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How to make sense of medicines that contradict one another.

I have type 2 Diabetes.  In the beginning all I took was one tablet of Metformin per day. 10 years later,I am now taking 6 medicines. Metformin, Telmisartan, Meloxicam, Levothyroxine, Hydrochlorothiazine and Atorvastatin.

I have recently been looking online at some of the drug interaction checkers, and what i find is alarming. So many of these drugs, seem to not be so compatible with one another, and most lead to kidney trouble.  I have not want to be on dialysis.  

How does one go about getting medications looked at to either eliminate some, or switch to others less harmful, or have less problematic interactions with one another?

I know it needs to be looked at by a professional, but is it your regular doctor, a pharmacist, or is there some other new specialty that can look at medicines and come up with the best solution for all these medications? Like a specialist that deals in drugs and drug interactions, that you can sit down with and go over all your medications? Like some kind of drug management?
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231441 tn?1333892766
COMMUNITY LEADER
Hi,
let's look at what these drugs are for.

Metformin is for diabetes.  It is an insulin sensitizer. Low carb / ketogenic  diet combined with metformin can be a great help in managing diabetes.  How is your Hba1c? Normal is ideally close to 5.0, but at least try to get lower than 6.0.  If your hba1c is high then there can be many complications.  Thus getting your blood sugar to normal levels should be first priority.

Telmisaran is a drug for high blood pressure.  is your BP high?  Losing weight and exercise (again low carb / keto diet), may help with this.  Discontinuing or reducing this drug should only be done with Dr. support.

Hydrochlorothiazine is a diuretic and also use for BP control.  Again same question is your BP high and uncontrolled?  If you can address weight and exercise the need for this may be reduced.

Meloxicam is a non steroidal anti-inflammatory.  It is used to treat the pain from rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis.  Do you have either of these conditions?  If not, and if your pain levels are manageable, you may ask your dr about discontinuing this drug.

Atorvastatin is a statin drug used to reduce cholesterol.  Side effect of this drug can be muscle pains and diabetes, among other serious effects.  This drug is controversial and the benefits are questionable, particularly among women and people who have never had a heart attack.  Is your cholesterol very high?  You can address this again with low carb / keto diet.  If you are taking the meloxicam to address the side effects of this drug then it would probably be rational to discuss stopping both with your doctor.

Thyroxine is for hypothyroid. It is very important to treat low thyroid adequately.  If thyroid is not well treated it can make diabetes management harder and can also result in higher cholesterol levels.

So, look at what each drug is for.  Then determine if each one is really needed.   I don't know you or your medical history.... certainly diabetes, Blood pressure, and thyroid need to be well managed.  The statin personally I question.  The pain med, only you can answer that one.

Please find an internal medicine Dr to discuss your concerns with.  They are valid concerns.  You can also address some of your health issues with lifestyle (diet and exercise), which may reduce, if not remove the requirement for at least some of your medications.  Please let us know how you go.

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