Is There a Cure to Polypharmacy?
“Polypharmacy is defined as the regular use of 5 or more medications at the same time, is common in older adults and at-risk younger individuals.”-Stat Pearls
This practice is more commonly seen in elderly patients who often deal with multiple conditions.
I have seen elderly patients cry because they felt they were being tortured by the many medications they had to take — I’m barely able to diligently complete a 2–3 day treatment for malaria without several reminders.
Pictured below, is an example.
Photo source: LinkedIn-Prof. Khaled Albouaini
The medications pictured above belong to one patient.
Can you imagine having to take all these everyday for years?
It is very impressive to see a patient being organized like this.
However, If you live in a developing country, where incentives from the government aren’t readily available and payment for healthcare is often from out of pocket, you would realize that having all these medications is a luxury many patients can’t afford, they just can’t afford it.
That’s why I’ve started a newsletter on lifestyle medicine, the goal is to build a community excited and committed to a healthy heart and a happy life.
Lifestyle modification is very important while we are young and strong, it can be done alone but even better if your tribe and loved ones can buy into it.
I no longer cook with salt at home, initially there was some resistance, but now everyone has gotten used to it. Change begins with me. Change begins with you!
“A healthy lifestyle attenuates the effect of polypharmacy on total and cardiovascular mortality” — Martinez-Gomez et al
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