Are you taking too many pills?

In the past I did audits for doctors. I recall many doctors who had patients taking 25 - 30 different tablets! The last 5 pills were often counteracting side effects of the first 5! Illogic at its best!

This is what her script chart looked like:

But the over-prescribing thing goes both ways.

Today I saw a client and she had been recommended by a fellow naturopath to take 9 different supplements which amounted to 30 tablets per day! 14 in the morning and 16 tablets at night. Too many!

As health care providers, doctors and naturopaths need to be mindful of the following when writing pills/liquids or potions:

1. COST – how much is it costing the patient or the government
2. NEED – does the person really need it, can food, rest or something else achieve the same thing
3. RISK – will it make the person worse , is there a better way to do it
4. COMPLIANCE – will the person be able to stick to the plan. if they are forgetful, lunch time tablets might be over looked, so why write it up!

There are probably other things to consider, these are off the top of my head.

I try to keep supplements to under 6, even when the person is in a health cog mire. Slowly , surely and healthily people can be returned to vibrant wonderful health. Taking 30 tablets will only cost the patient a swag, will burn them out (who can swallow that many tablets) and see them give up.

Ask your health practitioner the following:

Do I need this tablet?

How long will I need it?

Are there other options?

What do I need to be doing different in my lifestyle that will negate the need for this pill?

One more thing to be aware of is self-diagnosis and self prescribed pills. Have you been in the situation when you go into a health food shop , start reading all the little pills and what they are good for only to find that you think you need about 10 things just to wake up the next day? I have – things for better sleep, fat loss, memory, energy, libido – all common things we take pills for. Chat to someone first, preferably a health practitioner (who is trained and can support their recommendations).

Good luck, HQ