Prescription drug jungle !

There have been some alarming news items concerning prescription drugs lately.   One widely prescribed drug intended to relieve reflux dilutes the acid content of the stomach and bowel to such an extent that it encourages the entry of several other diseases - one of which is usually fatal.

Statins are the most common drugs to lower blood pressure, but we are now warned that they have a link between memory loss and the onset of diabetes in users.   It tends to highlight Newton's Law - "  To every action, there is an equal and opposite re-action ".      What fixes one problem creates another !

Just about every Australian man and woman over fifty is on some sort of drug regimen.   The problem is that over the years we are prescribed drugs to combat various ailments.   Sometimes these are prescribed by a specialist and sometimes by our general practitioner, but once prescribed  we go on taking them indefinitely.

We tend to fall into a very familiar routine.    We make regular visits to our GP to get prescriptions renewed.  At that time, it is normal for things like the annual flu shot to be given, and blood pressure to be checked - but rarely is our entire drug regimen closely examined to determine if any of these drugs are still necessary - or if any of them conflict with one another.

Hopefully, our GP should spot any dangerous mix of drugs, but then general practitioners are busy people and in many towns and suburbs they are few in number in contrast to patients.   There is also a seniority question.   If a specialist has prescribed a drug it should be in the full knowledge of the patient's existing drug regimen - and that specialist is higher in the pecking order than the GP.     Dangerous drug mixes can occur if the specialist misses the presence of other drugs, because the patient can not remember the names of his or her existing drug regimen at the time of the specialist appointment.

So - what is the answer to this dangerous problem ?

Obviously, this should be a subject to be raised with your GP when next you ask for prescription renewal, but as a double check it would be a good idea to ask that same question of the pharmacist who makes up the supply.     It is just one more step in using the " pecking order " to get a drug evaluation under way.

The pharmacist  is the lowest rank on the totem pole and would not usually question the choice of a GP - who would not question the drug choice of a specialist - but has the knowledge of the drug spectrum to spot potential incompatibility.

Once there is a question of incompatibility it is up to you - as the patient - to follow up back along the line, and even take up the question with the specialist - who you probably have not seen for many years since that first consultation.

The key is to understand exactly what the drugs you take are expected to do - and why you are taking them !