Caregivers and Medication – Pharmacists Can Help

Elderly patients who have a caregiver caring for them at home are often using multiple medications or are using a medication or two and in the process of adding several more medications to their daily list of things that have to be consumed.  Especially when starting a new medication, there is reason to be excessively careful with both the old and the new medications.  For elderly patients with multiple prescriptions, it is especially important for caregivers to talk to the pharmacist and get all the information that you need.

Interaction effects are a frequent problem with elderly patients on multiple medications.  This is why your doctor has to be kept updated on absolutely all of the medications that a person is taking.  If one specialist prescribed a medication for an isolated symptom, the general practitioner has to be notified so that the patient’s records are accurate.  Of course, the opposite is true too–when you visit a specialist, you should always have a complete list of medications and regular treatments to give the specialist. This will help the doctor become aware of the whole picture.  Interactions between prescription medications can be dangerous, so it’s imperative that all doctors involved, as well as the pharmacist, know a complete list of medications for each and every patient.

Another common issue concerning the elderly and medications is the caregiver’s responsibility for dispensing the medications.  Many elderly patients are on a wide variety of prescription medications that have to be taken at multiple times every day and negative side effects can occur if a dose is missed or late.  These problems can be aided by special pill dispensers that help the caregiver to remember what times of day a pill should be taken and how many pills of each type are needed.  Ask your pharmacist about different specialized pill dispensers in order to alleviate this problem.

Something that is of particular interest to talk about with your pharmacist is about the reasons for taking each medication and what can be expected in terms of primary and secondary effects.  Doctors sometimes are in such a hurry that they prescribe something that needs to be given, but do not spend enough time explaining to the patient and to the caregiver what this medication is for and what kind of effects it can have.  Pharmacists are usually a really helpful source of this type of information.

Visit your pharmacy at times of the day when it is less busy, such as early in the morning so that you are sure to have an uninterrupted conversation with the pharmacist.  Make a list of your questions before you go so that you are sure to get answers for all of your questions.  Not only should you ask about what the drug is for, but also about how good of a chance there is that the drug will help in the symptoms that the drug is prescribed for.  Another good thing to know is the average amount of time it takes to start seeing the desired effects of the medication.  Lastly, detrimental side effects should be discussed.

Many medications can have a negative effect, either in combination with the positive effect they are designed to have or instead of the effect they are supposed to have.  It can also be the case that they work differently in combination with the other medications a person is taking than they would work when a patient is not taking any other medications.  Knowing the dangerous side effects to look for will help you take good care of your loved one.  Regardless of the side effects that the pharmacist tells you about for a particular drug, any sudden and severe change in health or behavior should be discussed with the pharmacist and the doctor.  Symptoms to look out for are depression, sleep disorders, Parkinson’s-like symptoms and confusion; any of these should be discussed right away in order to reassess pharmacological needs.

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