How well do you know your meds?
My parents, both in their 60s are very active. A few summers ago they hiked true John Muir Trail from Yosemite to Mt Whitney and I joined them the last week. They eat very well, mostly home cooked meals with vegetables from the garden. They have been going to their general practitioner for 20+ years. In 2009 my father was diagnosed with prostate cancer, luckily caught very early. He opted for surgery and is very lucky to be in remission without side effects or complications after surgery. I also remember once he came home from the doctor with reported cholesterol on the high side. He stopped eating ice cream every night and started going to a spinning class with my mom.
I asked him about his medications that he and mom take and he went to the medicine cabinet and listed off the medications.
>Levothyroxine (25 mgs)-for subclinical hypothyroidism, no apparent side effects experienced.
> oxybutynin chloride (5 mg)-for over-active bladder, experienced swelling (hand/fingers, throat).
> oxaprozin (600 mg, day pro)-NSAID pain killer, experienced hives d/c due to side effects
> acetazolamide (125 mg), altitude sickness, no apparent side effects experienced.
> doxycycline (100 mg), tick bite, no apparent side effect experienced.
> ciprofloxacin (500), diarrhea, no side effects experienced.
> erthromycin (cream, eye infection), no side effects experienced.
> rizatriptan (10 mg), migraines, sleepiness.
> cyclobenzprine (10 mg), muscle relaxant, no side effects experienced.
All of these medications I either knew why he was taking them or why he had them in his cabinet. It was also very encouraging that he knew what he was taking and why and what side effects. If I was his nurse I would feel comfortable with the education he had received about his medication.
I know this isn’t always the case.
My grandma was recently diagnosed with rectal cancer and depression and she made it through chemo and radiation but getting her to take antidepressants is a struggle. She doesn’t think they work but she won’t go to the doctor to try difference kinds of adjust the dose. It’s almost the time when you wish there were long term dose options that didn’t have terrible side effects but were easier to monitor use.
