Q:Dear Dr. Si,
My 72 year old husband has been using a steroid inhaler for breathing problems and was given a prescription for the antibiotic Levaquin. Within a few days both of his Achille’s tendons ruptured. Could you please tell me more about this problem? N.S. Eclipse, VA
I’m concerned about Grammy’s medicines
Q:Dear Dr. Si, My Grammy is 88 and for the last three years she has been experiencing occasional leg pain that comes & goes. It shows up when she’s on her feet a lot but the pain goes away if she rests for a while. Other than that she has been in great shape and very sharp mentally until recently. A neurologist prescribed high dose ibuprofen for the leg pain but her family doctor told her not to take it but I don’t know why. She has lived with the pain convinced that ibuprofen was “bad for her.” She visited her family doc again a month ago with the concern that she might have Alzheimer’s disease but he didn’t think she has it. He gave her three prescriptions which she has been taking for the past month. They are: Tramadol with Tylenol, Cymbalta, and Aricept. The whole family thinks Grammy has taken a huge slide down hill in the last month. She is more frail and tired and not as sharp mentally and she has had a couple of falls. We don’t think that she has been eating well but are also concerned that her medicines are doing more harm than good. Are there questions that I should be asking her doctor? – MJ, Kingston, RI
Amitriptyline in the elderly
Q:Should amitriptyline be used in the elderly? – DS, Sausalito, CA
How do I find a certified geriatric pharmacist pharmacist in my area?
Dear Dr. Si. How do I find a certified geriatric pharmacist in my area, Las Vegas, NV. My husband, age 96, is on so many medications and his doctors continue to pile them on. He has no energy, suffering memory loss and has changed in many ways since robotic heart bypass surgery, which was 100% successful, on one artery in 2005. I feel he could be helped if someone qualified could look at his meds and pare them down. His BP is excellent; doesn’t even take BP medication, but many others and now seems to have a continuing UTI and has been on and off antibiotics, without success, for the past four months. He currently takes 13 prescription and non-prescription drugs. Thank you. – DJR, Las Vegas, NV