Help Me Help You

Today was a very crazy day at work today...we were just extremely busy and nothing was quick and easy. There are some days that, even if you see more people than normal, they are all coming in for colds, strep throat, etc. Today was not one of those days. It just seemed like nothing was straight forward and simple.

I think the thing that bothered me most about today was how apathetic some people can be about their own health. For example...I saw a young man today who is younger than me but is already on two blood pressure medicines and two cholesterol medicines. When he came in today, his blood pressure was slightly high and he had not taken any of his cholesterol medication in close to 3 weeks. One of my first questions to him was about his exercise habits. He told me that he was a "horrible exerciser" and could I please just put him on another medication to control it better...I guess it just surprises me that someone would prefer to take another pill everyday of their life instead of making a few lifestyle changes that would probably help more in the long run anyway.

I am not naive enough to think that exercise would help everyone and solve all their medical problems. There is a time that medications are definitely a good answer...but there are lots of times that if people would just make an effort of their own, they might not have to be on medications at all.

I think that I am good at my job and that I know the correct medications to give people to control their blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, etc., but what good is being prescribed medication going to do you, if you don't take it, and don't do the other things to help yourself out? Please, help me, help you...