food, towels, pool toys, etc. And it gets more intricate from there. His cousin's wife owns a decorating company, and she drums up lots of business from these parties. When she does, they wine and dine the couple on her business account and there's no more trace of the doctor getting anything from pharma.
While I was studying to be a pharmacy tech (and already a working R.N.) I was invited to a few of such parties hosted by pharmaceutical companies. No children attended, but most of these "parties" were held at a restaurant where alcohol was available and were paid for by a drug manufacturer. Educational information on their product and others were the only "entertainment".
It was a sales effort plain and simple. However, the medical professionals were given results of peer-reviewed studies in which several products were compared. The professionals asked complex questions and had ample information and experience to critically evaluate the information.
What a "cousin's wife" discussed afterward is anyone's guess. Despite the claims of some alternative medicine proponents, reputable medical doctors are seldom so poor or unscrupulous that they participate in kickback schemes.
It is easy for physicians to inadvertently over-medicate elderly patients, as they are generally more sensitive to drugs than younger or middle aged patients. In my experience, this is especially true if elderly behavior is difficult for care givers.
ALWAYS, with doctor’s approval but we as caregivers are the ones that are witnessing side effects of drugs and it’s our responsibility to report them to have the best possible care for our loved ones. We see our loved ones on a daily basis and doctors only see them every four to six months and don’t often don’t hear what is accurate because they put on a front to the doctor. I’ve been through this for a bazillion years to be able to describe the situation.
My mom hasn’t had a seizure since 1996. Her neurologist said she could get off meds. She freaked out so much he told her that it was fine to stay on them. She’s freakin paranoid about having another seizure. I know people who got off of their seizure drugs but she won’t even consider it.
The only other drug she takes is Sinamet for her Parkinson’s disease.
My mother been taking the same type of medication for years, I keep telling her doctors I think some medicines are making her blood pressure to be very low, but they will not take her off. Her life now is very slow she’s not as active as she was when she was in her 50’s and 60’s. She’s now 86, not much activity now. But am still going to try to talk to her doctor again, she lives with us,
As far as the kickbacks go from pharmaceutical sales, my friend who is a nurse says that it isn’t only in dollars, per say, but often in things like playing golf at the most expensive country clubs and expensive dinners, etc.
I've heard same. And they've gotten clever about how to take the kickbacks into the shadows. My husband's cousin works for a maker of psych drugs. He throws parties at his house for his "business associates" and most of his guests are doctors. The doctors bring their spouses and kids, and the kids are set up around the pool with a lifeguard, drinks, food, towels, pool toys, etc. And it gets more intricate from there. His cousin's wife owns a decorating company, and she drums up lots of business from these parties. When she does, they wine and dine the couple on her business account and there's no more trace of the doctor getting anything from pharma.
It depends on the drug, the disease and the patient. Carefully research these factors and consult with competent professionals before stopping anything so you don't cause harm.
I used to be a pharmaceutial rep for a worldwide company but eventually got so depressed over my work and the industry that I had to quit before I walked into the path of a mac truck. I saw that many prescriptions weren't necessary or that lifestyle changes were just as effective as drugs in some cases. There were doctors who prescribed a certain drug because its rep was their fishing buddy or because a particular company invited them to sumptious dinners or took them on luxurious trips or because they liked the gorgeous rep with xyz company. Doctors are taught to prescribe drugs for everything, trained not to question what they're taught and to follow rules. They also fear lawsuits if they don't follow "Standard of Care" guidelines laid out for diseases and conditions. They are smart and work very hard but they are not gods. You can research the situation and in consultation with a physician make a good decision.
It is easy for doctors to inadvertently over-medicate elderly patients. The usual doses given younger or middle-aged patients may well be too much for an older person (who may have several different disease processes going on). It is important to describe a patient's behavior as well as their complaints to the doctor. Hopefully, the older person can describe for themselves what bothers them most (and make sure the doctor listens to them).
My mother would complain to me about various things, but when the doctor would ask her directly, she'd reply "oh, I'm fine, really," thinking her interaction with the doctors was mainly a "social" one. Sometimes I would have to remind her of things the doctor didn't think to ask.
When you are not able to go on any longer or do not have the capacity to make that decision. Otherwise, continue taking them until the medical doctor says otherwise.
The OP does bring up a good point because there is over medicating of patients. Meds should never be stopped cold turkey though. That can be dangerous.
I think NY made a good point too. Doctors aren’t always as aware as nurse practitioners or even pharmacists.
My aunt was a kidney patient. She went into a coma and died shortly afterwards. The pharmacist told my mother that the drug that she took should never have been given to a person with kidney failure plus it was four times the strength it should have been.
He told my mom that she had a legitimate reason to sue. My mom said that it wouldn’t bring her sister back and wasn’t interested in suing.
She was in shock. Her sister was only in her forties. My mom and dad raised her kids, my cousins. Over medicating has been a problem. My grandpa used to say, “Doctors bury their mistakes.”
I would say speak to a geriatric nurse practitioner. Reconciling medications - determining which meds are necessary, which aren't, and which should be tapered down or off - is best left to an NP. Doctors rarely take the time anymore to do much beyond signing the Rx pad.
So actually my opinion is to see a Geriatric doctor that specializes in elderly they really know BEST example...when my dad started seeing a Geriatric doctor he informed us that gilbride can make an elderly person's blood sugar too low for a much too long period of time...and took him off of it ,but I would NEVER stop anything that necessary without the advice of a Dr. This decision needs to be medically monitored there can be serious side effects to stop medication may need to slowly be weaned down ect.....
The OP brings up a great point. They put my mom on a statin along with the baby aspirin. They increased baby aspirin from one to two as a ‘stroke prevention.’ She does not have high cholesterol, never has. Her labs are great.
She is a parkinson’s patient that already has mobility issues. The statin caused muscle aches. I asked them to please remove the statin and she is doing so much better.
When she went to the ER awhile back because of not feeling well. It was discovered that she had low blood pressure. She never had high blood pressure to begin with so why was she even on those meds. The ER doctor took her off of them and said Parkinson’s patients run low blood pressure and shouldn’t be on high blood pressure meds.
There are so many docs now, Needs help with Mom, who will write prescriptions for meds because they are being studied as possibly helpful, ie statin for Alzheimer's. And without proof that they work at all. I have yet to hear of an Alzheimer's drug that actually works, yet they give an amazing amount of them. Statins are something I have refused lifelong after they creamed my foot muscles, and despite massive high cholesterol in my family and self. When I worked cardiac all those years I saw more familial correlations with history of MI in parents, rather than high cholesterol. Just took my best guess. As the docs say "anything but an exact science. I am 77, so guess if I bump on off tomorrow no one will be out there muttering "Oh, my, she died so young and beautiful". There has even been one study of patients removed from all of their many meds improving without them. We assume they are helpful. They often are not and cause more harm than good. As I said somewhere else, I think everyone does the best they can with the information they have, but we know too little.
Speak with the doctor about this before you do anything. They will decide which meds can/ should be eliminated to avoid suffering. Remember that taking someone off of pain meds cold turkey could result in seizures!! Removing BP meds abruptly could cause a stroke. Removing anti-anxiety meds can also cause seizures. I am not guessing on here. Mom’s family physician and I checked with my own doctor on a regular visit and he confirmed the same. So will it bring comfort or more suffering and trips to the ER? It is scary to think that others will be in charge of my last days. Ha! Educate yourself and just asking folks on here is not the go-to answer. Talk to a doctor who cares.
Believe it or not, many medications can or do make a person's condition worse. Calling something a "maintenance" drug does not change that fact. That is why prescriptions should regularly be revisited.
Definitely revisit the med list from time to time to see if there are things being taken that really aren't helping or are no longer necessary. My mom, for example, has a lot of pain and I wonder if some of the drugs are redundant. A couple of her stomach meds I have questions about. Or 3 of X a day. Would there be any difference if she took 2 a day instead? I am always thinking of how/if we can reduce her meds without making her feel worse.
BUT when she gets to the point that end of life is becoming obvious and/or she gets put on hospice, I would work with her doc on reducing/eliminating as much as possible that does not bring her pain relief.
I am saying this all for my mom but it is what I would also want done for me, my husband, etc.
My mom’s doctor appointments used to be every 3-4 months. Now it’s 4-6 months. I wonder if it is insurance related according to age.
I am an old RN and I know that I do not feel that that my Medicare Advantage Plan is high quality, but it is all I can afford. I get a bit angry every time I attend the clinic. I have received quite a bit of treatment (including surgeries which turned out well) but don't think I ever met my primary physician in person... wouldn't recognize her if I did meet her.
I am seen by a Physicians Assistant or Nurse Practitioner, can't remember which is which, and I trust them both. BUT I have to DRAG information out of them. Sometimes they provide a health care worker of some other kind, (nor sure what), who takes vital signs but carries no paperwork nor computer-type anything and proceeds to tell me she is going to give me a couple of "shots". What drugs and with what purpose, she doesn't say. And does she know the allergies I have? I don't know if I had a fever when I came in, but I am fuming now! Does she have any idea how many thousand patients in my career I begged to ASK questions of their physicians! And have I had a flu shot this year? I believe so, but my aging memory is somewhat faulty. Don't they have some kind of medical history on me?
Sorry, for the rant. I know that health care is expensive, and more so all the time. But these days I ASK the questions I have. I TELL them my possibly inconsequential concerns....even if I have to call the clinic back after I get back home. I insist on talking to someone who knows. I ask them to spell out the names of the medications they gave me so I can copy them down. (be sure and get the correct spelling, since the names of some drugs are similar). I used to be a nice person. Now I'm just a taxpayer who wants the attention I (and you) are paying for.
Yep, unless a problem arises. Plus I have an excellent relationship with her neurologist and I can call him on the phone anytime and he calls me back personally. Same with her primary doctor.
I have noticed that when my mom was over medicated it was often after being in a rehab or following a hospital visit. Once she was prescribed so much pain killer along with a nausea medicine, she began to pluck the air in front of her saying there were particles floating there. At the same time, she suddenly didn’t recognize some of us and was having hallucinations. The pharmacist admitted that some ppl react to the combination of those drugs.
I use the pill wizard on WebMD to look for adverse reactions but I also read the inserts from the pharmacies and go to the drug websites. I’ve even gone to personal forums to learn real ppl experiences. That’s where I found many complaints about the generic version of one of her rx causing uncontrollable diarrhea. It was too late, though, my mother had become reclusive after having too many accidents out in public.
I did accomplish fewer uti’s by asking the doctor to change that rx. Pharmacist still don’t recognize the problem as they are compelled to support generic drugs.
We got caught up in the donut hole one year and I had to learn about the four nongeneric rx she was paying over $2k a month for. One of those the dr replaced with baby aspirin!
I read the manufacturers inserts about the testing to get the drug approved. They had only tested 800 people on the final run of testing and they were comparing the drug to “itself” in the trials.
I am much more cautious with mom’s drugs than I am for myself and, of course, I take the doctors advice. I don’t know how much to trust what she says. When being evaluated for pain medications they would ask her pain level from 1-10. She always shouted “TEN” without listening to their description. Turned out she didn’t realize “10” was at the top of the scale, associated with the “worst pain you’ve ever had.”
At this point in her care plan, (she is 93 and still is lucid), my sis, the doc, mom and me agree that there will be no surgeries for her in the future. Knowing that, we also agreed to not having any invasive tests done. He is prone to say “I’m sure at 93 she will pass before any diseases can ruin her health,” at which time I severely censure his choice of words.
However, the doctor has limitations. She’s complained about itching that keeps her awake for 7 years now and he does not address it except to tell me not to give her Benadryl which does alleviate the symptom. I want to learn the cause and work on that but he pretty much ignores our complaints. He doesn’t recognize that it’s a serious problem for her. Beyond not being able to sleep she gets highly agitated saying that “it drives her crazy!” I continue to look for an answer there...thought it could be kidney problems most recently but he shot me down on that.
I'm sorry for going too far off subject. I don’t really mean to toot my own horn, I just wanted examples.
Charlotte
That’s a shame you don’t know what it is.
I care for my mom at home too. She will be 94 in November.
I agree with everything you say. Take care.
Should they be checked re efficiency versus increased risks as age? - sure.
If risks are too high then it defeats the object of prescribing them.
My mother lived to almost 95 with very high blood pressure, and a heart murmur which eventually became AFib....she was alert, altho very weak up to her final day on this earth.
I'm doing the same. No meds, ever, unless for pain control.
The most important thing is to make sure Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior....we all default to eternity in Hell, apart from God, unless Jesus is our Savior. Smartest decision anyone can make, plus, it removes all fear of dying...to Know where one is headed. Heaven is a wonderful place! Christ is there! 🌺🕊🌺
Biologic Obsolescence? Aging? Yes we are programmed to age. It accomplishes two things.
First, by clearing out the olders, aging makes room for the the new models, which is exactly what creates the room for change —- for evolution.
Second, aging can protect the rest of the group by eliminating individuals that have become laden with parasites, disease, illness..
preventing them from infecting the next generation. Sex and reproduction, in turn, are the way a species gets upgraded.
You hopefully will question yourselves if you’re bettering and contributing to your family/ community/ species and further generations. There are plenty of seniors that do.. just as there are plenty of seniors that do nothing but burden.
And staying alive due to pharmaceuticals? Is that even LIFE?
Once again, your decision.
Same response to the original post :
Type 2 diabetes, high BP and cholesterol are almost always created by lifestyle. Preventable disease.
His Dr d/c'd his low dose BP pills first, then his Cholesterol meds, followed by his Type 2 diabetes meds and finally the Glaucoma eye drops. He continued to follow his condition closely via lab work, and there were never any significant changes that warranted him "re-prescribing" any of these meds, and we were always comfortable with the Drs decision. He did keep him on a baby aspirin and his Centrum Silver multi vitamin and that was it for the remaining years until his death from Lung Cancer at age 88.
Talk with your doctor about the possibility of discontinuing meds that may no longer be necessary, it might surprise you. It is important that the previous conditions be monitored and that follow up labs are done, but thankfully my FIL did well, and without repercussions.
Since it was determined that my aunt had Vascular Dementia, I took her off the just-in-case-Alzheimer's med the hospital had tried her on. Same with the anti-depressant a hospital psychiatrist put her on after talking with her only once. Slowly weaned her off with her doctr's knowledge. Thyroid she took till her last week alive. I still take my antidepressant, but it gets increased in the winters.
It was a sales effort plain and simple. However, the medical professionals were given results of peer-reviewed studies in which several products were compared. The professionals asked complex questions and had ample information and experience to critically evaluate the information.
What a "cousin's wife" discussed afterward is anyone's guess. Despite the claims of some alternative medicine proponents, reputable medical doctors are seldom so poor or unscrupulous that they participate in kickback schemes.
It is easy for physicians to inadvertently over-medicate elderly patients, as they are generally more sensitive to drugs than younger or middle aged patients. In my experience, this is especially true if elderly behavior is difficult for care givers.
ALWAYS, with doctor’s approval but we as caregivers are the ones that are witnessing side effects of drugs and it’s our responsibility to report them to have the best possible care for our loved ones. We see our loved ones on a daily basis and doctors only see them every four to six months and don’t often don’t hear what is accurate because they put on a front to the doctor. I’ve been through this for a bazillion years to be able to describe the situation.
The only other drug she takes is Sinamet for her Parkinson’s disease.
As far as the kickbacks go from pharmaceutical sales, my friend who is a nurse says that it isn’t only in dollars, per say, but often in things like playing golf at the most expensive country clubs and expensive dinners, etc.
I used to be a pharmaceutial rep for a worldwide company but eventually got so depressed over my work and the industry that I had to quit before I walked into the path of a mac truck. I saw that many prescriptions weren't necessary or that lifestyle changes were just as effective as drugs in some cases. There were doctors who prescribed a certain drug because its rep was their fishing buddy or because a particular company invited them to sumptious dinners or took them on luxurious trips or because they liked the gorgeous rep with xyz company. Doctors are taught to prescribe drugs for everything, trained not to question what they're taught and to follow rules. They also fear lawsuits if they don't follow "Standard of Care" guidelines laid out for diseases and conditions. They are smart and work very hard but they are not gods. You can research the situation and in consultation with a physician make a good decision.
My mother would complain to me about various things, but when the doctor would ask her directly, she'd reply "oh, I'm fine, really,"
thinking her interaction with the doctors was mainly a "social" one.
Sometimes I would have to remind her of things the doctor didn't think to ask.
I think NY made a good point too. Doctors aren’t always as aware as nurse practitioners or even pharmacists.
My aunt was a kidney patient. She went into a coma and died shortly afterwards. The pharmacist told my mother that the drug that she took should never have been given to a person with kidney failure plus it was four times the strength it should have been.
He told my mom that she had a legitimate reason to sue. My mom said that it wouldn’t bring her sister back and wasn’t interested in suing.
She was in shock. Her sister was only in her forties. My mom and dad raised her kids, my cousins. Over medicating has been a problem. My grandpa used to say, “Doctors bury their mistakes.”
The OP brings up a great point.
They put my mom on a statin along with the baby aspirin. They increased baby aspirin from one to two as a ‘stroke prevention.’ She does not have high cholesterol, never has. Her labs are great.
She is a parkinson’s patient that already has mobility issues. The statin caused muscle aches. I asked them to please remove the statin and she is doing so much better.
When she went to the ER awhile back because of not feeling well. It was discovered that she had low blood pressure. She never had high blood pressure to begin with so why was she even on those meds. The ER doctor took her off of them and said Parkinson’s patients run low blood pressure and shouldn’t be on high blood pressure meds.
I love your answer, very caring, thoughtful and sensible!
Definitely revisit the med list from time to time to see if there are things being taken that really aren't helping or are no longer necessary. My mom, for example, has a lot of pain and I wonder if some of the drugs are redundant. A couple of her stomach meds I have questions about. Or 3 of X a day. Would there be any difference if she took 2 a day instead? I am always thinking of how/if we can reduce her meds without making her feel worse.
BUT when she gets to the point that end of life is becoming obvious and/or she gets put on hospice, I would work with her doc on reducing/eliminating as much as possible that does not bring her pain relief.
I am saying this all for my mom but it is what I would also want done for me, my husband, etc.
One is never "too old" to stop taking their maintenance drugs.
If I had high blood pressure, why would I want to stop taking the meds that control it and end up dealing with a stroke.