>>Bill,
>>
>>if you are happy with your medication and pay for it - even if via insurance - good for you.
>>My father at age 85 nearly died, to a large degree from being multimorbid and eating pills for every item - plus painkillers for his spine and legs, then that cocktail masking pneumonia and a slight stroke same time. Saw him Saturday, packed him off into ICU and he pulled through even if his chances of surviving 7 days were 10 - 25%.
>
>Sorry to hear that.
>Hope he recovers soon.
>
>
>>
>>After that reduced pills to minimum, 1/3 of previous and exchanged pain killers with a sprinkling of rat poison.
>>Had at least once a month a long talk on health and his aims - for instance staying off cancer hormone treatment and not removing the prostate, as chances for death on other reasons looked "fine" as prostate cancer is not fast. Also payed for 24H care at home, went to every doctor with him and needled him to move his behind more often from his chair. Resulted in 6 relatively good year (with pacemaker, 2 strokes, teeth and back surgery interwoven) and 3 years in which he had lost will to carry on, but did not want to pull the plug.
>>
>
>>I still think medication in the 10 years before 85 cost him 2 or 3 years and dampened his health at the end - better diet and more movement would have been better. Picking best doctors and reading up on each issue did not save a lot, but probably improved length and quality of remaining life.
>>
>I did just the opposite.
>For most of my life I'd throw away the Rx after leaving the MD's office.
>A few recent episodes changed my viewpoint.
>It helps to have an MD you think you can trust- and I have one.

After I got myself smashed to bits by getting hit by a car while on a motorcycle -- when I left the hospital (weeks later) they gave me a prescription for pain killers and 6 pills to take home with me. I could take them once every 4 hours. Well when I was in hospital I took it every 4 hours on the dot -- as I was in major pain. When I got home I only took a pill when I tried to sleep -- then when down to 2 pills left I cut them in half. Then I just never filled the prescription. I hurt like hell (probably really had no business being out of the hospital to begin with) -- but man I just didn't want to take the stuff anymore.