The Dangers of Becoming Healthier

***I will be camping in the Grand Canyon for most of the week. I will still have emails come out but will not be very good with email. I apologize if I haven’t responded to your emails (I receive a lot) and will try to respond when I return***

Many people have to be very careful about changing their lifestyle. Eating better, exercising, sleeping more etc. can cause problems..

…For those who are taking lots of medications.

We see it in our assisted living homes. As our residents improve their health, their blood pressure improves. Their blood sugar comes down. Their depression improves.

Yet they feel lousy. Or their numbers drop too much.

Because their medication is doing what it’s supposed to do.

The blood pressure meds continue to lower their blood pressure, making them woozy or dizzy.

They may crash from a large drop in blood sugar.

Or they may experience other symptoms. Symptoms that are caused by the drugs. Suddenly a healthy person is taking drugs meant for a sick person.

That needs to stop.

The trouble is that many drugs have problems if you stop them cold turkey. You should never change your medication without talking to your doctor. Some medications can be really bad to stop without tapering:

• Antidepressants: Especially those affecting serotonin levels like SSRIs and SNRIs, abrupt discontinuation can lead to symptoms like nausea, headaches, dizziness, and mood changes.

• Benzodiazepines: Used for anxiety and sleep disorders, abrupt stopping can cause severe withdrawal, including seizures, confusion, and panic attacks.

• Blood pressure medications: Abruptly stopping certain types, like beta-blockers or clonidine, can cause dangerously high blood pressure spikes, chest pain, and heart problems.

• Corticosteroids: Long-term use can suppress the body's natural hormone production, so gradual tapering is needed to allow the adrenal glands to recover.

• Opioid pain medications: Stopping suddenly can lead to severe withdrawal symptoms like muscle pain, restlessness, anxiety, and nausea.

• Seizure medications: Stopping abruptly can increase the risk of seizures or worsen the underlying condition.

• Blood thinners: These are crucial for preventing blood clots, and stopping them suddenly could lead to serious events like stroke or heart attack

The cynical, conspiracy-theory part of me thinks the drug companies designed these drugs to squeeze every drop of profit out of you. You have to keep using them even when you’re trying to stop them. Realistically they probably just turned out that way.

As we work with our residents, I talk to their doctor (we have one doctor who works with a lot of our residents) and let them know about the lifestyle changes we are implementing. We try to set up goals and milestones to bring down their medications.

“If their marker stays in this range for a particular time, let’s taper or stop the medications and monitor.”

It’s difficult to change the habits of elderly people. They’ve been set in their ways for a long time. The last thing we want is for them to be able to say their new diet is making them feel worse.

Having a plan ahead of time can make a huge difference in not only making them healthier. It also increases the chances they will sustain these lifestyle changes.