Senior Fitness: Are We Over-prescribing Medicine to our Seniors?
Recently, my personal training client in Chicago, Carol, shared her frustration with her mother's doctor. She found out that her 85 year old mother was taking nearly 15 prescriptions (3 of which were antidepressants) after she was constantly fatigued. Are 3 antidepressants necessary for a woman of this age? Does anyone need to take this many?
Carol doesn't think so and either do I. I've noticed in the last few years the growing tendency for doctors to prescribe statins to my personal training clients. What's amazing is that after 6 months many of the same Chicago personal training clients no longer take these pills. Why? They have changed their diets and levels of fitness. Ironically, the doctors were quicker to offer a prescription before encouraging a change in behavior.
Today, the NY Times posted the article Elderly Patients Often Overtreated for Diabetes sees this as a growing problem among senior diabetics. Check it out right now!
