Some people are so ignorant of their medication

Valve Replacement Forums

Help Support Valve Replacement Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

sue943

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 6, 2006
Messages
1,555
Location
Jersey, Channel Islands (British Isles)
I was talking to a man at my stroke group today (yesterday) and somehow I got around to mentioning warfarin and he said that he takes it for his diabetes and was I diabetic too then?

I had to explain to him that he doesn't take it for his diabetes, he takes it because he has had a double bypass and as he told me, his other two arteries are quite badly blocked but they cannot operate on them due to his physical condition, it would kill him he was told. He was quite surprised, it hadn't occurred to him that it wasn't for diabetes.

When I asked his INR range he had absolutely no idea, just said he takes 4.5mg and has regular blood tests and they tell him what to take, for instance last time he was told to skip one dose so I guess he had wandered a bit high. Since we are all tested at our hospital I know he is being tested and dosed just fine so that isn't a worry.
 
Sue,
That has amazed me too. I think in my parents day you just took your meds and if someone asked you said, "Oh, I'm on blood pressure meds". They had no idea what those meds were for or what they did. There are still a lot of people that maintain that thinking.

Some people chose to remain that way because they want to disconnect from their illness or because they don't know how to ask about or research their health or medications.

I think people that are on the web (and in this forum) are the opposite. We want to be engaged in our health care and we have the ability and tools (the net) to find answers to our questions and to find new questions that we had never even thought about.

"Knowledge is power"
Power to the patients!
John
 
My mother, the ostrich, takes several meds. When I ask about her latest checkup (endocrinologist, internist, dermatologist, whatever), she doesn't have the slightest clue. It's not that she's 81; she's been this way all her life. Passive, not wanting to take charge and LEARN.

When there have been serious things going on with either her or my dad, my youngest sister goes to the Dr. with them. She's a retired RN.
 
I check out every single med before I accept it. My dr is rxing some things to me that I can get over the counter; i.e. niacin and one other. They have the same ingredients as the otc ones except one is a timed release capsule and the other has something added called esters. I am sure the cost of the rx ones is way up there and I would pay more for my cost share than I pay at the pharmacy section of WalMart. She doesn't like it and got a little disturbed w/me but I stuck to my guns.

Y'all check your meds.
 
Back
Top