What the hell kinda doctor does THIS kind of medicine?

[Spiky Bugger]

Who BALANCES all the drugs and understands the interactions?

For example...
•for edema because of Congestive Heart Failure, I take a loop diuretic which requires that I take potassium chloride,
and
•potassium is considered a bladder irritant and I have a chronic bladder problem (Interstitial Cystitis),
and
•I have been prescribed potassium citrate To reduce the formation of calcium oxalate kidney stones (which I produce),
and
•••my only college level science class was "Physics for Social Science Majors," so I am not the right person to figure out that I might need to go to a hydrochlorothiazide diuretic, right?

And that's just ONE "ingredient"...potassium. And only how it negatively impacts the bladder...not the bowels, which it probably also does.

Do I need a consult with a pharmacist? Is there a branch of medicine that figures out how to balance what all the specialists have decreed?

 

[southernlady]

I would think a pharmacist would be your best source of info.

 

[Clematis]

I vote PCP. Maybe a super heads up pharmacist but you're not necessarily asking about drug interactions (which they do know), rather how one drug for one malady could be detrimental to another malady... and you have a few maladies. A young (and not yet jaded) PCP should be the one quarterbacking all this. But the young PCP will buckle if it means they have to tell a specialist "no" to something that was prescribed.

In the end, I suspect you'll be the one having to Google it all. To be safe, I usually Google any newly prescribed drug to make sure it's not going to mess with something else or be affected by DS (ex, packed in oil).

 

[Spiky Bugger]

I vote PCP. Maybe a super heads up pharmacist but you're not necessarily asking about drug interactions (which they do know), rather how one drug for one malady could be detrimental to another malady... and you have a few maladies. A young (and not yet jaded) PCP should be the one quarterbacking all this. But the young PCP will buckle if it means they have to tell a specialist "no" to something that was prescribed.

In the end, I suspect you'll be the one having to Google it all. To be safe, I usually Google any newly prescribed drug to make sure it's not going to mess with something else or be affected by DS (ex, packed in oil).

That's what I feared.

Even Social Science Majors can go to drugs.com and check for interactions. My queries are more like what you have described...drugs that cause or exacerbate other problems.

 

[Pink Unicorn]

I agree with @southernlady here. I think a good pharmacist might be a good source of information. A great PCP might also be good, but I think you'd need to do some homework before the appointment (e.g. a list of all of your maladies, current medication list, current restrictions due to DS, any medical allergies,...) and send in all the information first so the doctor has a chance to do his/her homework.

 

[Jbandmmomma]

An internist and a pharmacist working together. The internist has to be willing to take time to look at everything, understand, and think.

 

[Munchkin]

Actually there is a kind of doc who does this for older patients with chronic problems. A geriatrician.

Years ago I knew a woman who had multiple serious health problems. She had 1 doctor who did nothing but manage all the medications the others prescribed!

 

[bearmom]

My endocrinologist does all the comparing for me, and seems to like the challenge of matching my DS needs, labs, and kidney stone prescriptions. The ridiculous amount of Urokit-K I take can be a problem, and I don't have cystitis to work around. You have some extra stuff going on, but for me, my endo goes through every lab and possible drug / pill interaction possible. Maybe my endo is just a particularly good egg, but I sort of assumed they all do that. I'm probably wrong. It's safe to assume Washington state isn't your idea of the dream vacation spot every few months.

 

[Spiky Bugger]

My endocrinologist does all the comparing for me, and seems to like the challenge of matching my DS needs, labs, and kidney stone prescriptions. The ridiculous amount of Urokit-K I take can be a problem, and I don't have cystitis to work around. You have some extra stuff going on, but for me, my endo goes through every lab and possible drug / pill interaction possible. Maybe my endo is just a particularly good egg, but I sort of assumed they all do that. I'm probably wrong. It's safe to assume Washington state isn't your idea of the dream vacation spot every few months.

Amtrak's Coast Starlight would take me there....and the (very few) handicap rooms have their own toilets!