Some seniors take 10-19 medications daily

[The Straight Story]

Some seniors take 10-19 medications daily


FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J., Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Twenty-five percent of U.S. adults age 65 and older take 10-19 medications each day, a survey indicates.

A national survey of more than 1,000 people, conducted by Kelton Research on behalf of Medco Health Solutions Inc., found 51 percent take at least five different prescription drugs regularly. However, 57 percent of those polled admit they forget to take their medications and the more drugs they use the more likely they are not to remember to take them.

Among those using five or more medications, 63 percent say they forget doses.

The ability to afford medication is the top concern among 40 percent of seniors taking five or more prescription medications daily, followed by 23 percent who worry over drug side effects and 17 percent concerned with drug interactions.

The survey reveals 60 percent of Medicare beneficiaries have taken some steps to delay reaching the donut hole, such as using generic medications, asking for free samples from doctors or using mail order to purchase prescriptions. On average, seniors surveyed estimated using mail order saved them about $540 a year and 19 percent estimated they saved at least $1,000 annually.

http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2009/12/29/Some-seniors-take-10-19-medications-daily/UPI-16021262131367/

[undeterred]

1. Well, that's gotta stop.

Nobody has a right to all their bodily functions after 65.

[Thickasabrick]

2. Agreed.....death panels for everyone taking more than 5 nt

[The Straight Story]

4. If they took less, we could save more $$ for younger folks

They made bad choices in life, ate too many fatty foods, smoked, etc. Why should we help them out?

Sarcasm of course!

[roguevalley]

16. My parents did. I have it down to 3

[undeterred]

21. I hope you know I was being ironic!

But I tend to think that fewer is better, since all drugs have unintended side effects. My mother is 82 and only has one prescription, but she's pretty stubborn about going to the doctor.

[roguevalley]

22. I know you were, honey, but this is my awful truth. I am working off

the pounds and just about have it ready to jettison my diabetes pill. Your mom is awesome by the way. Good for her.

[undeterred]

24. She was against estrogen replacement therapy

before they knew it was harmful.

[MellowOne]

3. Don't understand why they had to do research

A few years ago, I worked a temp job for Medco in Customer Service handling inbound complaints about prescriptions. I could pull up a screen and see all the medications people were taking, and I was always surprised at how many seniors were on. All Medco has to do is check their records!

[rfranklin]

5. Overmedication in most cases....

and doctors prescribing for every old age twinge.

[Fire1]

6. Some doctors just seem to be tools for big pharma.

[enlightenment]

11. Maybe. Maybe not.

My dad takes eight and none are for 'old age twinges'.

[CreekDog]

27. like blood pressure, blood sugar, to stave off alzheimers, etc.

you know, "twinges".

:eyes:

[Raine]

32. My father was on blood pressure medication

for years then found out he didn't need it. Sometimes that medication is overprescribed along with lots of others.

[CreekDog]

33. what's your point?

is blood pressure a "twinge"? because we are talking about "twinges".

[Raine]

34. Never mind

I thought we were talking how you can be overprescribed for something beyond a "twinge" but it's still something you didn't need. :shrug:

[CreekDog]

35. Yes, of course that's possible

I was just going against the majority of the posters who seemed to be suggesting that those pills were unneeded, people who say that without any medical training.

[Raine]

30. Yes I would bet a huge majority

are way overmedicated. :-(

[jmowreader]

7. Could compounding pharmacies help with medication compliance?

I would think that a pharmacist with a mixing machine and a capsule filler could put several drugs together in one pill--and by leaving the fillers out, get more active ingredient into each capsule. At the same time, this pharmacist, because he mixes ten drugs together, is going to be able to more accurately predict and perhaps prevent drug interactions.

[Walk away]

10. There aren't enough of them and it would cost a fortune.

Old folks would be waiting months to get their exact dosages filled. I think that alone would break the system for good.

[mopinko]

17. there is a trend to combine common meds.

blood pressure and cholesterol meds are coming out in single pills. i see this continuing, for sure.

[panader0]

8. I've got my medications down to two

One is grown and one is brewed.

[FlaGranny]

9. I have actually

counted the number of medication doses per day for some patients as up to 60 or so. Some are on more than 20 different meds, some are 4 a day, some are 3 a day, some 2 a day. The dosage schedule would need to be printed out and checked off to keep from making errors and the patient would need to take pills every hour of his waking day to get them all in and drink a gallon of water to get them all down. They miss doses, they double some doses, medications conflict with one another, and each one has their own set of side effects for which another medication is required. That can't be good. I can't stop asking myself whether the doctors are insane sometimes.

[cutlassmama]

12. I take that many and I'm not over age 65

[elocs]

13. I take 3 meds, 2 of them twice a day and I don't always remember.

Having to take 10-19 meds a day, I don't know if that is actually living or just surviving.

[Fleshdancer]

14. Wow. 25%???

I don't doubt that there are people in serious need of that many prescriptions, but 25% of our senior citizens? I'm in my early 30's and I don't think I could keep track of taking that many drugs every day.

There has got to be a better way. For the sake of quality of life, I hope like hell there's a better way.

[The Straight Story]

15. There is a better way, it's called Vodka :)

:rofl:

[tabbycat31]

18. I have a friend on that many and she's 24

She's always been a hypochondriac and buys into the Big Pharma advertising the way a kid does to a commercial for a toy. I presume half of her meds are from side effects of others, and the drugs reacting to each other.

[DainBramaged]

19. I take 7 every day, never forget, don't double up, by 11AM

4 of my 7 are generics. $4 from Target. the other 3 cost me $120 a month with my prescription plan. And without my prescription plan, I'd be fucked.

[Quantess]

20. That is a staggering amount of meds!

I wonder what percentage take 20 or more per day?

[gopwacker_455]

23. holy crap. wonder if that shortens their life expectancy

[Hekate]

29. I has certainly extended mine. By the age of 42 my cholesterol soared to 350, which alarmed the doc

... and that number was reached *after* I went into diet and exercise like a fiend in order to avoid the atherosclerotic fate of my poor auntie, who was dying of its complications about then.

I've been on one statin or another ever since--20 years. It's the only thing that brings my cholesterol down and keeps it down. I'm really hoping to avoid a stroke, thank you.

I'm now taking something for pre-diabetes that has put me back into normal blood-sugar range, by which I hope to avoid the full-blown Type 2 diabetes that my brother, my sister, and several of our cousins have.

High blood pressure (which is not one of my problems) is known as a silent killer, because people don't start to feel really bad until a lot of damage has been done.

In fact, a lot of diseases don't make themselves known until a lot of damage has been done unless you get regular checkups (I have my fingers crossed that soon everyone will be able to do that). Pills aren't perfect, but the alternatives are even less so.

Hekate

[KoKo]

25. It's a "Good Thing" {as convicted criminal Martha Stewart would say) This is GONE

from the Senate Health Care Bill!

[Blasphemer]

26. My mother is one of those... she takes them diligently. I can barely remember to take one... nt

[marlakay]

28. I don't think people really need it

I find that a lot of doctors don't spend any time with you at all and they just want to prescribe something and get you out of office fast.

I refuse to take meds unless I really really have to and I only take one pill a day for high blood pressure and working on cutting that down.

But i know most people just trust the doctors and take what they say, they don't question it.

[Hekate]

36. Are you monitoring your blood pressure several times a day to make sure it's stable?

Because if you cut back on that med you may not ever know damage is being done until it's irreversible.

Maybe lifestyle changes (less salt, weight loss, more exercise) will be your personal cure. Then again, maybe not.

Best of luck.

Hekate

[era veteran]

31. I read somewhere that there are 6-8 pharma sales reps for every MD

Goddamn the Pusher Man I was prescribed Bextra the day they took it off the market. It would be nice if Doctors were held to some standards other than the worthless AMA, excuse me , the self serving AMA.