Medications

One of the biggest problems in the elderly is the number of medications that they take on a regular basis. You don't have to be elderly to forget whether you have taken a medication or not. I would venture to guess that most everyone reading this at one time or another had to stop and think and maybe count the number of pills in the bottle to see if they had missed a dose.

My suggestion is be organized with your medication. Put it in a pill reminder box with the days of the week. If you are on an antibiotic and that is your only medication, put however many doses you need for the day in that day's bin.

Another suggestion is to always have a written list of the medications that you take in your wallet or purse. If you ever end up in the emergency room, this could save your life!

Digestion Problems and Medications

Take the time to know about what medications you are taking. Many of them can be causing some of your intestinal problems. I'm not advocating that you stop your medications to see if they are causing the problem, but if you have followed this blog over the past few days, so the things I mentioned in those posts. If things do not improve, then see your doctor and talk to him about your medications and what other choices you may have.

Know that vitamins and supplements can also cause some intestinal issues. For example, calcium often causes constipation, gas and bloating. Magnesium and Vitamin C can cause loose stools or diarrhea. Some of the B vitamins can cause nausea. Consider taking a vitamin vacation to see if things improve. If they do, then consider changing your vitamins. Suffice it to say that not all vitamins are alike. Some of the cheaper ones may not have the quality controls that a more expensive brand has. You may need to change brands.

Prescription Medications - Questions To Ask #3

The next question to ask is are there any side effects to this medication? I was always a bit hesitant to answer this question because I knew that some patients would automatically develop any side effects that I mentioned. But you do need to know.

For example, if you are taking an anti-cholesterol medication, you should know that it can cause muscle weakness and that this is not an OK side effect. This is something that warrants stopping the medication immediately no matter what.

You should also know whether any tests are required to monitor the drug. The best example of this is the statin drugs (anti-cholesterol medications) which can cause problems in the liver. Liver function tests should be checked to be sure that your liver, which you won't sense, isn't getting into trouble.

Any drug that may effect the liver, the kidneys or any other major organ system must be checked to be sure that you are not developing a side effect.

Prescription Medications - Questions To Ask #2

Next make sure you understand exactly what time of day you should take you medication. This is extremely important with medications used to treat diabetes. To have the maximum benefit, you should take some of these 30 minutes before you eat, not with the meal or after the meal.

Also ask how you should take the medicine and for how long you should take the medicine. Taking an antibiotic until you feel better is not the way to take it. On the other side of that coin is be sure that you actually need the antibiotic. Remember that almost all bacterial infections are cured by your immune system and all viral infections are cured by the immune system. If your immune system is compromised, then you may need medicines to help your immune system fight the infections. Most colds do NOT need to be treated with an antibiotic. You're not doing yourself any favors by requesting and getting an antibiotic for a cold. In fact many times an antibiotic will make the cold symptoms last longer.

Prescription Medications - Questions To Ask #1

Over the next few days I will be giving you some questions to ask whenever you are started on a new medication by your doctor. I am an advocate of no medicine is good medicine, but sometimes you will be placed on a medication.

First be sure you know the name of the medication and exactly what it is for. Why is the doctor giving you this medication? Ask if the name you are told is the brand name or the generic name.

You should have a list of any medications and what they are for that you are on in your wallet or in your purse. In the event you end up in the Emergency Department or in another doctor's office, you can let them know exactly what medications you are on and why you are on them.

7 Ways to Lessen Stress in Your Life

There are some things to avoid to start with to decrease stress in your life. Avoid drugs and alcohol as these are often depressants and make the situation worse. Using them for stress can evolve into a dependence which has a whole other set of problems for you. Medications may be used, but I would recommend counseling first along with some good positive habits which I'll be talking about over the next few days.

More on Triglycerides

There are other contributing factors that can raise triglyceride levels. Some of these are things like obesity, excessive alcohol intake, diabetes, diet high in saturated fats, chronic liver disease, low thyroid hormone, and chronic kidney disease. In addition to these factors, certain medications can also raise triglyceride levels. Some of these include prednisone, estrogen, certain diuretics (thiazides specifically), tamoxifen (used in breast cancer patients), accutane, and some of the beta blockers.

To avoid the medication regime that you may get put on, you can do somethings to keep triglyceride levels down. First and foremost is to eat a well balanced healthy diet with emphasis on fruits and vegetables, along with more unsaturated fats. Decrease your alcohol intake and get at least 30 minutes of exercise 4-5 days per week.

Soy - the Cons

The biggest con to soy is the it can interfere with the thyroid gland. This is especially true in people who are iodine deficient. The gland is not able to function in it's normal way and this gets worse when soy is added into the body.

While iodine deficiency is a rarity in the USA today, what is not is the incidence of thyroid disease. Soy can actually reduce the absorption of thyroid medications that many people are taking. So the best advice for soy specifically is not to eat or drink a soy product within 1-2 hours of taking your thyroid medication.

The likelihood that you will get too much isoflavones is not an issue unless you are taking supplements in addition to eating soy foods. If you are eating soy in your diet, decease the amount of isoflavones in the supplements that you take.

More on the cholesterol story

After yesterday's post, I just received some information about Vytorin and it's relationship to an increase in cancer risk. I have not seen any hard data here, but I will look for it to see what is out there and let you know what I find.

Today's words of caution are, if you are on Vytorin and are not feeling well, get to your doctor and possibly stop taking the medication. It's not OK for you to feel ill, have muscle aches and pains while on these types of medications. These are potentially serious side effects that may affect your future health.

This is just more proof that children should not be put on these medications. Let's find out what they really do before we start giving them to our children.

Cholesterol

More on the cholesterol scene. The slick ads on the TV are to get you to purchase a product. Or as the pharmaceutical ads say, "ask your Doctor if this drug may be right for you." I have seen many patients since these ads started who come to the office purely to see if they need to be on the drug. Some patients actually get angry when I have told them no. As a scientist, I look at the research on the drugs to see what the actually numbers are. You and I both know that you can make statistics say whatever you want. The statistics may say that there is a significant difference, but when you actually look at the numbers, it may not be the picture that you think.

The example is Vytorin, a cholesterol drug. Looking at the numbers, I wouldn't say that this drug is any better than some other cholesterol drugs that are out there. If fact, it may not work as well. So why do the drug companies put these ads on TV? They are looking to you the public to ask the doctors to switch you to the latest and greatest drug, which, oh by the way, is going to cost you more and make more money for the drug company.

Be cautious of the TV ads for any drug. My premise has always been that the less medicine you are on the better for you. Yes, sometimes you do need medicines, but not always.