Too often we rely on the medications to solve our problems without thinking about our actions which contributed to the issues in the beginning. Every day I see patients on multiple medications for cholesterol, diabetes, or hypertension who chow down on high-salt/high-fat fast food and candy, or the patient who has breathing problems buying a carton of cigarettes. They are only fooling themselves. There are others that fill the medication and fail to take it as prescribed, only to be put on a higher dose because of “treatment failure”. I see many patients that get refills on their meds over 2 – 3 weeks late, and some that outright stop taking their medications because they know more than their caregivers. Some come in complaining that the blood pressure medication doesn’t work as well as it used to, but fail to mention that they put on forty pounds because they are overeating.

It’s times like these that I sympathize with patients, not because they are worse off than before, but because they are blind to the real cause of the issue. They rely on the medications to solve their problems without thinking about the actions which contributed to the issues in the beginning. Your caregiver can only do their part and you must do your part – take the medication as prescribed, make healthy choices, and give it the best effort you can to improve your health. By turning the focus to the inside of ourselves to analyze why our thoughts prod us to make self-destructive choices, we can learn to “re-wire” our minds to be vigilant in protecting and then improving our health in conjunction with taking the prescribed medication. Do not rely on medication alone to solve your health issues without taking some ownership in modifying your behavior in solving them too. You owe it to yourself to be healthy and enjoy your life. No one can do it for you.

Until next week, stay well.

Dion