I’m fortunate – for now. I take very few medications, in as tiny dosages as possible, and even my Over-The-Counter drugs are limited in scope and even more so, lately.
Exit Stage Left, Excedrin Migraine for my headaches.
Exit Stage Right, Motrin which did wonders for my back.
Yes, I take vitamins. Yes, I do everything I can to eat right. But I sure would like to think that “polypharmacy” means a convenient drugstore on every corner, complete with an old-style soda fountain for a little charm.
But not so lucky!
Apparently, we’re talking about the potentially confusing cocktail of both prescription and OTC drugs – generally used at the recommendation of our physicians – and the way they may work in concert (to our detriment), and without our knowledge. Yikes, indeed!
A recent article in the New York Times Well Blog mentions the term “polypharmacy” and I admit, while applicable, it sends chills up and down my spine. Huh… Will I need a medication for that?
In its mention of drugs which may compromise cognitive function, the author writes:
… dozens of painkillers, antihistamines and psychiatric medications — from drugstore staples to popular antidepressants — can adversely affect brain function, mostly in the elderly.
Research Into Common Drug Interactions
The article goes on to list the category of drugs (anticholinergics) which produce side effects negatively affecting memory, and with cumulative impacts.
Citing a variety of compelling studies, the article continues:
“There’s not much doubt about this,” said Dr. William Thies, chief medical and scientific officer for the Alzheimer’s Association, adding that studies from large clinics that treat people with memory disorders have shown that up to 25 percent of the patients who seek help have reversible disorders, including those caused by polypharmacy — taking a combination of medications, some of which may have anticholinergic activity.
Personally, I’m glad that research is taking place, and who knows what links (if any) may be made between these cognitive effects and the onset of dementia.
Over Over-Medication?
Still, I worry about our overarching dependency on medication, or expectancy that there is a pill for every ill. It’s bad enough that women are routinely prescribed antidepressants as a quick-fix to whatever ails us. (And men as well – in an effort to dull the collective consciousness into submission?)
And the way generic medications are switched in and out – sometimes without our awareness and impacting their effectiveness? Another worrisome reality. Personally, I’m a little “over” it.
Polypharmacy does seem like an apt term for the use of multiple drugs and spotlighting their potential interactions. I fully understand that meds help save lives, and often, physicians are doing the only thing they can in prescribing them.
Still, the article reminds us that researchers are discovering alarming side effects, and in so doing, perhaps we will develop or consider additional options.
Scare Tactics in Advertising
Believe me – I’m all for pain medications when required, and OTC drugs that make sense. And no, I’m certainly not looking to say what makes sense for you – anymore than I want you to say what makes sense for me.
But I resent the scare tactics used in advertising, particularly pertaining to potential health conditions. Do we even realize how many times a day pharmaceutical ads are bombarding our eyes and ears?
Sometimes our bodies hurt, don’t work the way we think they should, or refuse to sleep. Isn’t that the body telling us something is wrong, and we ought to listen?
Sometimes, our minds (or “hearts”) ache. The emotions are real, and the potential physical damage may be as well. We’re sad, we’re angry, we’re lethargic, we’re depressed. We have emotions to process and likely – changes to make – if we can.
And no, I’m not including the clinically depressed or chemically imbalanced, any more than I would ever say “never” to taking a medication for any diagnosed condition.
But I will vehemently express the following opinion: Anesthetizing our awareness is not a solution to the challenges of a social, political, and economic landscape which should be looking to cure its systemic diseases – rather than band-aid the symptoms.
So true. I work in critical care as a staff nurse. Patients are admitted every day to us that have had a reaction to a particular combination of medications. There are patients who take up to 20 medications for everything.
I personally had a run in with autoimmune hepatitis. My body was not happy with me. I cut back on the supplements and now just take fish oil with the tiniest dose of prescription medications for arthritis and restless leg syndrome. The one thing that made a HUGE difference for me was eliminating Diet Coke. I only had one can a day but the difference is amazing. I dropped 6 lbs without trying and lost the fog that I blamed menopause for. Eating as cleanly as possible is the first step for getting your health back and maintaining it.
Laura, Thanks so much for jumping in on this one. I imagine you see it all… And the juggle of medications for doctors and nurses as well as the patients must be an incredibly complex management issue.
Thank you for sharing your own experience with meds, and changes in your diet. I wonder how many of us would feel so much better if we were able to make even minor adjustments in what we voluntarily put into our bodies.
Folks are looking for ways to make the sale, and since no one has perfect health, it can be an easy sell (just generate a bit of fear). As I’ve said before “Just say no.” If I’m cut or broken, they get a chance to patch me up, but that’s it. My Facebook post today was http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/28/opinion/overdiagnosis-as-a-flaw-in-health-care.html
p.s. I remember an occasion as a child when I witnessed a curmudgeonly old man saying he avoided all doctors and pills. He grew his own vegetables, ran the Boston marathon annually, and lived into his 90’s. It seemed amusing then. Now I sort of idolize him. I could say something very similar about my grandfather, except unfortunately he didn’t live in Boston, but fortunately he was still chasing the girls (to the embarrassment of my aunts) into his 90’s. Maybe that’s what did him in prematurely (he didn’t make it to 100), but that’s okay under those circumstances.
I’m probably fairly safe since I can’t even seem to remember my vitamin in the morning! Seriously, I believe we (collectively speaking) take too many pills on a whole. I’m all for better living through pharmaceuticals when necessary, but I wonder if people really need most of the meds they take.
oh god, we know exactly what you are talking about – we took nothing in the way of medication before the surgery and now that synthroid pill is a daily sigh.
It was not so long ago that I was patting myself on the back because here I was, at my age, taking no medications. Other than sinus allergy tablets occasionally. Yep, I was very proud of me. And then life began to catch up with me, my age began to catch up with me – now I take what the doctor says, I scan the data that comes with the pills, but I try not to dwell on it. Cautious yes, but what good will it do to get worked up about possibilities when what I’m taking is meant to prolong my life and make it better?
I hear you, Carol. And I’m also most grateful for those medications that address specific conditions and allow for better quality of life, and longer life. I take issue with the fact that we are increasingly “consumers” of health care (as you astutely point out), targeted as such, and that means we can be misled. We need to be as informed as possible, as you also point out.
Fifty or sixty years ago, there were only two drugs that mattered (penicillin and ether). Now, probably, there are five or six. We could lose all the rest.