​​​​A medicine check-up is when your healthcare provider goes over all of your medicines with you.

As you get older, you may develop more than one health problem and take many medicines. These medicines may include prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines, and vitamin, mineral, and other supplements. It’s important to have a medicine check-up because:

• your body and brain can react differently to the effects of medicines as you get older
• the risks of some medicines may be higher than the benefits
• your medicines may treat side effects of other medicines
• medicines taken together may cause unwanted side effects
• taking many medicines can affect your quality of life
• the cost of medicines can be high and hard to pay for

Safely lowering the amount of medicines you take may help prevent problems or make them less likely to affect you as often. These include:

• falling
• confusion and memory problems
• weakness and fatigue
• delirium
• trouble having a bowel movement (constipation)
• an upset stomach and loss of appetite
• having trouble sleeping

If you take any of the following medicines, ask your healthcare provider to go over them with you:

• depression, anxiety, or mood-related medicines, such as antidepressants, benzodiazepines, and antipsychotics
• sleep medicines, such as benzodiazepines and sedatives
• pain medicines, such as opioids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
• diabetes medicines that lower blood sugar levels
• heartburn medicines, such as proton pump inhibitors
• blood pressure medicines
• heart disease medicines, such as those that lower cholesterol levels
• blood thinners
• vitamins, minerals, and other supplements such as iron, magnesium, and lutein
• medicines that prevent broken bones and fractures (bisphosphonates)

Do you need a medicine check-up?

It’s important to regularly talk to your healthcare provider and pharmacist about your medicines. Ask if you still need to take all of your medicines or if you can take a lower dose.

​​​We all have times when we feel “down” or sad. In older adults, there are many reasons that can lead to feeling depressed, anxious, down, or sad. These include:

• grief and loss
• major life changes
• feeling lonely
• poor diet
• trouble sleeping
• medical conditions, such as dementia
• pain
• side effects of medicine

Common medicines for mood

Common medicines for mood include:

Benefits

If it’s hard for you to cope with your feelings or there is a risk of harming yourself or someone else, medicines may help.

Risks

If you use medicines to treat depression or manage your mood, it’s important that you use them carefully and understand their side effects. In some cases, the risk of side effects may be higher than the benefits you get from these medicines. Side effects include:

• falls
• confusion
• memory problems
• heart-related problems, such changes to your heart rate or high blood pressure
• dry mouth
• constipation
• sudden death (especially when combined with opioid medicines)

Do you need a medicine check-up?

It’s important to regularly talk to your healthcare provider and pharmacist about your medicines. Ask if you still need to take all of your medicines or if you can take a lower dose.

More information

For more information about medicines for depression, anxiety, and mood, search the name of the medicine in the medication database.

​​​​​Sleep patterns change as you get older. Older adults spend more time in light sleep and wake up more often. This can lead to poor sleep which can:

• affect your mood
• affect how well you’re able to cope with stress
• affect how well you’re able to do your daily activities
• raise your blood pressure
• affect your memory
• weaken your immune system
• lead to confusion and falls
• make you feel pain more easily

Common sleep medicines include:

Some of these medicines work by helping you fall asleep faster. Others help you stay asleep longer (up to 30 minutes longer).

Benefits

These medicines may help you to sleep better if you use them for about 2 to 4 weeks.

Risks

If you use these medicines more than a few weeks, they may not work as well as they did at first. These medicines may also make it harder for you to fall asleep without using medicine. Risks and side effects of sleep medicines include:

• feeling tired during the day
• dizziness and falls
• confusion
• memory loss
• trouble peeing (urinating)
• trouble having a bowel movement (constipation)
• blurred vision
• dry mouth
• having a motor vehicle accident (if you drive)
• having trouble doing your daily tasks

Do you need a medicine check-up?

It’s important to regularly talk to your healthcare provider and pharmacist about your medicines. Ask if you still need to take all of your medicines or if you can take a lower dose.

Most medicines for sleep should be lessened slowly over time. This will help your body get used to sleeping without them. Ask your healthcare provider how to lessen sleep medicines safely.

More information

For more information about sleep medicines, search the name of the medicine in the medication database.

​Heartburn (also called acid reflux) is common in older adults. It happens when food and stomach contents keep backing up into the esophagus (the tube that leads from the throat to the stomach). This causes discomfort and over time, may damage the lining of the esophagus. Some common causes of heartburn are:

• certain medicines
• stress
• alcohol, caffeine, and certain foods
• infection
• stomach ulcers
• having a higher weight

The best way to manage heartburn is to find out what’s causing it. If dealing with the likely cause of heartburn doesn’t help, you may need to talk more with your healthcare provider about your symptoms. Let your healthcare provider know if you have chest pain, nausea or vomiting, trouble swallowing, low iron, weight loss, or a sour taste in your mouth.

Common heartburn medicines include:

Benefits

Heartburn medicines can lessen symptoms and heal stomach ulcers. Your healthcare provider may prescribe heartburn medicines each day for 4 to 8 weeks. Some medicines, like antacids, may help to manage heartburn if you only get it once in a while.

Risks

In most cases, it’s best not to use heartburn medicines longer than 4 to 8 weeks because there are risks and side effects. These include:

• headache
• diarrhea
• infection of the intestine (such as C. difficile colitis)
• not being able to absorb important nutrients well, such as vitamin B12, iron, zinc, and magnesium
• bone fractures

When you stop taking a proton pump inhibitor, it may cause heartburn to come back (called rebound heartburn).

Do you need a medicine check-up?

It’s important to regularly talk to your healthcare provider and pharmacist about your medicines. Ask if you still need to take all of your medicines or if you can take a lower dose.

More information

For more information about heartburn medicines, search the name of the medicine in the medication database.

​High blood pressure medicines help to lower your blood pressure. Blood pressure is a measure of how hard blood pushes against the side of the walls of an artery (a type of blood vessel) as it moves through your body. If your blood pressure is too high, it can damage organs such as your heart and kidneys.

Blood pressure tends to get higher as we get older. To help prevent blood pressure from going up, make healthy choices. This includes having a healthy diet, doing regular physical activity, not smoking, and limiting how much alcohol you drink.

Common high blood pressure medicines include:

Benefits

Along with a healthy lifestyle, high blood pressure medicines may help to lower the risks of heart disease, heart attacks, strokes, and kidney failure. High blood pressure medicines are also used to manage heart failure, heart disease, and kidney disease.

Risks

It’s important to be aware of the risks of taking high blood pressure medicines as you get older. When blood pressure is lowered too much, it can lead to:

• feeling lightheaded
• feeling weak
• falls
• confusion
• changes to electrolyte levels in your body
• higher blood sugars levels
• problems with the electrical system of the heart (called heart conduction problems)
• kidney damage
• swelling of the face
• holding on to extra water (called water retention)

Taking a lower dose of more than one type of blood pressure medicine may still control blood pressure but lower these risks.

When you take medicine to control your blood pressure, it’s important to get your blood pressure checked regularly. Your healthcare provider will check to make sure your blood pressure isn’t too high or too low.

Do you need a medicine check-up?

It’s important to regularly talk to your healthcare provider and pharmacist about your medicines. Ask if you still need to take all of your medicines or if you can take a lower dose.

More information

For more information about high blood pressure medicines, search the name of the medicine in the medication database.

​Heart diseases change how the heart works. Types of heart disease include atherosclerosis and heart rhythm problems. It’s important to take care of your heart by eating a healthy diet, doing physical activity, not smoking, and limiting how much alcohol you drink. If you have heart disease, medicines may help control it. Common heart disease medicines include:

Benefits

In older adults, it’s not clear if there are benefits of taking cholesterol-lowering medicines and blood thinners. Ask your healthcare provider if there are more benefits than risks for you.

Risks

Blood thinners may cause bruising and bleeding inside of your body.

Cholesterol-lowering medicines may cause:

• muscle pain and weakness
• headaches and nausea
• memory problems and confusion
• liver problems
• a higher blood sugar level

Do you need a medicine check-up?

It’s important to regularly talk to your healthcare provider and pharmacist about your medicines. Ask if you still need to take all of your medicines or if you can take a lower dose.

More information

For more information about medicines for heart disease, search the name of the medicine in the medication database.

​​​Vitamins, minerals, and other supplements are sometimes used to replace what is missing in your diet. These include:

• iron
• calcium
• vitamin D
• glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin
• vitamin B12
• folate
• vitamin C
• beta carotene
• lutein

Benefits

Iron, B12, and folate make healthy red blood cells. B12 also keeps your brain and nervous system working well.

Magnesium, calcium, and vitamin D make bones and muscles strong. Glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin may help to keep your joints healthy.

Other supplements, such as lutein, beta carotene, and vitamin C, help to keep your eyes healthy and prevent macular degeneration (an eye condition that affects your sight).

Risks

Some vitamin and mineral supplements can affect how well prescription medicines work. They can also cause side effects. For example, calcium can build up in the kidneys and cause kidney stones. Iron can cause constipation.

Do you need a medicine check-up?

Go over all of your medicines, vitamins, minerals, and other supplements with your healthcare provider regularly. It’s important to stay within the normal, daily limits of vitamins, minerals, and other supplements and not take too much. You may find that your health and appetite get better if you take fewer medicines and supplements.

​​Pain is common in older adults. Pain can affect how you enjoy life and your relationships with others. Having stress or a low mood can make pain feel even worse.

Pain medicines can help manage pain but they don’t always get rid of all your pain. Finding what works best to manage your pain can help you enjoy life more. This may include pain medicines, stretching, strengthening exercises, and strategies to support sleep, comfort and well-being.

Pain medicines include:

Benefits

Pain medicines work best when they are combined with other strategies to manage pain. These include being active, stretching, and lowering your stress. Each pain medicine works better for some types of pain than others.

Acetaminophen (Tylenol) is usually safer for older adults than other pain medicines. Topical pain medicines (also called topical analgesics) can also help. When common pain medicines don’t work to manage pain, your healthcare provider may suggest other medicines, such as antidepressants or anticonvulsants.

NSAIDs and opioids are stronger pain medicines that your healthcare provider may prescribe for certain medical conditions.

Risks

Some pain medicines can cause harmful side effects. This is why it’s important to regularly talk to your healthcare provider about your pain medicines. They can help you find the best dose and watch for harmful side effects.

Acetaminophen
Acetaminophen can be harmful if you take more than the recommended amount. It’s especially important to watch how much acetaminophen you take if you have liver problems or drink a lot of alcohol.

Long-term use of NSAIDs can cause:

• serious stomach problems
• high blood pressure
• a heart attack
• a stroke
• bleeding
• kidney problems

Opioids
Side effects of opioids include:

• constipation
• confusion
• dizziness
• feeling tired (drowsy)
• feeling sick to your stomach (nauseous)
• needing a higher dose of the medicine to manage your pain (called building up tolerance)
• developing an addiction (This can happen over time if your body gets used to having opioids.)

Anticonvulsants
Side effects of anticonvulsants include:

• feeling sleepy (drowsiness)
• dizziness
• confusion
• loss of coordination (like being clumsy) or falling

Older adults have a higher risk of these side effects than people who are younger.

Antidepressants
Side effects of antidepressants include:

• drowsiness
• constipation
• dry mouth
• changes to electrolyte levels in your body
• changes to heart rate

Do you need a medicine check-up?

It’s important to regularly talk to your healthcare provider and pharmacist about your medicines. Ask if you still need to take all of your medicines or if you can take a lower dose.

More information

For more information about pain medicines, search the name of the medicine in the medication database.

It’s important to know that good pain management includes being active and paying attention to your mental wellness. Complementary medicine therapies, such as massage therapy, meditation, and yoga, may also help manage pain.