Many times patients get tired of taking their medications and stop doing so. Some patients decide to abstain from taking medication altogether, and instead, choose to go the route of alternative therapies to cure their illnesses, while others simply cannot afford to continue taking their medications due to financial hardship.

For those who are tired of taking their medications, they are demonstrating a lack of faith in their provider and in the provider’s therapeutic plan to control or cure their illness. This therapeutic abandonment is most likely due to a lack of provider-patient communication and therapeutic plan expectations. The patient should not stop their medications, but should meet with their provider to formulate a strategy to achieve the plan’s goals – a plan that is mutually achievable on both sides of it.        

Patients who shun medications and turn to complimentary alternative therapies to alleviate, cure or control their conditions must be prepared to walk a tough road to health – one that is strewn with disappointment and transient effectiveness the more severe the illness. Also, lifestyle changes with balanced contributions of diet, exercise, rest and mental centeredness is of paramount importance to assist in smoothing the journey to health. Furthermore, taking an “all or nothing” approach is rarely prudent. Illness severity forces common sense to guide the patient intuitively. Trusting progress in the pharmaceutical field to provide the necessary chemicals (drugs) to help the body regain balance and homeostasis is necessary to a balanced approach.

And for the patients who cannot afford their medications, there are many avenues of assistance available. Affording medications requires financial planning, especially if finances are an issue. Taking an analytical approach to expenses requires the patient to eliminate waste in “wants” and “desires”, while re-directing financial resources to “needs”. Some avenues of assistance are charitable organizations, drug manufacturers and their coupons, and discount pharmacies. Also, asking your provider to stick with generic medications can really help lower your prescription expenses. While each patient’s situation is unique, exploring these avenues can really help you afford your medications.

Until next week, be healthy.

Dion