How an Advocate Helps Keep you Safe: A Medication Analysis
Recently a client of mine was told by her physician to discontinue a medication that she had been on for quite some time as it wasn't helping her pain, and it wasn't worth risking the potential side effects. Unfortunately, the doctor didn't tell her that she would have to wean down, as stopping cold turkey could cause significant problems. Somewhere in her paperwork, when she started the medication months earlier, it was probably written not to stop suddenly. Still, the physician did not review this with her, and she didn't remember reading it. She stopped that day. So many medications fall into this category that they can't be listed. Some include antidepressants, antihypertensives, heart medications, steroids, anti-seizure medications, and ulcer medications.
Two days later, she got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, was very dizzy, fell, and hit her head. She suffered a black eye, broke her glasses, had a slight brain bleed (subdural hematoma), spent three days in the hospital, and underwent two preventable CAT scans of her brain. She is lucky; it could have been worse.
I have repeatedly been saying that we need to be our own advocates (or hire one) and double-check whatever our providers tell us. They don't always know the answer. Or we don't hear everything.
Too many of us are on medications that, if stopped, have to be weaned off, as the side effects can be potentially serious. There are too many to list, but some medications that need to be weaned include antidepressants, antihypertensives, heart medications, steroids, anti-seizure medications, ulcer medications, and narcotics. Sometimes if you are only on them for a short time, they can be stopped, but you confirm and be sure. If in doubt, ask your pharmacist; they are the experts.
As I review my medications (and my husband's) for the annual Medicare Part D, it has occurred to me that perhaps we don't need all of the medicines we take. Maybe some can be discontinued or changed. When was the last time you went to your provider with all your medications lined up, and each one was reviewed, including how to take them (with or without food, at bedtime) and how they could interact with one another? If I could hazard a guess, I would say almost nobody. Sometimes you could have been prescribed a medication two providers ago, and "someone" keeps prescribing it.
Let's talk, and review your medications. Email me and let’s start a conversation. I know the questions to ask a provider regarding your meds and the continued benefit (or not) they provide. And you will also learn which ones you can't just stop all at once and perhaps discuss with your provider about possibly changing to a better, more efficient one.