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W e If you are older than 50, you
likely know at least one person with a pillbox filled with innumerable daily medications. Tere are many older adults who
require four or more medications to control high blood pressure and two or three to regulate blood sugar and who simultaneously take pain medications, antidepressants and sedatives for sleep. When someone is juggling two,
three or four chronic conditions, it is not surprising that his drug count rises. Unfortunately, this all-too-common situation, known
Come as you are.
If you are saying to yourself, “As soon as I lose weight, look good in tights or touch my toes, I am going to try yoga” –
Don’t hesitate! You are the very one we are hoping to serve.
&
Advice for a beter life! Keep track of your pills
h
as polypharmacy, can have serious ramifications for your health. Polypharmacy is defined as tak-
ing six or more medications. Tat includes prescription drugs, over- the-counter medications, herbal remedies and multivitamin prepa- rations. Te evidence is compelling that if you take more than six dif- ferent pills daily, it results in a sub- stantial increase in negative side ef- fects; take 10 or more different pills daily and adverse effects are virtu- ally certain. Te major problem with polyp-
harmacy is “drug interaction,” when one medication interferes with an- other and leads to a problem, which can be life-threatening. Many drug interactions are very well-known. For example, many antibiotics, sed- atives and painkillers interact with the blood thinner Coumadin and increase the risk of bleeding. Also, a patient who takes Viagra
1 Florida Avenue, Weaverville – Across from the Well-bred Classes Every Day / Every Level See Schedule at www.WeavervilleYoga.Com or Call 348.4171
Let us take care of your family
and also takes nitrates for chest pain runs a high risk of a serious decline in blood pressure. Te risk of nega- tive drug interactions is aggravated by advancing age because declines in liver and kidney functions sig- nificantly affect the way drugs are metabolized and excreted. Patients seeing multiple physi-
We’ve been taking care of Weaverville’s pharmacy needs for over 100 Years…
cians are much more likely to expe- rience the adverse effects of polyp- harmacy. With each new physician, there are likely new medications prescribed – sometimes without consideration of pre-existing pre- scriptions. Once a medication has been prescribed, discontinuation is rare, and many patients stay on un- needed drugs for many years. Occasionally, confusion between
the generic name and trade name of a drug can result in duplicate pre- scriptions. Recently I saw a patient
Spa and Salon an Our practice makes perfect!
Call for an appointment
828-645-8525 Now participating with MedCost
www.weavervilletribune.com
201 Flat Creek Village Drive • Weaverville, NC I-26, Exit 17 (next to N.Windy Ridge Elementary School)
645-3087 •
weavervilledrug.com 3 North Main St. Weaverville • M–F: 9 to 6:30, Sat: 9 to 4 828.645.2529 three south main street
weaverville nc 28787
3 N. Main St. Weaverville, NC 28787
with severe side effects from simul- taneously taking Elavil and amitrip- tyline, the same drug with different names. Other mistakes include the excessive use of acetaminophen, the generic name for Tylenol. Te painkiller Percocet contains a
combination of acetaminophen and hydrocodone. Patients in pain often take Percocet and Tylenol, which can lead to serious liver damage. As a geriatrician, some of my
greatest successes have come from prescribing “drug holidays.” A drug holiday is when a patient imme- diately discontinues or tapers off all medications. Recently I saw an 88-year-old man who was taking more than 30 medications daily. He was confused and hallucinating and had very low blood pressure. He re- cently had fallen and fractured his clavicle. All of his problems could be as-
cribed to adverse effects of his medi- cations. Within a week of a super- vised drug holiday, his improvement was truly dramatic. Ultimately, we discovered that most of his medica- tions were no longer necessary and that only two prescriptions and three over-the-counter medications were needed. Today he is a new man. When managing multiple condi-
tions – and multiple medications – it is vitally important to monitor all drugs continually, including over- the-counter medications, herbal
remedies and certain nutritional supplements. Always take a com- plete list to your physician, whether it is your primary care doctor or it is a consultation by a specialist. If a medication is prescribed, talk to your physician to make sure that the indication is fully understood, and ask whether it will interact with other drugs. In the fight against polyphar-
macy, perhaps the greatest ally is closer than you think – your local pharmacist. Find a pharmacist you trust, and buy all your medications from his or her pharmacy. A good pharmacist will help keep track of all your medications and ensure you have no adverse reactions. If possible, seek a pharmacy that uses computer programs to identify ev- ery possible side effect. A recent report published in
the Archives of Internal Medicine showed that in patients older than 80, analyses of medications by pharmacists employing appropriate computer programs reduced drug- related admissions to hospitals by 80 percent, reduced the number of hospital visits by 15 percent, and substantially decreased costs. Te message is clear: Be vigilant
with every pill that enters your mouth. Keep track of all your medi- cations, and always make sure each drug is necessary and appropriate. Visit Weaverville Drug Com- pany for more information.
Get Massage!
Massage can help with stress, TMJ, depression, chronic pain and injury, fibromyalgia, scoliosis and more!!!
828-808-9477
Linda Sommer, LMBT NC License #5483
Locations in Weaverville and Fletcher
Your Hometown Pharmacy for over 100 years 645-3087 May 27 - June 2, 2010 - THE TRIBUNE 3
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