QUESTION: I am getting discouraged.
Each time I visit the doctor, I get a new schedule for my medications, and it is becoming very complicated.
With all your knowledge, why can't doctors figure out a way that reduces the number of times we have to take each medicine each day? Many of your patients really need this type of help.
ANSWER: Despite all our study and searching, we still don't know it all. There are a lot of medications that are prepared in ways to reduce the number of times per day they must be taken.
Some tricks have been to prepare "slow release" compounds which permit a small amount of medicine to be released at a time over a longer period of time.
Sometimes capsules can contain larger doses that can than last longer.
In the final analysis, however, it's the way our bodies work that makes once a day dosage impossible or impractical for certain kinds of medicines.
Just as we digest food by breaking our nourishment down into its basic components, medications are also "digested" by our body's metabolic processes.
Some chemicals break down faster, and so in order to keep enough in our system to do us some good, another pill must be taken after a rather brief period.
Our digestive system is another problem for oral medicines, as the stomach, small intestine, and large intestine all function in different ways.
That is why, when a patient is seriously ill, medicine is administered through solutions that pass directly into the blood stream, and thus avoid the problems of digestion. But don't let the problems of a complex schedule for medications stop you from taking them on time, and when you are supposed to.
Make a schedule, using a different color for each medicine, choosing a color that matches the pill color, to help you keep it all straight.
If you need more help ask for it, from your doctor, pharmacist, or nurse, or whoever is responsible for helping you.
And keep asking until you get answers you understand.
It is the right way to get the most from your medicines.
The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace the counsel and advice of your personal physician.
Promptly consulting your doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical problem.
