Document text
62 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, July 1, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Prime Times Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 2, 2004 Experts say medication knowledge is critical for seniors By JOHN DARLING for the Mail Tribune It’s a drug jungle out there — not in gangs, schools and meth labs, but in the medicine chest of American senior citizens. Seniors take an average of 14 to 19 prescription drugs a day, at a time when their aging bodies are less able to handle unpredictable drug interactions — and their declining memories are less likely to remember what to take when, says Sharon Johnson of the Oregon State University Extension Service in Central Point. Johnson frequently speaks to seniors’ groups about drugs, urging seniors to carry a list of their medications — and check with doctors to make sure they’re all necessary and at the right dosage. "Within five years, the majority of the Rogue Valley will be over 55 and a large number of them will be at risk (because of drugs)," she recently told a crowd at the Ashland Senior Center. "At risk means you take two or more meds," Johnson said, "you have more than one doctor, you mix over-the-counter drugs with prescription drugs without knowing the outcome, you down drugs with something besides water or you have reactions that you don’t understand, like rash, drowsiness, hair loss or constipation." Advertisement Assisting Johnson is Alex Lokeno, a doctoral student in pharmacy from Oregon Health & Science University. Lokeno does on-site consultations with audience members, looking for duplicate medications, no-longer-needed medications or adverse reactions from multiple drugs. Johnson supervises one such student for six weeks each half-year. Seniors face an array of special problems with drugs: They often don’t hear and understand why the drug is being prescribed; 14 percent never fill their prescriptions; another 14 percent get them but don’t start taking them; many seniors take too many pills because they don’t remember if they took them earlier; and most have side effects from mixing with other drugs, herbs, teas and innocuous things like antacids or soda pop, Johnson said. Three-fourths of seniors over 65 have two or more chronic, age-related diseases, she added, which means they’re trying to manage dosages and space the times they take pills, so they don’t take ones that conflict. "The message here," said Paul Roland, 76, co-facilitator of the Issues and Options weekly public forum at the Ashland Senior Center, "is that we need to take charge of our own health care, not by self-medicating, but by resisting the intimidation by the media and drug companies, who want us to believe we have health problems we should spend money on." Key to staying in charge of your own drug program is good communication with your doctor, including frequent reviews of your meds menu — and keeping the menu, laminated, on your person, said Johnson, who will compose and laminate lists on request. Taylor Gimbel, 58, who takes six meds, said seniors face a problem in that pharmacists know more about drugs than the doctors who prescribe them. Said Johnson, "Know the pharmacist on a first-name basis, use your pharmacist to verify what the doctor said, keep a medical profile card on file with him, re-read the label each time and know what the prescription means." To prevent adverse reactions, seniors should stay alert to behavior changes, such as being stooped, cranky or depressed and, if they happen, suspect drugs as the first cause, she noted. "I take 10 drugs," said an elderly woman who asked not to be identified. "I used to take Paxil (for anxiety) and it drove me up the wall with a pounding in my head. I complained to the doctor but he didn’t take me seriously and he kept increasing the dose, so I dropped him. Now I take Lorazepam in very small doses and I’m OK." Perhaps by coincidence, many foods and herbs that start with "g" can cause adverse side effects with meds, including green tea, garlic, ginkgo and grapefruit, said Lokeno. He suggested taking almost all pills with water and to eschew cough drops (coughing is often a reaction to meds) in favor of just drinking lots of water. "Water is the sure thing," he said. Those wishing personal consultations or to schedule a group meeting may call Johnson or Lokeno at 776-7371. John Darling is a free-lance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at [email protected]. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times