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Dizziness. Falls. Dementia. Even death. What do all these side effects have in common? It’s called “polypharmacy,” which literally means “many drugs.” In our modern age of medical miracles, we’ve come to expect that there’s a drug solution for almost any problem. The fact that we’re the only other country besides New Zealand that allows drug companies to advertise their wares on television merely compounds the problem, as the famous tagline, “ask your doctor about our wonderful drug” accompanies every commercial.

So we are primed to press our physicians for generic drugs that the doctor might otherwise not prescribe for a specific condition. This particularly becomes a problem when people visit multiple specialists who all prescribe different drugs for various medical ills. Patients think, “Well, it’s a prescription drug, so it can’t do any harm.”

But not only is nearly every drug accompanied by the possibility of dangerous side effects, when taken in combination they can produce unforeseen and even deadly complications. This is especially true of older people who may have been able to tolerate some medications when they were younger, but can’t when their bodies begin to age, and their metabolism changes. Studies show that nearly 40% of patients in their 60s are taking five or more drugs. This doesn’t even include over-the-counter drugs that people think are “safe” because they are sold along with the bagels and milk. Even such common and familiar remedies as Benadryl (possible confusion in the elderly) and Advil (possible kidney, liver and stomach damage) can affect some people adversely. And many vitamins and herbal supplements have side effects in their own right, and can definitely interact with prescription medications.

Some older people have even been diagnosed with dementia when the real cause was simply overmedication, either too high a dose of a particular drug or, more often, the interactions resulting from polypharmacy. The problem isn’t only restricted to seniors, however. Those of any age can have adverse reactions to various medications, especially if they suffer from chronic conditions. Polypharmacy by itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing; it’s when the multitude of drugs you may be taking begin to interact negatively with each other that polypharmacy becomes a problem.

This is why your concierge physicians at MD 2.0 Jupiter will frequently quiz you about all drugs and supplements you may be taking. We want to know: (1) What medications are you taking and why? (2) How necessary is each drug you take, and can any of them be stopped, or at least have their dosage reduced? (3) Might some of the symptoms you are experiencing be attributed to drug or supplement interactions? When we meet with you for your appointments, please understand why we’re asking these questions, and be prepared with a list of all drugs—over-the-counter as well as prescription—you are taking, along with any vitamins or herbal supplements.