The Polypharmacy Effect

The polypharmacy effect is bigger than you think; in fact, it is dangerous. Did you know, according to HealthReasearchFunding.org, that:

• Polypharmacy is responsible for a shocking 28% of all hospital admissions.
• Polypharmacy is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States. 

So what is polypharmacy? It’s when people take more than one medication. It is most common among seniors and individuals with multiple medical conditions. Older people metabolize drugs differently, however, so for seniors, the combined effects of these medications can be especially harmful. 

Let’s get specific. The average number of prescriptions taken by individuals between the ages of sixty-five and sixty-nine is around fourteen. Between the ages of eighty and eighty-four, the average number of prescriptions taken over the course of a year by a single individual is eighteen. Based on the above information, it’s easy to see why many choose to regard polypharmacy as a problem that primarily impacts senior citizens.

However, while studies tend to focus on the elderly, the fact is that everyone is vulnerable to and made vulnerable by polypharmacy these days. Many parents give their kids all different kinds of medications because they think they’re making their lives easier and better. 

Primary Care with a Natural Flair

At The 100 Year Lifestyle, we talk a great deal about your body’s innate intelligence. With all the talk today about Artificial Intelligence, we know that it will never be able to compete with the awesome power of your body’s Innate Intelligence! If you want to learn more about this topic, read our article entitled, “Artificial Intelligence vs. Innate Intelligence.” When you acknowledge the amazing ability of your innate intelligence, you empower yourself to take charge of your health. 

When making health care choices for yourself or a loved one, remember, you can make yourself least vulnerable when it comes to medication by always making drug-free healthcare choices whenever possible. It’s exciting to see more and more people doing this day in and day out with excellent results. 

Changes in lifestyle can often more effectively replace prescriptions. Changes in exercise and diet alone can often make many common medications today unnecessary. Even if your doctor won’t share that information with you, it’s true!

We know this from our patients coming into our chiropractic offices and going for nutritional consultations and then telling us that they no longer need their medication. And their doctors have no choice but to agree!

Drugs—even over-the-counter drugs—should never be your first choice. Drugs can often hijack your body’s innate ability to heal. Different drugs taken alone can lower your ability to recover from exercise or make exercise difficult, steal nutrients from your system, create organ damage, and so much more. When taken in combination with other drugs for prolonged periods of time, the harm they do is still not fully understood. 

It is very concerning that we see more and more people developing dementia and drug-induced dementia. In fact, if you search the phrase “drug-induced,” all sorts of things will come up: lupus, psychosis, stuttering, cancer, and so many more. The more your body physiologically has to adapt to medications, the more vulnerable that you can become. We see this vulnerability in the elderly, but it also starts because people start taking multiple medications when they’re younger.

If you’re taking or before you start taking a particular drug, go to drugs.com. The responsibility is yours to ask questions and find answers to those questions when it comes to your health. Your doctor(s) may not be aware of all the medications you are taking. The ultimate key to becoming a least vulnerable person is to accept responsibility for and actively participate in your own health!

Ready to start down the path to becoming a least vulnerable person? Add a chiropractor to your health and wellness team today! Find one near you here!