As people grow older,
their medicines often increase little by little.
Blood pressure.
Blood sugar.
Sleep.
Pain.
Each new symptom,
each test result,
can lead to another prescription.
Yet medicines are rarely reduced.
Behind this,
there is often an anxiety about reducing them.
For older people,
simply taking many medicines correctly
can become difficult.
That is when “dose packaging” begins —
medicines prepared in small packets,
one dose at a time.
Morning.
Noon.
Evening.
Before bed.
Tiny packets filled tightly with pills.
Sometimes,
people themselves no longer know
exactly what each medicine is for.
“Maybe you could ask the doctor
if some medicines can be reduced?”
Even then, replies such as these may come back:
“I don’t want to upset the doctor…”
“And honestly, I feel uneasy if they decrease.”
Of course,
when there are clearly dangerous combinations
or problems with how medicines are being used,
confirmation and consultation are carried out.
But simply because there are “many” medicines,
it is not always easy to reduce them.
This is not only a medical issue.
Sometimes,
a patient with diabetes may still carry
bags full of sweets.
In truth,
lifestyle changes might help more.
But people cannot always continue
making the perfect choices.
Some days,
they rely on medicines instead.
No human being is perfect.
Perhaps what matters most
is not choosing between zero or one hundred,
but finding a balance somewhere in between.
Between medicine and people,
there seems to be a quiet difficulty like that.
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