Talk to Your Doctor or Pharmacist About Taking Medications
If you are taking multiple prescriptions or have started taking over-the-counter medications or supplements, it is probably time to check with your doctor.
Dr. Suzanne Salamon, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, tells Harvard Health that drug checks should be done annually and after hospitalization (this is especially important for the elderly). Here’s what you want to do or encourage your parents to do.
Collect all medications, vitamins, etc. that you take regularly and bring the bottle bottles with you to your next doctor’s appointment. “The list is not enough,” says Salamon. “People don’t take medicine or record doses.” You can also take them to your pharmacist.
This is especially important if you have multiple prescriptions from doctors or if you self-medicate with over-the-counter medicines – one doctor may not know how the other medicine you are taking will interact with the one they are prescribing.
“If your regimen is too complicated or confusing, it increases the risk that you will forget to take your medicine (and result in health problems), you will take too much of a certain medicine (which will cause side effects), or you will take dangerous medicine. interaction, ”notes Harvard Health. “Your doctor may want to exclude a drug or supplement to make your daily routine easier.”
Health aspects aside, there is a financial reason for this: your pharmacist or other doctor may tell you that you don’t really need any medication at all, or that there is a cheaper generic option. Ask about non-drug alternatives and side effects.
“If you prescribe your own medication at the pharmacy, or if your doctor gave you a prescription with supplements but didn’t give you clear instructions on how long to take, you can take your pills unnecessarily,” writes Harvard Health. “For example, some medications, such as heartburn medications known as proton pump inhibitors, are not designed for long-term use.”
Finally, make a new list of your prescriptions and dosages, and be sure to update it after every doctor visit or regimen change.