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AnonymousI think my father in law may be overmedicated & there’s not a damn thing I can do about it.
We spent the weekend w/ my in-laws this past weekend. My in-laws are both 84. My FIL has many medical issues and is on a mittful of meds (looks like about 10 every morning) – I don’t even really know currently what he takes but at one point it was something for high cholesterol, one for high blood pressure, something for prostate issues, something for fluid retention. He’s also diabetic (insulin dependent now via injections). I now find out he’s been prescribed a sleeping pill. It’s all over the frickin internet about how seniors have more side effects to sleeping pills b/c of their age, are at increased risk of falls in the night if they’re on a sleeping pill, even increased risk of dementia. The sleeping pill FIL is on is Imovane. A review of side effects for this pill scares me esp. as it relates to seniors. I’m so pissed off at his doctor right now. What good does it do to keep 84 year old people on all this medication? I can see maybe diabetes meds but the rest of it?
His wife says he’s turned into a couch potato. He can’t walk very far b/c of pain in his legs and back. His breathing at one point this past weekend was extremely labored like he’d run a marathon — wheezing and puffing.. and all he did was lay on the couch. I could hear him down the hallway. one of the side effects of Imovane is breathing difficulties.
My sister-in-law (their daughter) was there for a week; we saw her briefly. I don’t know what they talked about or if they discussed his meds.
I’m at my wit’s end. I think a family conference might be in order but am reluctant to suggest it.
on top of all that, he’s extremely hard of hearing and the new hearing aids he’s purchased aren’t working worth a shit.
Thoughts?
AnonymousAs a former surgical RN, I can attest to the fact that the elderly easily become confused on sleeping/pain meds which leads to increased falls. I’ve seen lots of elderly people who fell and broke their hips because they were confused due to sleeping/pain meds. Once an elderly person breaks their hip, that is often the beginning of the end of their life. The broken hip requires surgery (most likely done under spinal anesthesia because most elderly patients don’t have good enough lung/heart function to be put under general anesthesia). Recovery requires immobility, and immobility can lead to pneumonia, and if that happens, the pneumonia often kills them because their frail bodies and lungs just can’t fight off that kind of severe infection. So you are right to be so concerned!
Can you talk to the sister-in-law that was just there and mention what you observed and your concern about his meds? The family conference sounds like a good idea, even if you hate to be the one to insist on it. Maybe you can copy/paste this post into an e-mail and send it to them??? In my book, you are definitely the GOOD GUY rather than the BAD GUY to be concerned about your FIL’s medication issues. There definitely needs to be physician follow-up regarding his breathing issues!
Anonymous@Jo White – thanks for your input. I appreciate the extra information from what you’ve seen as an RN. Ironically my sister-in-law used to be an RN as well.
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