Micaela: Messages to others – Engage with your health professionals
Listen to patients and health professionals speak about their experience with taking multiple medicines.
Micaela
Female
Age at interview: 38
Number of medicines: 21
Cultural background: Anglo-Australian
Micaela believes that people should view their own situation as important and worthy of respect. She encourages people to engage their health professionals in discussions about their medicines.
If anyone came to me and said, ‘I'm about to embark on this journey’ I think I would say, ‘Don't let anyone tell you how you are going to react to something, what you should feel, how serious your situation should be, how you feel about that situation. Make sure that your experience is your own and don't be browbeaten by anybody.’ I wouldn't want anyone ... because there are different levels of Crohn's.
Some people have to have surgery, which I fortunately haven't ... so there's always someone whose situation is worse than yours. They're taking more medication than you. They've got lupus and Crohn's, you know, all sorts of things, but don't let anyone ever make you feel that your situation isn't important. Yeah, challenge your doctor about your medications, not because you're trying to catch them out or prove them wrong, or anything like that, but just ask them why you're being given what you're given and just ask them what possible side effects you can expect. It may be that you don't get them and even give your doctor an understanding that you know that ... look, I know I may not necessarily experience this, but I would like to know in advance, because this has an impact on my body. So, they're the two main things.
The Living with multiple medicines project was developed in collaboration with Healthtalk Australia.