UNDERSTAND AND ADHERE TO YOUR DOCTOR’S PROGRAM
Filed Under Doctor's office |
First, insist on understanding the importance of the medication and the instructions. Secondly, consider whether following the instructions poses any special problems. Third, adhere to the agreed program. Fourth, if medication remain’s after the course of therapy, destroy it. You must understand the instructions given to you. If you are confused, ask questions: “Could you go over that again?” “I don’t understand what this medication is for.” “Do I really have to be treated in the hospital?” “How much will this cost?” “Are there any risks to this drug?” Ask yourdoctor to write out the instructions. Understand the importance of each drug or treatment.
In some instances it does not matter if you take the medicine regularly; in these circumstances the drug gives only symptomatic relief and should be discontinued as soon as possible. Be sure that you understand whether it is or is not necessary to continue the medication when you feel well.
Consider the entire prescribed program. You may have difficulties not known to your physician. Perhaps you have trouble taking a medication at work. Perhaps you anticipate trouble with a prescribed diet. Perhaps reasons unknown to your physician prevent your undertaking the recommended activity. If more than one medication has been prescribed initially, it may be more desirable for you to take them all at once. When such questions arise, ask in advance. Frequently, if you raise these questions with your physician, your treatment program can be modified so that you can feel more comfortable. The keynote is honesty.
Don’t say that you will do something which you know you will not do. Express your worries. After an agreed program has been prescribed, follow it closely. If you notice possible side-effects from the program, call the physician and inquire. If side-effects are serious, return for examination. Make a chart of the days of the week, and the times when medications are to be taken. Note on the chart when you take the medicines. Don’t look on this as an insult to your intelligence; this practice is universally used in hospitals by trained personnel to insure that medication schedules are maintained accurately. At home, you and your family are the custodians of your health. Do not take this task more lightly than it is taken by professionals.
When pills remain at the end of a course of therapy, flush them down the toilet. There are multiple hazards with a medicine chest containing old prescription medicines. Every year, children and adults die from taking left-over drugs. Children take birth control pills, adults brush their teeth with steroid creams, and the wrong medication is taken because another bottle was thought to be in hand. If you give your leftover tetracycline to your children with their next cold, you are probably not aware that you may cause mottling of their teeth. If the same tetracycline becomes outdated and is subsequently used, you are probably not aware that dangerous liver damage may result. When a new illness occurs, the situation is confused if you have already taken left-over medications. Sometimes it will be impossible to make an accurate identification of a bacteria by culture or the clinical picture of the disease may be distorted. The doctor-patient encounter is your most reliable protection against serious illness. Value the opportunity for such attention, utilize it selectively, and follow to the maximum extent possible the instructions you are given.