An unexpected change in someone’s behavior may not reveal their character.
It may be a signal that something—including a medicine—needs professional attention.
If you have ever taken a prescription medicine, it was given with the understanding that it should help you when taken as prescribed.
Accompanying it are instructions, precautions and warnings.
WHY?
Because people can respond differently. Age, health conditions, other medicines, vitamins and supplements can all influence what happens after a medicine enters the body.
The medicine may be the same.
The person receiving it is not.
WHO DETERMINES THE DOSE?
A healthcare professional selects a dose using medical knowledge, established guidance and information about the individual patient.
That first dose is not merely a blind experiment. It is an informed starting point—but sometimes it must be reviewed or adjusted according to the person’s response.
Some people may need a different dose or another medicine altogether. That decision belongs between the patient, prescriber and pharmacist.
Do not increase, reduce or stop a prescription on your own.
IS IT WORKING?
Another question is whether the medicine is accomplishing what it was prescribed to do.
What works for one person may not work as well for another. Some medicines produce noticeable results quickly. Others require time, testing or professional monitoring before their effectiveness can be judged.
How do you know?
You observe.
You record.
You report.
Then you and the healthcare professional evaluate what those observations mean.
WHAT IS GOING ON?
Paying attention after starting a medicine—or after its dose has been changed—is important.
That does not mean sitting in fear and examining every breath. It means becoming an informed participant in your own care.
Notice meaningful changes in:
- Mood or behavior
- Alertness or confusion
- Sleep
- Appetite
- Balance or coordination
- Energy
- Physical symptoms
- Ability to perform normal activities
Write down what happened, when it began and whether it followed a new medicine or dosage change. Also record other medicines, vitamins or supplements being taken.
Memory can become cloudy.
A written record gives the doctor or pharmacist something clearer to evaluate.
MY NIACIN SURPRISE
WORTH NOTING: I once took niacin and later forgot that I had taken it.
About twenty minutes later, I became flushed. My skin started turning red and I felt an intense inner warmth spreading across my body.
Until I remembered the niacin, I thought:
“This is the end!”
LOL.
Niacin can cause flushing, warmth and redness—especially in certain supplemental forms and amounts. But that does not mean everyone should take it casually or use it to “flush the system.” Supplements can also produce side effects and interact with medicines, so they deserve professional attention too.
Remembering what I had taken changed my understanding of what I was experiencing.
It also taught me to PAY ATTENTION.
SIDE EFFECTS AND BENEFITS
Some medicines help one condition while producing unwanted effects elsewhere.
Healthcare professionals weigh the expected benefit against the known risks, but the patient’s experience still matters. A side effect should not simply be dismissed because the medicine is helping in another area.
Report it.
The prescriber may decide that the benefit outweighs the discomfort, adjust the dose, change the timing, recommend another approach or prescribe something different.
That is a medical decision made with the patient—not an assumption made from a distance.
NOT BEING YOURSELF
I knew a fellow who would overreact to almost anything said to him.
One day I held him accountable:
“Calm down and relax a little, will you?”
He left in a huff.
Later he returned and told me he was taking several medicines that he believed were affecting his ability to think clearly. He apologized.
His explanation opened my eyes.
I still could not determine whether medicine caused his behavior. Only a qualified healthcare professional could properly examine that possibility. But I could understand that there might be more happening than I could see.
I knew another fellow who always seemed to be racing about. He believed one of his medicines was making him unusually restless.
Again, his belief was not a diagnosis—but it was information worth reporting to his healthcare professional.
SIGNS—or SOMETHING ELSE?
If someone suddenly has difficulty following a conversation, needs things repeated, becomes unusually agitated, appears excessively sleepy or behaves unlike themselves, medicine could be one possible factor.
But so could illness, pain, poor sleep, stress, dehydration, alcohol, another substance or a medical emergency.
OBSERVE—but do not diagnose.
ASK—but do not accuse.
REPORT—but do not prescribe.
Older adults, people taking several medicines and patients recovering from illness may especially benefit from careful medication review.
COMPASSION WITH BOUNDARIES
Considering the possibility of a medication effect can help us respond with greater patience and less judgment.
But understanding does not require us to accept dangerous, abusive or harmful behavior. Safety and reasonable boundaries still matter.
We can protect ourselves while recognizing that the person in front of us may need help—not condemnation.
DO NOT CHANGE IT YOURSELF
If you suspect a medicine is causing a problem, contact the prescribing professional or pharmacist. Explain exactly what changed and when.
Do not stop, skip, double or alter a prescribed dose without professional direction. Suddenly stopping certain medicines can make a condition worse or create additional risks.
If symptoms appear life-threatening or someone may harm themselves or another person, obtain emergency assistance immediately.
FINAL THOUGHT
Sometimes we react only to what a person is doing without asking what may be happening inside them.
A sudden behavior change is information.
PAUSE FOR CAUSE.
Look again.
Listen carefully.
Encourage professional help.
Perhaps you are not merely talking to the person.
Perhaps you are witnessing the effects of a medicine, an interaction or another condition asking to be discovered.
PEARLS INSIGHT
Compassion does not diagnose. It observes without rushing to judgment and helps the person reach someone qualified to find the truth.
PEARLS FROM THE BOOKS
The Pearls message teaches us to look beneath behavior before deciding what it means. What appears to be attitude may sometimes be pain, fear, confusion or an unseen struggle.
Understanding begins when judgment slows down.
PEARLS CONNECTION
Become an active participant in your care. Know what you take, why you take it, when you take it and what changes should be reported.
Your observations may become an important part of your treatment.
RICHIE SPEAKS
Do not blame every behavior on medicine—but do not ignore the possibility either.
Observe. Record. Report.
Then allow the qualified professionals to determine what is really talking.
FINAL SAY
Perhaps you are talking to the medicine and not entirely to the individual.
Respond with awareness, compassion and good judgment.
MEDICAL NOTE: This reflection is educational and is not a diagnosis or substitute for professional medical advice. Never change or discontinue medication without consulting an appropriate healthcare professional.
— Richie
Pearls for the Soul
when you feed the soul, you feed everything.
https://pearlsforthesoul.com
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