ct95 said:
If you don't already have medical power of attorney, get it!!! You won't be able to have those conversations with a doctor until you do.
If you accompany the patient, you can open a dialogue with a doctor and ask them to go over the patient's list of meds without a power of attorney. My father had 3 back surgeries that were unsuccessful and was in pain every minute. Along with that, he had heart and breathing issues while in his 80s. His pill dispenser didn't have enough room to hold everything. Eventually, he became semi-aware of his surroundings and when I took him to his medical appointments, had to use a wheelchair to get him around. Every doctor had their shot at getting him better without (presumably) looking at his current meds.
I had a 2 page list of his meds when we visited the pulmonary doc one day and asked him to look at the list and see if any were causing his doped up condition. He would literally fall asleep while talking.
The doc couldn't believe he was still functional after reviewing the meds. Dad was on 3 opioids plus some other meds like a gout medicine when he had never had gout. We weaned him off of 2 of the opioids over the next couple of months and he returned to being as fully functional as someone in their mid 80s can be.
The point is, many doctors don't review a patient's current meds although I am sure the list is available. Overdoses are possible.
