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Sunday, October 25, 2009

My grandfather was taking heart medicine, but he said it kept him up all night.?

He quit several weeks ago and now he won't get back on. He might die soon. He refuses to listen to his doctor and his wife.
Any good ideas to say to him?
Answer:
It's hard to give you specific information without knowing what heart medicine he is taking. and for what condition. However, there is more than one medication for each type of heart disease. Is it really a heart med or a medicine to control high blood pressure or high cholesterol? To make this point, I searched MedlinePlus with the search term "heart medications", under drugs and supplements it came up with a list of 500 references (all drugs and supplements used to treat heart diseases). Find out his medication then see the 1st link below to find it. Most (not all) of the meds there don't list sleep difficulties as a side effect. In fact, most of them list excessive tiredness as a side effect. Your grandfather may have already had this problem and is just paying more attention. Or, he may be worrying about his problems more and this is keeping him up. Or, this could just be an excuse for not taking the med, some elderly people don't want to take them, especially men of his age. If so, that explains why he doesn't want to see the doctor. Try pointing out that there are several more medicines the doctor can choose from, and it's likely that the others will not cause the same side effect since they are formulated differently. Also, if he is taking additional medications (even for something else) or is also taking supplements. this could be a cause. Medications and supplements can interact or interfere with one another. This is why it is of utmost importance that his doctor know of all medications and supplements he is currently taking or has recently stopped taking. Make a list for him to take to the doctor. The 2nd link below provides a list of the most common Heart and Blood Vessel Diseases. See if you can find his specific problem and try to learn about it. If it is a link just click on it. If it's not a link, copy the condition name to your favorite search engine and find sources of information. Or go to my 3rd link and find the condition there.Another thing you can try is this. Tell him how much you all love him. Tell him that you all want him to feel better and that you certainly don't want him to see him dead. Ask him why he wants to die and leave you all behind to be without him. Tell him again how much you love him and how much his wife, children and grandchildren will miss him when he's dead (use "dead" it's harsher than "passed on" or "gone"). Then ask him "Grandpa, DO YOU LOVE US ENOUGH TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF PROPERLY? You may have to get "Mad as Hell" (pardon my language) for this to work.I really don't know what other advice to offer you. I will be hoping for the best outcome for all of you.Good Luck,
TerryPS: I want to say "Hi!" to Harmony. Dear girl, I think we got rid of Razwell R.
tell him my mom died because of that. what he is doing is dangerous.
mkae him understand you all love him very much and wouldn't be able to go on without him. give him the almost "guilt trip" in a sweet and innosent kind of way. The medicine may keep him up all night but let him understand that its better to be up all night, then asleep for all eternity. ya know? good luck hun =]
Let him know that you love him and you want him around for as long as you can have him and if he doesn't take his medicine that he is being mostly selfish and thinking of himself and not his family who loves and needs him to be alive. Papa please listen we don't want to lose you and if the medication is keeping you awake ask the doctor to give you something that will allow you to sleep but papa please take your medicine until the doctor can get this regulated.
Not what to say but hide is medication in his food, It works with my dogs i rap it in a piece of cheese.
If his meds can be crushed into a powder, you can mix them with food, something with strong flavors like barbeque sauce and he will never know he is taking it. My Mom is 92 and sometimes doesn't want to take medicine, so her healthcare provider started doing this and it works like a charm. Applesauce is good to use also.
Hello, sorry to hear that, I 'm diabetic, and I just to have heart problems, I never goin to the doctor, I like drink beer, five years ago I started drinking more, I started feeling pain, on my cheast, knees, headache, high blood pressure, cholesterol, and high blood shugar, every day I drink a lot of energy drinks, but that is so bad for your heart, my ex-boss, told me about some juice, for my problems, I read about it, and I buyed a case last year, is natural juice, and help you for a lot of things, my mom and my grandfather are drinking this product too, they live in Mexico, I live in texas, that help me a lot with my heart problems, I can sleep better, I have energy to work and I don't drink energy drinks any more
An awful lot depends on what types of medications, and why he is taking them.If the concern is high blood pressure, ask if he will at least monitor his BP regularly. You can go out and get him a digital cuff for about $50 and ask him to check his resting BP on a daily basis.Another approach is to call his doctor. The doctor can call your father to ask him to come in for a check-up. (Your father need not know that *you* were the snitch!) His doctor might be able to recommend an alternative medication that does not impact his sleep.Above all, I recommend learning more about your father's particular condition and why he is taking his medications. You may be able to help him simply by engaging him in a thoughtful conversation about it, rather than risking "nagging" him because of a potentially unfounded fear. A little research on your part will show him that you care and you just want him to be around for the long haul.I personally convinced my father to push his doctor to let him taper off of BP meds recently, and it has done wonders. As it turns out, he had long since corrected the problems causing his hypertension, and the meds were causing other problems. So you can make an impact, but it should be from an educated point-of-view.Good luck!
Have him ask his doctor about switching to another medication without this side effect. I assume he was talking about a diuretic that he had to keep getting up to go to the bathroom for. Maybe an ACE inhibitor would be a better choice for him. There are several different options when it comes to anti-hypertensive medications. Your grandfather just hasn't found the right one yet.

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