MIL taking medication when she doesn't need it

I understand concerns that prolonged use of laxatives can make it so you cannot 'go' without laxatives.

I think this depends on the sort of laxative. I've been using Laxido for years as I have no rectum, and although I take the minimum dose I've never needed to increase the dose.

There are side effects of long term use for some people.

A new review of previous observational studies found that long-term use of paracetamol was linked with a small increased risk of adverse events such as heart attacks, gastrointestinal bleeds (bleeding inside the digestive system) and impaired kidney function.3 Mar 2015

www.nhs.uk/news/medication/is-long-term-paracetamol-use-not-as-safe-as-we-thought/

This is a long article that concludes with:

Paracetamol is an effective treatment for mild to moderate pain and fever in adults and children, when used as directed in product information. The maximum dose within a 24-hour period must not be exceeded. However, if you find you need to use paracetamol on a regular basis, it is worth consulting your GP to look at the cause, and possible treatments. You may find your symptoms respond better to an alternative painkiller or possibly a non-drug type of treatment, such as physiotherapy.

There are also a number of self-help techniques that can help people cope better with chronic pain.

Analysis by Bazian
Edited by NHS Website

Thank you mofmb

As a retired GP ,medications have to be reviewed annually. The computer has to be updated for scripts to be printed beyond a year ( or shorter period of time for some meds or if the doctor sets it up in that way). Paracetamol is a very effective analgesic if taken regulatly and is not addictive and has very few side effects. It is not always necessary ( although usually desirable) to have a patient sat in front of you to review the medications

It's interesting how many 'experts' on medication there are on this thread. People who know far far more than any GP could possibly know.

My understanding is that doctors advise patients to use pain killers regularly, over several days, in pain relief is to be effective. Most of us try to manage with less, or avoid taking painkillers at all. I'm in that camp, which is probably why my knee hurts all the time recently.

Baggs is quite correct, some of us take co codomol sensibly and don't become addicted. Some of us don't care, swallow it down, enjoy the slightly spacey feeling it gives. I do care so I try only to take it when absolutely necessary. That brings me back to my original post about the medical advice on pain relief....

Off topic I guess but I am fascinated by the fact that quite a few posters have MiLs! It makes me realise that I must be one of the oldest Gransnet members at 84! I do sympathise with paddy Ann because I sometimes come across women who take medicines without any thought. If the doctor says take this, they do so without any questions! I have a friend who tells me she takes a “small pink tablet” for BP, but has no idea what it is! I take meds but I know exactly the dosage and what the med is for. We have a duty to ourselves to know what we are taking if we have the mental capacity to do so.

I'm sure the docs are not using best practice (at the very least!) by not regularly reviewing medication.
Most repeat prescriptions come with a request to book a review before another can be issued about every 6-12 months.

janeainsworth I sometimes wonder if the present guidelines advising GPs to tell patients in pain to take 8 paracetamol each day are more to do with cost - in many cases they don't prescribe even the paracetamol and send the patient off to buy them cheaply over the counter.

For the resulting constipation she also takes laxatives every single day.
codeine can cause constipation!
Perhaps it's her constipation that is making her bad tempered watermeadow!

Codeine can be addictive, watermeadow, not is. Most people who take codeine do not become addicted to it.

Of course I would be very annoyed if I needed pills and wasn't given them. I would be annoyed too if I was given pills as an easy option instead of investigating the problem- which has happened. The government may well like these reports but that doesn't mean the reports are wrong. You do have a point that pills are possibly working better now and treatments have improved. But its not the whole story.

Codeine is addictive and the guidelines say it should only be prescribed for a short period. I have a relative who has been taking them day-in, day-out for years. For the resulting constipation she also takes laxatives every single day.
I wonder if her doctor allows this because she is a very bad tempered woman to deal with (and more bad tempered when her next dose is due, because she is dependent on them)

annep has it ever occurred to you that the government might just love data and research that shows that doctors are prescribing more than they used to? It gives them a stick to beat the doctors with, issuing ‘guidelines’ telling them to prescribe less, in the hope of ‘saving money’.

Over the last 20 years there has been a big increase in prescriptions for antidepressants.

Does that mean doctors are over prescribing?

Not necessarily.
It might mean that antidepressants are more efficacious than they used to be so doctors are more willing to prescribe them. It might mean more people are suffering from depression for a variety of reasons.
But research showing that more antidepressants are being prescribed isn’t a reason to deny an individual patient drug therapy that will help them to function and have a knock on benefit for their family.

How would you and Gabriella feel if you went to the doctor with chronic pain or because you were feeling depressed and you were told you couldn’t have any medication and you just had to lump it because the government had told doctors to reduce the amount they were prescribing?

Baggs there is plenty of evidence to support what GabriellaG says about use of drugs including oversubscribing by NHS. You just need to Google it.

A GP would never discuss her private medical info with you and nor should he. He wouldn't have them on repeat unless she needed them and I think you are opening up a huge can of worms if you interfere in her private business. 8 a day maximum is the correct amount to take if needed and will not hurt her. Trust that she knows her own business and that her GP knows his.

I would send a letter to her GP and hopefully he will call her in for review. Then I would try not to worry Paddyann You can only do so much. That's my advice.

Every patient on repeat prescriptions needs frequent reviews and checks that the meds are needed. Why not ask her to consult with her pharmacist NB the pharmacist not the counter assistant.

The number of people taking numerous medicines at relatively youngish ages astounds me, as do the numbers with long term pain issues.

Laudanum (tincture of opium) was popular before modern painkillers.

What are these numbers that astound you, gabriella? Could you point us to the source of your information, please?

I think it is well known that people's pain tolerance levels vary. Some people have a high pain threshold, some people a low one. This should not be held against them.

Doctors' "gay abandon" that you refer to might simply be that doctors understand better than most what effects severe or chronic pain can have on people.

I looked after my own mum for 12 years and I know what I'd be taking on and I'm willing to do it, shame nobody will back me up.
That's a real pity paddyann. My MIL stopped eating properly but when she did come to stay here for a few weeks at a time she ate reasonable amounts of good food and gained weight.

1974cookie - Too right. The teenager I knew went in after a paracetamol od and a day or two later was happily sitting up in bed enjoying all the attention. The boyfriend who had left her was back and she was so pleased with herself.
In the corridor a doctor was spelling out to her shocked parents that for the next few days she could still die if her liver didn't recover.

never do anyone never do anything

She SAID she asked and they told her she's been checked a couple of years ago for B12???So they didn't need another test

paddyann I don't know if you would be able to phone her surgery, speak to the practice manager or a doctor, express your concerns, and ask them to send an appointment for a 'check-up' and let you know as you would 'need to take her'. They won't discuss her with you, of course, but you could say that you wonder if she needs a blood test and a review - do they run a 'Well Person Clinic?'.

I know how difficult it is, my MIL would never do anyone we suggested and would just say "You don't seem to understand, dear, I've always done that/never done that" etc.
We decided that we could never persuade her and ultimately, she was perfectly capable of making her own mind up.

How about hiring a 'companion' for her?
Just for an hour or two a day?

tried that GillT57 told her to ask for a blood test to see if she was vitamin deficient as she's not eating properly.She SAID she asked and they told her she's been checked a couple of years ago for B12???So they didn't need another test .I know it seems as if I'm interfering but I just worry about her she has really slowed down over the past few months and her concentration levels are very poor.

She forgets words and ends up in tears and she's bad on her feet.She 84 ,I know some of this is "normal" but surely not in such a short space of time .I would have her to live with us but my OH cant cope with seeing her like this and he gets stressed around her.HE has heart issues so I cant leave it to him and my SIL would go mad if I moved her mum here ,she doesn't want her to move to sheltered housing half a mile up the road from her never mind 45 miles away.I looked after my own mum for 12 years and I know what I'd be taking on and I'm willing to do it, shame nobody will back me up.

The number of people taking numerous medicines at relatively youngish ages astounds me, as do the numbers with long term pain issues.
Have tolerance levels fallen or do doctors prescribe with gay abandon?