Medication Problems and the Elderly

At 83 years old, Martha still lived in her own home and enjoyed working in her garden and canning peaches.  It was becoming harder to motivate herself to get up in the mornings and accomplish the day's tasks.  She confided to her daughter that she felt anxious and tired.  Her daughter, who was taking medication for her anxiety, took Martha to her own doctor, not Martha's, and got her a prescription for Valium.  In doing so, the daughter's doctor, who had never seen Martha and who did not have her medical history, was only aware of a few medications they told him she was taking.  Martha, in fact, was taking nine different medications as well as herbal supplements.

The addition of Valium to her existing list of prescribed drugs sent her to the emergency room with respiratory distress.  If she had gone to her own doctor, he would have found that a dosage adjustment of her current medication would have solved her anxiety.

Medications errors are common in the elderly.  Many seniors take on average six to eight different prescfriptions as well as over the counter drugs.  Many times the elderly will not go back to their doctor to have their dosage evaluated and changed if necessary.  Family members should be aware, that elderly parents may tend to take the family's advice over going to their own doctor.  Even though children want to help increase the health and stamina of their parents, they many in fact be causing damage by misdirecting their loved ones.

Where a younger person can benefit from herbal supplements like Ginkgo, Saw Palmetto and others, in older people, these herbals may cause adverse reactions with their prescription medications.

In 2003, a panel of experts put together a list of potential medications that would not be appropriate to give to seniors.  This is called the "Beers List", named after one of the research professionals.