Wait.. WHAT Medications AM I Taking?!
It seems that all doctors try and fix people with medication before alternative measures. So how much do people know about the medication they are taking? I surveyed my mom and one of my non-nursing friends about what they know about the medications they take and about how much they know about over the counter medications that they take.
To start this blog, part of the reason I wanted to ask my mom what she knew, was years ago she was taking 50 mg of Pamelor (normally for depression but in lower doses can be used for other things) for her frequent migraines, which she stated worked very well for her. After nine years on the medication for her migraines she ended up also taking blood pressure medication and beta-blocker for high blood pressure and rapid heart rate. After being sick of taking so many pills at the young age of 40, she sat down and did some research about the medication she was on and found that the side effects of Pamelor included high blood pressure and high heart rate! She stopped taking the Pamelor and shortly after, her blood pressure was lower and so was her pulse and so she was able to stop taking ALL of her medication.
Now a few years later in life, my mom is back on blood pressure medication but she controls her blood pressure staying around the pre-hypertensive range after adapting to the DASH diet and becoming more active. Now, to follow up on what she knows off the top of her head- my mom knows that she takes “something that has potassium and a water pill”. She knows that the potassium pill is to go with her water pill. But when I asked her about side effects, she said that she realizes she should sit down and learn more since she should have learned from her previous experience. She does keep her medications written down on the back of her ID card so that she always has them and the doses she takes for when she gives blood and any other time they may be needed.
When asking about over the counter drugs, she knows that aspirin, ibuprofen, and acetaminophen are all different and she knows ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory. Now to switch over from someone who has taken many medications to someone who has not– hence why I asked one of my non-nursing friends (who does not take any prescribed medications) about what he knows about over the counter medications. When asking him the same question- if he knows the difference between aspirin, ibuprofen, and acetaminophen, he thought that they were all the same but he knew they were for pain. I then asked him if he had a cold regardless of the symptoms what medication he would buy, and he said that he would just take NyQuil or DayQuil and wouldn’t look at the back of the box to see if it takes care of the symptoms he was having. After asking these questions, I did explain that aspirin, ibuprofen, and acetaminophen work against pain differently in the body and therefore should be used in different situations, and that for his current cold when he told me he was feeling congested I told him NyQuil probably won’t help him much.
People go to the medications they know or what they are told to take, and don’t ask questions. They don’t think that taking something as simple as Tylenol for a headache after a heavy night of drinking for a hangover could be a bad thing since it should not be mixed with alcohol, because they aren’t reading the labels. My mom learned through experience, but my friend has not yet. Over the counter medications do have their own side effects and warnings, and just because it is posted on the bottle or box, does not mean people are reading them.
