When my mom dropped down to 70 pounds due to lack of appetite, I joked about bringing her in some pot brownies. No one laughed. Sigh...

I was just ranting in my head this morning about doctors and medical care. I received a pamphlet in the mail yesterday for a service that will help me communicate between my mom's various doctors and nursing home personnel to make sure everyone is on the same page. It's sad that that kind of service is needed. I've found that hospital doctors don't look at a patient's past history very carefully (and their past drug reactions)and they don't listen to the family or bother to notify family of or explain treatment because of course, we wouldn't understand anyway.

There are times when the side effects are the lesser evil than not taking the medication. The one medication my mom was taken off of because they were worried about side effects was the one medication (Predinizone) that allows her to function with her arthritis. I know it has nasty side effects but quality of life has become more important than quantity of life at this point. Other more modern, "safer" medications did nothing to relieve her pain and stiffness and made her anemic and stop eating.

I think that often a patient's instinct about what they need and what they don't need is better than doctor wisdom.