I have been looking after Mom now, for over ten years. Have gone with her and Dad to the same Family Doctor for over 13 years until the Doctor up and retired. Then our new Doctor visited the house, and since we’ve changed, the new new Doctor also comes to the home.
What gets me, is that over my entire life, the solution for many of one’s complaints, has been to prescribe a pill. At least until this new Doctor took over. Mom’s physician from way back, gave her Amytryptilene, to help her sleep. However it is also an anti depressant, and boy does it have some nasty side effects.
In fact, it sent Mom to the Hospital for a month, because she was losing her balance a lot. Seemed it was a side effect of the drug, which she was taking 150 mg. of each night.
Now, after that it got cut back, but not eliminated, and until Dr. Rosenberg took over, she was taking 50 mg. each night. Her walking hasn’t been great, and yet no one, until now, bothered to check the medications she was taking.
Today she is taking 10 mg. a night, and that will soon be reduced to ZERO.
And you know, it hasn’t changed her sleeping patterns one single bit. Which makes me wonder, why was she given the drug to begin with, and secondly, why was it increased all those times?