newsflash on polypharmacy

Take a look around and you will most likely see polypharmacy being implemented somewhere. Now, anybody knowing something about polypharmacy knows that it can have it's advantages and disadvantages. It would seem after reading a news article from http://www.the-health-gazette.com/ titled Beware of Polypharmacy that the news thinks the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. The author of this article states that polypharmacy is a commom practice among physicians today and that the thought of any prescriber knowing all the interactions is near impossible unless they are among the top ones. Do you think it's not as impossible as the author makes it out to be? Polypharmacy is used for a synergistic effect but the fact is that alot of people take over-the-counter drugs that interfere and there are still unkown factors that can trigger interactions. Therefore as of now the use of polypharmacy is somewhat an ongoing process of trial and documentation. The author of this article believes that the medical realm has decided that interactions among people's medications are sometimes "acceptable losses" necessary for advancement. Is this necessary or can more extensive research be done in the lab? whats your view on polypharmacy dangerous or therapeutic?

Poly-what?

According to Werder and Preskorn, the word polypharmacy first appeared in the medical literature in 1959 in the New England Journal of Medicine. I really wanted to find the NEJM 1959 issue but was unable to, so as far as the context of its derivation I am unsure.
It does seem that many people believe that polypharmacy is an evolving problem. Actually, some define polypharmacy in two ways: rational and irrational. They define rational polypharmacy as polypharmacy in which medications are not used to treat the same condition. For example, if you are given a certain medication that has the side effect of increasing the acidity of your stomach acid and your doctor prescribes you an antacid to help the side effect. This makes sence right? As far as their definition, the doctor would not be using more than one drug to treat the problem, but rather an extra drug to help with the side effects.
Irrational polypharmacy refers to having several medications for the same condition. An example includes having several prescribed antipsycotics. There are several theories expressed as to how this type of polypharmacy occurs. Some say it happens due to fear and laziness. A patient doing poorly, so the doctor adds another medication, and maybe it will help a little. Another theory is inappropriate diagnosis. A patient may explain a side effect and the doctor prescribe another medication when really the patient just needed a higher dose of the original.
What do you think?

Pop pills?

If you do, you are taking part in a phenomena known as polypharmacy. Polypharmacy means "many drugs." Taking many drugs can result in many problems and more potential for side-effects. You can probably see polypharmacy in action when you visit your grandparents, maybe even your mother or father. Does your grandpa take like 3 or 4 pills in the morning? I know mine does! If you have ever thought about it, wouldn't some of the drugs interact badly?
It is most common in the elderly and psychiatric patients. There are a lot of studies placed on these populations but other people participate in polypharmacy without even knowing it! If you are taking a prescription medication, as well as a couple over the counter drugs, you are participating in polypharmacy. If you are taking over the counter drugs with herbal supplements, you are participating in polypharmacy. A lot of people don't realize this...did you?