They say that men are from Mars and women are from Venus. That’s because they have such different approaches to life.
If that’s true, then perhaps physicians are from Oz and patients are still in Kansas. They too have difficulty communicating.
Doctors scrutinize numbers like cholesterol or blood pressure. When they see something they don’t like, they frequently prescribe a medication to nudge it back to “normal.” They may see side effects as minor bumps on the yellow brick road to better health.
Sometimes, though, the cure can be worse than the disease. Pursuing numbers instead of quality of life can lead to unintended consequences. One reader shared the following tale of woe:
“My doctor put me on Lipitor a couple of years ago. At first I thought it was great because my cholesterol came down fast. But within the last six months, I have become extremely weak, especially in my legs. I told my doctor, but she did not seem to hear me. I stayed on the medicine because she never told me to stop.
“In the last few months I have fallen four times. The last time, I really hurt myself and now can’t go to work. My job requires me to be on my feet all the time.
“I am getting around the best I can with a walker. I do feel that I was wronged by taking this medicine. I hope you can get the word out so other patients will not end up like me.”
Lowering cholesterol with statin-type medicine can be beneficial, but not if a patient becomes an invalid. Other readers have shared a range of complications including nerve damage (peripheral neuropathy and incapacitating pain).
According to one reader, “I am unable to take Lipitor, Zocor, Pravachol or Crestor. I develop the same problems every time–muscle and body aches that affect my hips, arms, legs and neck.”
Another reader reports, “I had gotten to the place where I could not go up steps. I kept telling my doctor that my legs were not working. I was also having trouble remembering names, common nouns and descriptive words. Finally my doctor said I should stop the Lipitor because my muscle enzymes were too high. She said my memory loss should be better soon.”
Memory problems are a repeating theme: “I lost my job due to memory problems, but my doctor and pharmacist said this wasn’t a side effect of Lipitor. A psychiatrist I consulted said it is a well-known complication.”
Perhaps the psychiatrist was familiar with memory-related side effects because that is his area of expertise. Doctors may sometimes think patients are exaggerating the problems they are having. Or perhaps they believe an inability to climb stairs or remember the neighbor’s name pales in comparison to avoiding a heart attack or stroke.
Some patients might even agree. Others would not trade the quality of their life for longer survival. The trouble is, most of the time doctors and patients don’t discuss such trade-offs. Whether it’s controlling cholesterol, blood sugar or hypertension, patients need to evaluate the pros and cons of their treatment.
To assist readers in communicating better with their doctors about these matters, we offer our new book, Best Choices From The People’s Pharmacy (Rodale Books). It is available in libraries and bookstores as well as online at www.peoplespharmacy.com.
