[comicgeek007]

So, this is a stupid thing to be mildly upset about, but this train of thought is keeping me from SI so here we go...

Why is it called med compliance? Like I'm complying to your will, oh great overlord? No. Some people have completely valid reasons for stopping their meds (or they're just forgetful) and although you should talk to your doctor before you stop, stopping meds doesn't make you a bad person. I feel like doctors made up the term to shun people who didn't like their advise. Or in the case of the human warehouse down in mississippi they like to call an adolescent ward, med compliance problems included things like asking what the side effects were. Yes, I'm serious. I spent almost a week in that hellhole in the armpit of Mississippi and they tried to keep me longer because I asked about my medicine. So this is a little bit of a sore spot for me.

Long story short, we should come up with a more apt name for this phenomenon. "does not want to shove freaking chemicals down his/her throat" has my vote. Or, "She's forgetful, give her a break!"

[A Red Panda]

I think it's called med compliance because it's a standard rule of "take 1 pill once daily" or whatnot. That's the presciption, and not following the prescription's rule can have negative consequences - overdoses or withdrawal symptoms and all sorts in between.

I don't think of it as complying to anyone's will; I view it as following the rules for safety's sake. Just like I will comply and follow road safety rules and I will comply with the firecode to ensure that my classroom isn't a firehazard. It's all about safety, not about someone else's supposed authority.

If I comply with the prescription then I should see the results that I am wanting/expecting. If I don't comply with the prescription then I will probably end up with results that I am not wanting/expecting.

I guess I view the word "compliance" in a totally different light than you eh?!

[comicgeek007]

Originally Posted by CheshireCatGrin

I think it's called med compliance because it's a standard rule of "take 1 pill once daily" or whatnot. That's the presciption, and not following the prescription's rule can have negative consequences - overdoses or withdrawal symptoms and all sorts in between.

I don't think of it as complying to anyone's will; I view it as following the rules for safety's sake. Just like I will comply and follow road safety rules and I will comply with the firecode to ensure that my classroom isn't a firehazard. It's all about safety, not about someone else's supposed authority.

If I comply with the prescription then I should see the results that I am wanting/expecting. If I don't comply with the prescription then I will probably end up with results that I am not wanting/expecting.

I guess I view the word "compliance" in a totally different light than you eh?!

I guess I do! That's not a bad thing, either. I'm just feeling depressed and oddly paranoid... probably how I came up with such a rant.

[ilanagrey]

I kind of get where you're coming from. Whenever my pdoc asks me if I'm taking all my meds I feel like she's saying "And have we been a good girl this month?"...Yes ma'am *hangs head meekly*.

[A Red Panda]

Yeah... if someone was to be asking me questions I'd get RIGHT PO'd with them.

[comicgeek007]

Uugh derailing own thread here but I'm so stressed out I think about how half my eyelashes are gone...

[ultramar]

I think non-compliance refers mostly to not conferring with your pdoc before stopping a medication (I'm not saying this is always a bad thing). I think the goal is to discuss side effects and opinions regarding medications openly with one's pdoc and trying to come up with treatment plans as a team (though we are not always in a way -if very symptomatic- to make these decisions). Stopping a med cold turkey, for example, can be a big safety issue, and I think that's where the concern is. Whereas if you (as in, anyone) instead calls your pdoc and says I can't take these side effects anymore, or it's not helping, then he/she can help you taper it down safely and/or substitute something different, etc.

My pdoc has recommended Abilify, for example, to me a couple of times. I don't want to take it, I tell him, explain why, no problem. I don't interpret his recommendation as a way to control me, and he doesn't take personally my desire not to take it.

[A Red Panda]

Along with ultramar - my GP, when I came in and said I was NOT continuing the sertraline... said "ok" before I was even done giving my reasons why I was not going to continue it (haha, I was a bit hyped up and nervous so I blurted out pretty much a non-stop stream of EVERYTHING that had been going on for the entire month leading up to that) and then took a step back and went "ok" after she recommended Seroquel (and she started to explain it to me) when I interupted and said NO and listed off why.

So my GP respected me. As did my pdoc when we got to meds. I'm not sure how well I listened to HIM (he had a strong accent and I was missing about half of what he was saying at some points) but I do know when he went to talk about lithium (I actually think he was explaining why he wasn't going to recommend it to me, but I didn't really listen) I said no because my ups aren't that bad and then I listed off why seroquel was OUT and that I was NOT going to take anything with a big chance of weight gain... and then he listened fully to me (and then actually quizzed me on my knowledge of lamictal) after he first mentioned lamictal and I was excited because that was the one I wanted to try.

If they hadn't actually respected my opinions? Yeah... I probably wouldn't be listening to them at all.

(I once went to a GP because I have had chronic earaches.. and I was finally sick and tired of it and I wanted to find out what it was. The GP didn't listen to a word I said, said "sinus" and gave me a prescription. I hated the way that she didn't listen to me and didn't respect me at all, so I refused to get the prescription....)

LOL. Goodness. Listing that off I don't really think I'd be very compliant myself unless it's a med that I WANTED to be on. Here's hoping the lamictal is actually a good one for me!

[EBD8]

It's simply a way of protecting there own or someone's *****. That way all the blame falls on you for not being compliant when you don't follow a doctor's orders. It's really all about the legal system, not about medicine.

[comicgeek007]

I just don't much like the word, I guess.

[BipolaRNurse]

Neither do I, and I'm in healthcare.

I generally prefer the term non-adherence. It's less demeaning than "noncompliance" and doesn't infer a judgment against the patient---it merely states the fact that s/he is choosing not to go along with the plan of care at this point in time.

[Confusedinomicon]

You can use adherence which implies you're choosing to do it yourself.

Compliance is such a negative word.

[A Red Panda]

Adherance is such a better word! I don't have any probs with compliance... but adherance matches it just as well and has a more positive intonation!

[Perna]

Originally Posted by CheshireCatGrin

Yeah... if someone was to be asking me questions I'd get RIGHT PO'd with them.

How else could they know if they don't ask? They can't read minds and you're an individual; how the meds affect you is different from how they affect me.

If one does not like the whole med compliance thing, maybe we have to start the conversation with what is going on with us, what we are taking/not taking and whether we are able to take X at the "right" time or are forgetting sometimes, etc.

How we ask questions can be challenging too, seemingly as challenging as their asking us? If we don't like doctors, jails, etc. we have to stay healthy, comply with laws etc.

[A Red Panda]

Perna: that had been my response to this:

Originally Posted by ilanagrey

I kind of get where you're coming from. Whenever my pdoc asks me if I'm taking all my meds I feel like she's saying "And have we been a good girl this month?"...Yes ma'am *hangs head meekly*.

If my pdoc was to ask me how I'm feeling about the meds or if I noticed anything change since starting them, that would be fine. If they were to just ask me if I was TAKING them, I would be annoyed. If they listen to me properly they would know that I'm not the sort of person who wouldn't follow the instructions, and if they treated me like I child through their questioning I would in fact be angry with them. It would be accurate and understandable if they were to ask me if I had had any OD's, or about side effects. But the simply ask me if I was TAKING them? That wouldn't be appropriate for me as I have not ever demonstrated that particular trait - I'm a by-the-books sort of person and I am very concerned with being responsible.

[persony]

haha i like that
She just does not want to shove chemicals down her throat!! y dont pple get that??

[CaitlinRose]

I completely agree with you. I had the hardest time with "med compliance." I was not used to taking a pill everyday so it was hard for me to remember to take them. I still have trouble with it because I either forget or simply don't care enough to take them. My psychiatrist constantly asks me if I have taken my medication properly and when I am honest with him he simply says "Mhmm." as if he expected me to fail with taking my medication. it feels as if I am a child all over again.

[jadedbutterfly]

Originally Posted by comicgeek007

I just don't much like the word, I guess.

I agree with you.. I don't like the term "med compliance" either... feels like they are authority figures... ugh
Also hate it when they say "recovery" when dealing with mental illness.. I mean one can get healthier... but can one say recover from Bipolar or Schizophrenia???

[BipolaRNurse]

Yeah, I've always wondered about that term.....it's like being an alcoholic, you can be in recovery but you're never "fixed". I figure it's just a part of me that I'll always have to be on guard against, and I can live a good life in the meantime. But there's no cure for bipolar any more than there is for alcoholism, and I think to deny that reality is just wishful thinking.

[persony]

Originally Posted by jadedbutterfly

I agree with you.. I don't like the term "med compliance" either... feels like they are authority figures... ugh
Also hate it when they say "recovery" when dealing with mental illness.. I mean one can get healthier... but can one say recover from Bipolar or Schizophrenia???

i would hope they can recover. Drs say they can

Med compliance...how lame! I, too, am in healthcare. It's ALWAYS a patient's CHOICE!

I appreciate that my PMHNP gives me choices regarding my meds. It makes me "feel" more in control even though I usually break down and go with her suggestions eventually, anyway.

Health care practitioners should always give the patient the choice. Unless it's a matter of injury to self or others.