Need a second opinion please!

I question why you are on so many medications and are your doctors reviewing and removing some of the medications? My mom was on over 25 medications before she died at 67 from a heart attack and believe doctors just threw prescriptions at her to treat symptoms but they created new symptoms and problems. Doctors rarely take patients off medications.

What 2nd opinion are you looking for and from what type of doctors? What types of specialists put you on so many medications and do you feel better and have a better quality of life on them? I am a 55 year old female with chronic pain, spinal stenosis/DDD (cervical and lumbar), major depression and I’m obese from limited movement and overeating for metabolism. I am only on 100 mcg levothyroxine for thyroid (Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism), 450mg bupropion for depression, Tylenol/NSAIDs (limit due to gastritis and esophagitis) for pain, vitamin d and omega 3. I did take omeprazole for gastritis/esophagitis but stopped taking after 2 months when my pain reduced (my gallbladder stopped working and I can manage with smaller meals and lower fat).

Have you seen a nutritionist/dietitian to help you improve health through nutrition, reduce inflammation and reduce the need for medication?

Hello @abdulwahab2024, I would like to add my welcome to Connect along with @dlydailyhope and others. Members on Connect are patients like yourself and can't provide medical advice but we can share our experience and what has helped us. It does sound like you are on many medications to treat a lot of different conditions.

You mentioned you are looking for a second opinion. Have you thought about seeking a second opinion or help at a teaching hospital or a major health facility like Mayo Clinic?

Just to clarify: are those medications you have taken over the years, or are you taking them all at once now?

What kind of second opinion are you looking for? Are you concerned about your medication list?

Do your doctors communicate (mine don't!). Your pharmacist must check for duplications and interactions. Have you talked with them?

You could start by asking your doctor or pharmacist about tapering off the acid reflux medications. There is a thread here on Mayo Clinic Connect on tapering off by switching to Pepcid or Zantac slowly, and then cutting in half, then slowly getting off those. I did this myself over a few months. People seem to stay on those GERD meds for longer than the companies intended (websites say two weeks) and they do affect absorption and therefore health. One of my friends is getting iron infusions and it seems the only explanation for her low iron is omeprazole.

But that is just one small piece of a large puzzle!

@dlydailyhope @windyshores
I am 43 male, married, 3 sons, I had gastric sleeve surgery in 2016. I was 140kg then 90kg and now 120kg. I’m on these medicines daily since 2014. I think they are genetics. My parents both have hypertension, diabetes, obesity. My dad had strokes twice, kidney failure, pulmonary edema and then died in 2022. I fed up from these medications and following up doctors.

Just reading all those medication’s gave me a headache! I would agree with the others that it looks like your medication‘s are not coordinated enough and you do need a second opinion. Maybe more. Your primary care manager should be integrating all of us. It doesn’t sound right to me that you’re on all of that stuff together because a lot of it conflicts and will make you feel terrible and raise your blood pressure, I have a lot of those conditions and I’ve used a lot of those medication’s and I understand if you have diabetes or obesity that things spiral out of control. In my neck of the woods, a lot of people are using the injectable weight loss kinds of things and they are having enormous success at bringing down the obesity which heals all the high blood pressure, diabetes, and the rest. Good luck!

@loriesco thank you so much for your reply

I see 7 meds for anxiety and depression. Do you take them every day or just as needed? You are on so many medications. I would get a second opinion. My doctor said that if you use a medication for headaches too often, you can get rebound headaches.

Does your insurance company offer a nurse coach that you could call to discuss this insane list of medications?

Just to add, I also wonder if all your meds etc were prescribed by more than one doctor and do you take them all now? If you get them all from the same pharmacy, the pharmacist maybe should be advising you as to drug interactions also

If I were in your situation, I would go see a specialist in internal medicine. Have this one doctor advise you what medications you should stay on; what you should stop taking; and which ones you can taper off. Having multiple doctors who give you multiple medications without any coordination can make things get out of hand.
Pharmacists these days are overworked and overwhelmed. I doubt my pharmacist would even have time to sit down with me to go over my medication list, although this is something they should do in theory,