Mixing medications can cause deadly interactions for patients
DALLAS — A failure of communication was life-threatening for Bengt Bostrom.
Bostrom, 71, of Coppell, went to his internist, Dr. Bradley Jones, to figure out why he was so exhausted. Bostrom was being treated for prostate cancer, and a specialist had prescribed naproxen to reduce swelling.
If Jones had known that, he’d have added a medicine to protect Bostrom’s stomach. Instead, Jones didn’t find out until he noted how pale Bostrom was, ran tests and sent him to the hospital to stabilize a bleeding ulcer. Jones identified the naproxen as the culprit. “I didn’t suspect the medication,” Bostrom says.
Jones, an internist at Baylor Medical Center at Irving, says the incident points out the importance of having one doctor monitor all of a patient’s medications.
Armon Neel Jr., a fifthgeneration pharmacist and author of “Are Your Prescriptions Killing You?” (Atria Books, $25), might add that a board-certified pharmacist, working with that doctor, can play a key role as well.
Medication-related problems are common, are costly and hurt people, according to a 2012 report from the American Geriatrics Society. Problems occur when medications are taken incorrectly or conflict with one another or with certain foods and alcohol.
Dr. Paul E. Carns, an anesthesiologist and assistant professor of anesthesiology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., says that the most vulnerable are the elderly, who use an average of 16 medications apiece, often prescribed by different specialists and acquired at different phar- macies as patients shop for the best prices.
So how should patients manage? A pill dispenser, in which pills are organized for morning and night and days of the week, can help patients keep track of when to take the proper medications.
Carns advises patients and caregivers to keep a medication list on them at all times, know what their medications are used for, and be sure to include over-the-counter medicines, herbal supplements and vitamins. While he goes over all medications with his patients, he will also order a pharmacy consultation for patients who need additional help.
Jones says it’s important for both the patient and the internist or family practitioner to recognize that the list of medications may need regular adjustments.