About Medications

Medications can be costly, confusing to use, and have unwanted side effects. Be sure to ask questions when medicines are prescribed and prescriptions are filled.

• Give the doctor a list of all medications and dosages that the person in your care is now taking, including eye drops, vitamins, and herbal remedies.
• Tell the doctor of any other treatments being used. Sometimes using two or more treatments may be fatal or may keep the new treatment from working.
• Tell the doctor of any allergies or if there are certain foods the person cannot eat (food allergies).
• Understand why each medication is needed and how much it will help the person's condition.
• Ask how long it takes for the drug to work.
• Find out its side effects.
• Ask if the drug could react with other drugs and what you should do if there are side effects.
• Find out if a change in diet, exercise, reducing stress, or other things can be done.
• If more than one medicine is needed, ask the doctor if they can be taken at the same times each day. If a drug must be taken at a difficult time (for instance, in the middle of the night), ask about another choice.
• Try to find the lowest cost drug. Ask if a generic (non-brand name) drug or another brand in the same drug class is available at a lower cost.
• Be sure that the generic drug will not have a poor effect on the person's condition.
• Ask if a lower dose can be prescribed without bad effects.
• To keep costs down, ask if a higher dose can be safely prescribed and the pill cut in half.
• Ask if you can buy a one-week supply of a new medication to see if the person can handle any possible side effects. Or ask if the physician has free samples to try.