If we're trying to figure out what's wrong with senior citizens, we might want to look in their medicine cabinets...or, their kitchen counters. Virtually every one of the medications you see here comes with one of two warnings: "May cause dizziness," or "May cause drowsiness." If you want to know why Grandma is falling asleep every 10 minutes, it's pretty clear to me: She's overmedicated.
OK, fine, maybe not overmedicated, but I'm starting to wonder if anyone treating geriatric patients is even considering the consequences of what they're prescribing.
For instance, my Dad takes TWELVE medications per day...plus a Tylenol or Advil or two, depending on how his back is feeling. I'm guessing that no matter what he complained about to his former primary physician, he could get a prescription for it. And, I'm certain that the doc also never took a look at the LONG list of meds and said: "Hmmm...I wonder if all of these meds together will put him in a stupor..." Nope. Pretty sure nobody did that.
And this doesn't even take into consideration whether he should have been driving while on all of these drugs. I'm thinking the police should be pulling over senior citizens and asking to see their medication list. SERIOUSLY.
Yesterday I picked up a refill on my Dad's prescription of Folic Acid. I looked at the label and it said: "May cause dizziness." What? Why are we giving folic acid to a guy who is having trouble navigating the path from couch to bathroom? (Add this to the long list of things I'll ask the new primary care doc.)
Science and medicine are wonderful, but is there a point where somebody should dispense some tough love instead of just an Rx? At the very least, shouldn't every senior citizen get somebody who evaluates their medication list IN TOTAL and wonders whether any one of the TWELVE meds combined might be a toxic disaster? Are we depending on Walgreen's to do this for us? Have you shopped at a Walgreen's lately? I wouldn't trust those people to water my plants.
I feel like Mom and Dad are in good hands. I've turned into a bit of a pit bull and I'm not afraid to ask tough questions at medical appointments. I can advocate for them. But too many senior citizens are trying to figure this out on their own...WHILE ON LOTS OF DRUGS. How can they possibly make safe decisions about their own health?
This post came about because Dad had a rough day yesterday. I was gone for a few hours and Mom said that Dad was having lots of weakness getting around and was acting erratically. Including the moment when I found him on the phone with the Illinois Secretary of State asking why his license was revoked. I went upstairs to fold laundry, came downstairs and he was on the phone. (I didn't even know he knew where the phone was. Guess he figured that out.) Anyway, he was grilling some girl about "who pointed the finger" at him and that "this is like a conviction without a trial." I tried my best to interrupt him, whispering: "Dad, I can tell you why," but it was for naught. They told him that they'd send him the medical report that resulted in the revoked license, so perhaps that will give him a clue. (Oh and he wasn't even holding the phone properly, which might explain to him why he couldn't really hear anything. Sigh.)
In any case, I went through his hospital discharge papers and highlighted the sections where it says he has dementia. I re-explained the diagnosis to him and then handed him the papers. (Mom took me aside and said: "I hope you made copies of those." We're all on to him now, aren't we?) Again, another exercise in futility. An hour or two later, when he was on his 5th episode of Law and Order: SVU (The most heinous show on TV. Since when is brutal rape considered entertainment?), I asked if he had any questions and he said: "Nope. I haven't looked at them yet." And this is how it goes....
My point is that Mom and I were trying to figure out why he seemed different yesterday. The dosage on the dementia patch doubled so we were thinking that was the culprit, but if you look at any one of his medications, the combination of which could knock over an elephant, you might find a reason why he can barely get up and/or walk.
All I know is that things are not improving and I feel like I have even less of a grasp on this situation than I did a day or two ago. Sure, I'm in better control of his medications than he probably was at home, but that doesn't mean his quality of life is improving. Unless you factor in the HD TV....and the desserts....
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