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"Sandy, you have to lose this weight. Get out every day in the fresh air and walk in the sunshine - watch what you're eating. You've let this get too far out of control. You're driving so much on your job and should be walking and getting the exercise that entails," her doctor said in a concerned tone.
Sandy agreed, talked some more about her minor back pain, which he also said would improve by walking. She left the office with a copy of a low-fat diet plan and two prescriptions to fill - one for naproxen to improve her back pain and another for amitriptfleine to help with the mild depression she'd been experiencing.
The drugstore was just a two block drive from the doctor's office. After her prescription
was filled, she walked over to the store's water fountain, took the required dose from each bottle and chased it with a couple of large gulps of water.
When she arrived home, she took the prescription bottles out of the sack and read the drug information sheets her pharmacist had stuck in the sack. Sitting at her dining room table reading the drug information, Sandy realized these two drugs shouldn't have been prescribed for her.
The warning sheets were storehouses of warnings about the drugs. The naproxen had a warning not to drive, which she had done coming home from the pharmacy. On the warning sheet for the amitriptyline was a strong warning cautioning against hot weather and exercise.
How could she take these drugs and still drive on her job? The doctor knew her job meant a lot of driving. And how could she walk to lose weight when the sheet clearly warned about hot weather, heatstrokes and exercise?
The sad truth is doctors get too comfortable prescribing the same drugs over and over to different patients. Thousands of drugs are available but doctors learn only some of the them, falling into a pattern of familiarity.
Certain rules should be adhered to with prescription drugs. Just as it is the doctor's responsibility to know the dangers and contra-indications of the drugs he prescribes, you should also have checks and balances of your own.
Pharmacies usually have free pamphlets, magazines and information about drugs and medical conditions. If you don't see them, ask for them. Try to find out as much as you can about your condition. Become an expert on 'you'.
Count your pills after the prescription is filled. Anyone, even pharmacists, can lose count.
Read the warnings included in your prescription sack. Some drugs can't be taken with others. Will you be able to drive? Is it okay to be out in the sun? Know the prescription's limits concerning your lifestyle.
Public libraries have a reference volume of the current year's Physician's Desk Reference. This book contains current prescription information. Any drug available is in this volume. This is the same book your doctor uses in his office. Look in the index for the drug's name and xerox the information you find. Study it at home to ascertain if there are more warnings and danger signals you need to know.
Also be sure to read the prescription vial's label carefully. Case in point: the words 'orally' and 'aurally' sound the same, don't they? However their meanings are quite different. 'Orally' means 'by mouth'. 'Aurally' means 'by ear'. It's not impossible to imagine someone innocently taking ear drops by mouth if the drug hasn't been explained properly.
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