Just a quick one before work, so you’ll have to follow the link and check this out for yourself. I see a lot of patients on a med called ‘proton-pump inhibitor’ that is used for heartburn. I suspect that it is often prescribed for a symptom or problem, and then never discontinued.

Shockingly, there are potential side-effects when you take a drug to stop your stomach from making acid. Who would have thought?

I’m going to have ‘Risk vs Benefit’ tattooed on my bicep. I spend a lot of time telling people to take their pills because it’s really risky not to, but there’s times I wonder if a particular pill is benefiting anyone but the drug company. I can only say, ‘ask your doctor.’ I get information on a ‘need to know’ basis and it’s between the doctor and patient to identify any drugs that can be stopped without risk of harm.

But since you won’t hear it on TV, next time you’re in the office, ask your doctor if there’s any drugs you can stop, or change to PRN, that is, ‘as needed.’

THE DOCTOR ANSWERS: I sent a link to this post to my doctor and got a nice reply–

I very much agree with you on this. people are started prophylactically to prevent stress ulcers. no one does due diligence to take them off when they leave.

He’s referring to the fact that people are prescribed stomach meds when in the hospital, it goes on their discharge med list, and no one ever questions. I’ve asked lots of patients why they take these meds, have they had ulcers or do they have indigestion. A lot of the time they say no, and don’t even know what the pills are for. They’re pretty low in side-effects, but why take something you don’t need?

It’s always good to bring your med list and your med bottles to the doctor when you go for an appointment. Bring the OTC’s, herbs and vitamins too. If you think you would like to take fewer pills, ask if there are any that you can stop or just take when you need them. You’ll come out with more knowledge of the risks and benefits of your meds, and maybe fewer of them.