On Sat 13 Dec 2008 06:54:45p, Michael "Dog3" told us...

> blake murphy tossed this tasty morsel into the pot
> :
>
>> On Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:20:10 -0800, Dan Abel wrote:
>>
>>> In article >,
>>> (Steve Pope) wrote:
>>>
>>>> jmcquown > wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>That's the trouble with "medical people". They aren't the be all,
>>>>>end all simply because they went to medical school. At some point
>>>>>you have to step up and ask WHY are you giving her all of this?!
>>>>
>>>> When I got up to I think nine prescriptions, I took a hard look
>>>> at all of them and decided I could quit two. I'm about to taper
>>>> off one more.
>>>>
>>>> While it's clear that a person might be validly prescribed 9,
>>>> 15, or 30 medications, it's also clear that they can't all be
>>>> equally important. It's reasonable to figure out which ones
>>>> are least important.
>>>
>>> I have an easy way of determining which medicines are least
>>> important. It's those thousands of medicines that the doctor has not
>>> yet prescribed for me. I'm on nine meds now, two non-prescription.
>>> Why would I drop any of them unless I didn't need them anymore, or
>>> their risk increased to more than their value?
>>
>> doctors may not be gods, but it seems to me to be foolish to disregard
>> their advice, at least on the basis of 'there are too many
>> prescriptions!'
>
> I take 9 scripts a day. Some for diabetes, some for heart disease
> related issues, some for glandular issues etc. The problem I was
> experiencing was not the number of medications but the mix of the meds.
> I have 4 docs and they don't always communicate amongst themselves, or
> if they do, the fax etc. gets lost in the shuffle, when one or the other
> wants to change a dosage. This can cause me problems since it sometimes
> takes a couple of weeks for the bod to adjust to these changes and
> sometimes there is a reaction when one of the dosages is lowered or
> increased. My insurance company has helped with this by assigning me a
> nursing coordinator. She helps coordinate this type of thing with all 4
> of my docs. Makes he a happier patient and it helps my doctors out
> because they don't have to worry so much about what the other is
> doing.This has been very helpful to me as a patient.
>
> Michael
>
>

I have a similar situation, Michael, also taking 9 meds, some for diabetes,
others for heart related issues, and 1 for anxiety. However, I'm only
involved with two physicians on a regular basis, my internist and my
cardiologist. Fortunately, both doctors' offices commuinicate well after a
visit to either of them. Still, there have been a couple of occasions
where my insurance company has caught a possible drug interaction and
notified the pharmacy at the time of my filling the prescription. I don't
have a nursing coordinator, although my insurance company would provide one
if I desired. At this point I don't think I need that much management. I
also do extensive research on all the medications I take, especially when
one is changed or added.

--
Wayne Boatwright
(correct the spelling of "geemail" to reply)
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Date: Saturday, 12(XII)/13(XIII)/08(MMVIII)
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