Pills can be such a pain!

Does having to remember to take your medication every day feel like, well, a pill? If you have high blood pressure, chances are you felt fine before you knew you had it - especially if you were diagnosed at an early stage. But what's ironic about high blood pressure is that sometimes the side effects from the medication can make you feel worse than the condition itself. That being the case, you may wonder why you had to go on medication in the first place! And side effects are certainly no incentive to taking your medication as prescribed.

So what is a good incentive to take your medication regularly?

Consider this: even though you can't feel high blood pressure at work, this "silent killer" can damage your heart, arteries, eyes, kidneys, and other body parts as well as increase your risk of stroke and other serious conditions. Imagine any pounding force on delicate tissues like those in the eye - eventually there have to be serious consequences, which, in this case, can be eye damage leading to blindness. It's like not maintaining your car: everything may seem fine until something breaks or falls off while you're driving at 100 km/h. High blood pressure has such serious consequences, yet it is so easy to treat - medications are extremely effective in reducing these risks.

And how important is it to take your blood pressure medication exactly as prescribed - including no skipped doses? Well, in general, as many as 30% of emergency room visits and repeat trips to the doctor are blamed on people's failures to take their medication as prescribed.

So think about it. While remembering to take your medication as prescribed may feel like a pain, the consequences of not doing so can often be even more of a pain! And don't suffer through side effects. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about whether the effects you're feeling today will go away in time or if there is an alternative medication available that may be just as effective and easier to tolerate.

All material copyright MediResource Inc. 1996 – 2023. Terms and conditions of use. The contents herein are for informational purposes only. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Source: www.medbroadcast.com/healthfeature/gethealthfeature/Remember-Good-Health