Too Much Medicine Made Mother Sick

Q. My 93-year-old mother was in assisted living. She was having stomach pain, not eating much and losing weight. When I checked her meds, I found that the heart drug digoxin might be causing the problem and asked her doctor to change the medication.
She was taken off digoxin with no ill effects. Her stomach pain went away, and she gradually gained some weight back. She is now 96 and doing well. Why aren’t doctors more careful with older patients?
A. Sometimes doctors don’t have the specialized knowledge to recognize that a digoxin dose that was appropriate at 65 or 70 may be excessive in a 90-year-old. As people age, liver and kidney function tends to decline. That makes people sensitive to many medications. Loss of appetite, nausea and weight loss are classic symptoms of digoxin overdose, along with visual disturbances.
Anyone with an aging relative needs to be extra vigilant. Our book, Top Screwups Doctors Make and How to Avoid Them offers a chapter on keeping seniors safe. We are sending you our Guide to Drugs and Older People with lists of medicines that older people should generally shun and tips on avoiding overmedication.