Glenn: Family, friends, colleagues and acquaintances – Messages to others who care for those taking medicines
Listen to patients and health professionals speak about their experience with taking multiple medicines.
Glenn
Male
Age at interview: 50
Number of medicines: 6
Cultural background: Anglo-Australian
Glenn feels that people who are close to those who take multiple medicines should be patient, understanding and communicative.
Be patient. We don't always remember to take our medication and it's not because we don't want to, it's because other things are happening around, life is happening around us while we've still got to take these medications.
Sometimes when you do take them, they're not always medications that will make you feel on top of the world, they could make you feel a bit uh today or whatever the case may be. So be patient, be supportive and ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask if everything is going okay for them because if you don't ask that question you're not going to get an answer back as to whether it is or isn't. My view on that is, if I didn't ask somebody and something happened to them, I'd probably never forgive myself. That's being, I suppose, a little bit dramatic but we've all got to look after each other at the end of the day.
Taking tablets can affect us in all different ways. Of a night time if I take all my tablets it looks like my tablets that I take in the morning, but there's one that's different or two that's different. One will make me sleepy. Well, you've just taken the same, how come you're sleepy? So just ask questions.
The Living with multiple medicines project was developed in collaboration with Healthtalk Australia.