I was speaking with a client a few days ago when she excused herself to retrieve her allergy medicine from her bag. Upon opening her purse, ten medications fell onto my table.
Quickly, she looked at her medications, pulled a tablet from the selection, and paused when she began to take it. She had quickly realized that she was about to take her anxiety medication, which was very similarly named to her allergy meds.
The medicine that fell from her bag could’ve filled a rack at Walgreen’s.
I know as we get older, we’re buying more medicine, but do we really need to take it everywhere we go? Bedouin tribes carry less and they travel for hundreds of miles.
A better question could be: are we even looking at the medication we purchase to check and make sure our prescription is correct? Have we made ourselves familiar with the several different generic substitutes for the more expensive brand name pills?
To be fair, the pharmacist gives us the chance to ask questions, but we’re usually in too big of a rush to get home and eat lunch that we don’t ask. So, we don’t ask and we head home with a bunch of pills that we know nothing about.
Medications can get confusing; over the counter, under the counter, generic, non-generic. We’re not paying enough attention to what we’re taking, why we’re taking it, and whether or not we’re doubling up.
Don’t even get me started on the supplements. Who knows what’s in those bottles and yet we keep buying them because it sounds good!
Look, we’re not going to stop taking pills, but maybe we should take a look every once in a while (with our glasses on) to see what we’re taking and that it matches the descriptions on the pharmacy labels. If you’re unsure what it is, surprise the pharmacist by asking a question.
Take my advice for what it is… It’s JUST AS I SEE IT!
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