- A medication that “suits” someone else may not suit you. “Whoever created their bodies did not create them the same.” Of two patients with the same diagnosis, one may have a heart problem and the other a kidney problem. A medication that protects one patient’s heart can harm the other’s kidneys. In the doctor’s words: “Let’s not forget that, while trying to help, we must not end up causing harm by mistake, and let’s not tell anyone around us, ‘This medication did me good, go get some and take it too.’”
- Do not stop your blood sugar medication on your own. In people who stop treatment because the medication has run out or because their blood sugar has “returned to normal,” results get worse instead of improving. Come back for a follow-up appointment within the time the doctor tells you.
- A weight-loss injection is not chosen based on advertising. Whether an injection is appropriate is determined by waist circumference, body mass index and test results. Coming off the injection must also be planned; otherwise the weight comes back.
- Do not take high doses of vitamin D on your own. The dose is set according to the blood level. A high dose without monitoring can cause poisoning — hypercalcemia and kidney damage.
- Taking “weight-loss teas” and hormonal medications without a doctor is not advisable. Consult an endocrinologist about these.
- Folk medicine is no substitute for the doctor’s prescription. “Other kinds of medicine can never replace the doctor’s prescription.”
The doctor’s final thought: “Overall, all medications have positive and negative effects. Prescribing the medication whose positive effects predominate is just as important, and that is the doctor’s job.”