This morning's doctor column has a letter from a woman who is concerned about her Father. It seems he caught a cold a few months ago, so went to the doctor -and the doctor prescribed Prednisone. After 4 days he became delirious and nearly lost consciousness. His doctor was not concerned - he just said "Oh, yeah?"
Now, her Father suffers from fatigue, loss of energy, shortness of breath, and a fibrillating heart - none of which he had before.
The newspaper doctor said prednisone is not an appropriate treatment for a cold - only for severe bronchitis, penumonia, asthma, arthritis, and other inflammatory conditions.
But then - he went on to say that while prednisone has many side effects, including muscle weakness, potassium loss, high blood pressure, thin skin, headaches, seizures, congestive heart failure, and more - it may not have been the prednisone that caused her father's problems.
It could just be a coincidence.
He then mentioned that while she didn't say it, he assumed that since her father is 82, he is on medication to reduce cholesterol and to lower blood pressure, and is taking an anticoagulant such as warfarin or aspirin.
Huh? If he was healthy, why on earth would he be taking all that stuff?
Sounds to me like doctors prescribe based on your age, not on your health.
I mentioned in my last post that older people are too apt to trust doctors and big pharm, just because they did see some incredible medical advances during their lives.
I don't know the answer, or how we as children or grand-children can help raise their awareness, but we do need to try. Maybe just sitting down together and reading the package inserts would help - and making sure that the people we love know the risks and all the possible side effects before they pop that next pill.
Yours for good health,
Marte
Marte Cliff, Copywriter
writer@marte-cliff.com
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