Are We Over Medicated
Are We Over Medicated
Notice that the title and subtitle are questions. I am not qualified or in a position to judge anyone over medicated. I am not a doctor nor have I even been employed in the medical profession. In this article I will illustrate two specific example of people that I know that have been over medicated and the symptoms they exhibited. Here are some startling statistics from Mercola.com :
- Average senior citizen over 65 takes 30 prescriptions per year
- People age 19-64 takes 12 perscriptions per year
- And even 0-18 average 4 prescriptions per year.
A survey by AARP shows 45% of those 65 and older take 3-6 prescriptions on a regular basis; 12% take 7-9 prescriptions on a regular basis; and 10% take 10 or more prescriptions on a regular basis.
Newsweek has reported that only heart disease, cancer and stroke kill more Americans than drugs prescribed by a medical doctor.
How Many Prescription Medications Do you Take?
I have a brother-in-law that has had a brain tumor and seizures since early childhood. So medications are a fact of life and imperative. However a remember a few years ago that his health seemed to deteriorate drastically. He became bed ridden and not able to even bathe himself. My sister was having wait on him 24/7. He changed doctors, the new doctor stopped all of his medications and then after some testing prescribed medicines he felt appropriate. My brother-in-law's health improved. He was able to get up again and resumed taking care of himself with no assistance from my sister at all. They had said he would not live from late summer to Thanksgiving. That has been over 10 years ago and he is still alive today.
The other example I said I would share is a senior citizen lady that I used to visit on Sundays. She was in poor health when I first met her. During the course of several months I saw her health deteriorate to the point that she could not walk 10 feet from the chair she occupied in the living room to the kitchen table in order to eat without assistance from her son. She couldn't even use a walker and make that trek on her own. I went to visit one Sunday afternoon and it was like I was not seeing the same woman. Her voice was stronger, her speech clearer and she was bragging about all that she was able to do. I inquired what had made such a drastic improvement and she informed me that the doctor had taken her off all her medications and was reevaluating her. The change was stunning.
If you watch TV at all you have seen the same commercials I have often one right after the other in the same program breaks for medicines. They are required by law to give the possible side effects of the medication. I often comment to my wife that the possible side effects sound worse than the ailment they are purported to alleviate. It is my observation that many people take medicines to counter the symptoms created by other medicines. I'm not offering solutions or casting blame just asking the question "Are We Over Medicated?"
