Questions worth asking about your prescriptions

Most appointments are short. You sit down, someone asks how you have been, and the questions you had in the car are gone. In the parking lot they all come back.

That is not a memory problem. It happens to everyone in a room where the clock is running and someone else is leading.

The fix is small and it works: write the questions down before you go. Below is a set worth asking about any medicine you take. This post does not answer them, and that is on purpose. The answers depend on the exact medicine and on you, so the person to get them from is your pharmacist, doctor or nurse.

Start with what it is for

People are often handed a medicine without a plain explanation of what it does. Weeks later they are taking something they cannot describe.

• What is this medicine for, in everyday words?
• What is it supposed to change in my body?
• How will we know if it is working?
• Is there a number or test that tells us, and when do we check it?

Those last ones matter more than they sound. Some medicines for blood pressure or blood sugar do not feel like anything. Nothing hurts less. Without a number to point at, it is hard to see the reason for carrying on.

If the answer comes back in language you cannot follow, say so. “Can you say that in plain words?” is a normal thing to ask.

Timing, food and the shape of your day

Timing questions get skipped because they feel small. They are not. For some medicines, timing changes how well they work, or how they feel to take.

• What time of day works best for this one?
• Does it matter if I take it with food, or without?
• Can I move it if my work schedule changes?
• Is it best spaced apart from anything else I take?

There is a practical version worth asking out loud: does the timing you were given fit your life? Somebody who works nights, or eats one main meal a day, has a real day that a prescription pad does not see. Say what yours looks like. There is often more room to move than people expect.

When a dose gets missed

Doses get missed. Trips happen, sleep happens, the bottle stays in the bag. This is ordinary, and it happens to nearly everyone taking something long term. It is not worth hiding or apologising for.

What is worth knowing is what to do about it, and the honest answer is that it depends entirely on the medicine. There is no single rule, which is why this post will not give you one.

One thing is worth saying plainly: taking two to make up for one can be genuinely dangerous with certain medicines. Doubling up is not a safe default. Your pharmacist can tell you the right answer for each thing you take, and it takes about a minute.

• What do I do if I miss a dose of this specific medicine?
• How late is still fine to take it?
• Is there anything here that is never safe to double up on?
• What if I miss a whole day?

Write the answer on the box, or in your phone, beside the name of the medicine. Two in the morning is not the moment to recall a conversation from March.

The pharmacist has the answer for your medicine. The internet has the answer for somebody else’s.

Side effects, and which ones mean picking up the phone

Side effects are one of the most common reasons someone quietly stops taking something. Feeling worse on a medicine than off it is a real experience, not a complaint. Fear about what a medicine might do is a real reason too.

• What side effects are common with this one?
• Which ones usually settle after a while?
• Which ones mean calling you?
• How long do I give it before we decide it is not right for me?
• Is there another option if this one does not suit me?

One group sits outside all of this. Signs of a serious reaction, such as trouble breathing, swelling of the face, lips or throat, or a rash that spreads quickly, mean calling 911. That is not a wait and see situation, and not one to phone the clinic about first.

Everything else you take, and what it costs

These get asked far too rarely, and every one of them changes what a prescriber decides.

• How does this fit with the other things I take?
• Does that include over the counter medicines, vitamins, herbal products and supplements?
• What about alcohol?
• What does this cost me each month?
• Does my plan cover it, and is there a cheaper version that does the same job?

Cost is not an awkward topic. It is clinical information. A medicine nobody can afford to refill is not working, and prescribers would rather hear that early than a year later. There is often a covered alternative, or a lower priced form of the same thing.

How long, and what if I want to stop

• How long am I expected to take this?
• Is this for a few months or for the long run?
• Is there a safe way to come off it?

If you are thinking about stopping something, for any reason, say that out loud to the person who prescribed it. Cost, side effects, fear, the number of pills, or not being sure it is doing anything: all of those are fair reasons, and prescribers hear them often. Most will look at adjusting the dose, changing the timing, or swapping to something else rather than arguing with you. Stopping on your own carries more risk, because with some medicines the way you come off matters.

Two things that make all of this easier

Pharmacists are free to talk to. No appointment, no referral, no waiting room. You can walk up to the counter, or phone, and ask about anything you take. They know medicines in more depth than almost anyone else you will meet, and answering these questions is the work, not an interruption of it. Many people have no idea this is open to them.

The other is easy. Bring every bottle to your appointments, or a photo of them lined up on the counter. Include what did not come from a prescription. A care team working from a full list gives better answers than one working from memory.

One small step

Pick one medicine, any one, and write down two questions about it. Take them to the pharmacy counter this week. That is the whole task.

If you are a 360Care member, you can send your questions to your care team in the app and get the answers back in writing.