More on Medications and Supplements!

I have decided to re-post this article because I have been saying FOREVER that the best way to stay healthy is to eat a BALANCED diet which includes meats, fruits and fresh vegetables. Too many people think that taking a PILL is an answer to everything. We have become lazy in the way we manage our health and well being.

If you haven't seen this story, please read it...it could save your life!

DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS MAY HARM OLDER WOMEN: Study

Iron, vitamin B6 and others might increase the risk of death, researchers say
By Steven ReinbergHealthDay Reporter

Iron, vitamin B6 and others might increase the risk of death, researchers say.

MONDAY, Oct. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Far from being healthy, supplements such as multivitamins, minerals and folic acid may actually raise the odds for death in older women who take them, a new study suggests.

Dietary supplements are widely used in the United States, often with the hope of avoiding chronic disease. However, the long-term health consequences of many compounds are unknown, the researchers said.

"Our study raises concerns about the safety of a number of commonly used dietary supplements," said lead researcher Jaakko Mursu, a nutritional epidemiologist at the University of Eastern Finland, in Kuopio. "We would advise people to reconsider whether they need to use supplements and put more emphasis on a healthy diet," he said.

The report was published in the Oct. 10 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

For the study, Mursu's team collected data on nearly 39,000 women who took part in the Iowa Women's Health Study. Specifically, the researchers looked for a connection between taking dietary supplements and the risk of death. The women in the study had an average age of 62 and reported their supplement use in 1986, 1997 and 2004.

Over 19 years of follow-up, 15,594 of the women died. Supplement use increased from 1986, when 63 percent of the women reported taking at least one supplement, to 85 percent in 2004, the researchers found.

One supplement decreased the risk of dying, but most did not, Mursu's group found.

Multivitamins, vitamin B6, folic acid, iron, magnesium, zinc and copper were associated with increased risk of death, they said. However, calcium supplements seemed to reduce risk of death, they added.

The strongest association between a supplement and an increased risk of death was for iron, Mursu's team noted. The more iron one took, the greater the risk, and as one aged, it took less iron to increase the risk of dying, the researchers said.

"This, of course, is just one study, and other similar studies have not found such a dramatic increase in mortality," said Mursu, who is also affiliated with the University of Minnesota. "Nevertheless, these studies have provided very little evidence that commonly used dietary supplements would help to prevent chronic diseases."

It should be noted that the study found an association between supplement use and health risks, but did not prove a cause-and-effect.

Speaking for the supplement industry, Duffy MacKay, vice president for scientific and regulatory affairs at the Council for Responsible Nutrition, said that people who use supplements tend to live healthier lives.

These researchers "really do overstate the potential for harm, and understate any benefit," he said. "The researchers started out with the intention of identifying harm. I caution against making overstated assumptions and conclusions from this data."

MacKay noted that "anything, including water, can be harmful if you overdo it."

In the real world, you cannot get all the needed nutrients from diet alone, he said. So supplements are needed when you fall short. People need to analyze their diet and figure out what supplements they need, MacKay said.

Dr. Goran Bjelakovic, from the University of Nis in Serbia and co-author of an accompanying journal editorial, said that "dietary supplementation has shifted from preventing deficiency to trying to promote wellness and prevent diseases."

Consumers assume that vitamin and mineral supplements are safe, he said. "We think the paradigm 'the more the better' is wrong. We believe that for all micronutrients, there are risks associated with both insufficient intake and too large intake," Bjelakovic said.

Low levels increase the risk of deficiency; high levels increase the risk of toxicity and disease, he said. "We cannot recommend the use of vitamin and mineral supplements as a preventive measure, at least not in a well-nourished population. Consumption of a varied healthy diet seems a prudent preventive strategy," Bjelakovic concluded.

Use of calcium should be the subject of further studies, Bjelakovic said.

Another expert, Samantha Heller, a dietitian and clinical nutrition coordinator at the Center for Cancer Care at Griffin Hospital in Derby, Conn., added that "while some vitamin and mineral supplements are beneficial in certain instances, we cannot undo the deleterious health effects of a chronically poor diet with a pill."

It is best to get healthy compounds from a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, seeds and whole grains, Heller said. "A supplement should be just that -- a supplement to a healthy diet, not in place of a healthy diet."

Over Medicating, Medication Errors and Poor Medication Management

Any of you who have been following my blog recently know two things: 1. My friend/housemate has been in Rehab for a broken hip, and 2. I am a Registered Nurse.

Today Lucy was discharged from Rehab. Yay! But what I want to talk about today is serious on several levels. There are thousands and thousands of medication errors each year in hospitals and rehab facilities. These errors are made for many reasons. But, what I really hate is the fact that when senior citizens in particular are often over medicated. Doctors don't seem to pay attention to the fact that a 95-year-old, one hundred pound woman doesn't respond to a medication dose the same way a 30-year-old`, two hundred pound man does! I have seen this problem over and over during the course of my nursing career.

Today, as we were preparing to leave the hospital, I was given a huge list of medications which Lucy has been taking in the hospital. I also was told her pulse this morning was a low low low 39! After reviewing the list of medications she was on, I was not surprised. They had completely changed her list of medications from what she was on at home and only one, the thyroid medication, was the same.

Now, she went to the hospital for a BROKEN HIP, so why would you change every single blood pressure medication, digestive medication, and anxiety and pain medication she had been on prior to the fall? She was doing great on all the medications she had been on at home. Ever since she has been in the hospital/rehab facility, she has had digestive issues, blood pressure issues and others. Good grief people! It doesn't take a Brain Surgeon to figure out that something isn't right!

After reviewing the huge list of medications I discovered immediately what was causing the low pulse rate. I will NOT fill that prescription. Several of the medications which they had started her on were entirely unnecessary and could be dangerous. We are going to go back to the exact same regime we were on before the fall. If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it!!!

It is normal for a patient to be put on Coumadin (a blood thinner) after hip surgery. The surgeon monitored it while were in the hospital, and when he requested it be held after she reached a certain level (and I reminded the nurses)...it WAS NOT held, and her bleeding time became dangerously high. She had to be given IV Vitamin K to counteract the effects of the Coumadin.

When we were moved to Rehab, they again instituted Coumadin. I mentioned the problem we had the previous week. Again, I was told it is routine to give Coumadin post hip surgery. Okay, we were getting ready to leave today, once again her bleeding time was too high. This time she was given an oral dose of Vitamin K and and the Coumadin was finally discontinued. Good Grief!!!

We are home safe and sound now, and believe me we will be back on the medication routine which we were following prior to her fall. Never be afraid to question medications or anything else that is going on in the hospital. The world wide web is a wonderful source of information on medications and you may find many answers to your questions there.

When I was doing home health care I saw many, many patients who were over-medicated. This is particularly a problem for senior citizens because they respond differently to the medications, and the "half life" for elimination of the meds from their bodies is longer than it is for someone younger. Also, a persons weight makes a difference in the way they respond to certain medications.

There are also times when people have reactions to medications that aren't necessarily listed on the list of side effects. I had a lady put on a new medication who began to exhibit signs of confusion within a day of beginning the medication. I reported these changes to the doctor who said "that medication doesn't cause that kind of problem". The lady continued to deteriorate each and every day. Finally, she was readmitted to the hospital. Several days later the doctor called and apologized stating that the medication had caused a build-up of calcium in the woman's brain which was what had caused the confusion. At least this doctor was gracious enough to apologize and admit her error.

Again, you can never be sure just how someone will respond to any given medication. Never, never be afraid to question a new symptom or problem when you are put on a new medication. Never be afraid to contact another physician if you need to.