Seniors vulnerable to misuse of drugs

Older people may forget when they took their pills.

Scripps Howard

Like youths, seniors are vulnerable to prescription-drug misuse, but it can be stopped before it becomes drug abuse, said Renee Zito.

As director of the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs, Zito promotes public awareness of the vulnerability of seniors to prescription-drug misuse.

After she created a national prescription drug task force earlier this year, she discovered that “a huge amount of elderly people have a problem with prescription drugs,” she said in a phone interview from Palm Springs. Zito was in Palm Springs to deliver a welcome address for the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America’s midyear training institute.

Often, older people have multiple medications and can forget when they took their pills, how many they took, and what drug or alcohol chemical interactions they need to avoid, Zito said.

She recommends organizing a system for taking medications such as a chart or pill container with divisions, placing all your medications in one location, and, most important of all, thoroughly understanding the instructions that come with taking them.

Zito emphasized the crucial need for people to overcome any resistance they have to asking doctors questions about their medicine.

The issue of confusion can arise especially after a patient misses a dose and then decides to double up on the medicine the next day to compensate for that. “If you miss a dose, call your doctor and ask what to do,” she said.

Some examples of questions to ask physicians include:

UWhy am I taking this?

UWhat are the side effects?

UWhat side effects should I report immediately?

UWhat should I do if I miss a dose?

UHow much medication should I take and how often?

UAre there any special precautions I should be aware of, such as not drinking alcohol while taking the pill or driving after taking it?

The symptoms of prescription-drug misuse among seniors include forgetfulness, trouble concentrating, frequent falls, unexplained bruising, shakes or tremors, constant irritability, poor hygiene and self-neglect, slurred speech, and sleeping problems or daytime drowsiness.