Monday, January 09, 2012

please take your medicine / MS and chronic illness



Please take your medicine?


50% of chronically ill people need a better reason

People hate medicines. It’s a fact of life. As many as 50% of people with chronic illnesses don’t take their medicine correctly". Euro RSCG Tonic 5.0 Survey

Isn’t it ironic that one of the world’s top global marketing companies Euro RSCG (representing Big Pharma giants Novartis, Merck, Sanofi, and more) gets it …

… yet between Multiple Sclerosis symptoms of memory loss and mental confusion, Patti especially when prescribed something or treated with something she does not like - often tinkers with the best laid plans of mice and caring people.

When not repeatedly monitored or involved with people for the couple hours she is supposed to wear her braces for daily low-load, long-duration stretch for knee contracture therapy she simply forgets and fidgets with braces. The pads with velcro x's half way down her shins should be positioned over her knee caps. As pictured and worn they accomplish nothing.

Or recently one of her bedtime medications was changed from a capsule to liquid. Yet liquid was so foul tasting Patti gagged or choked reaching a point of refusing to take. Intervening as her POA I discovered no one really knew why the change, or had ever recommended a change. Back to a capsule all is well.

Outside looking in whether medication or therapy, how often do we see or essentially say - here is ‘your’ problem, here is ‘your’ solution, then sprinkle it with some encouraging mantra and suggest ‘just do it’.

An ever growing mountain of challenges rises with progression  - who wouldn’t need ‘a better reason’ to take or do something that at best might make you feel better than you are but less than you were. 

Caregivingly Yours, Patrick Leer 

2 comments:

  1. "who wouldn’t need ‘a better reason’ to take or do something that at best might make you feel better than you are but less than you were"

    How true, How true!!!!

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  2. I have ppms how true take the medicine before you need it then you will not have to think "did I take my last dose ".Always listen to other people and even if you did not need that zimmer there and then you WILL need it in the future. I said I did not need a walking stick NOW I have them colour co-ordinated for the clothes I am wearing. Keep positive as much as possible.Wheew I feel better now since doing this

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