Dear Eileen,

You should advise your customers to courageously seek out physicians who take the time to listen to their personal concerns. Admittedly, this may not be an easy thing for them to do, especially if they are elderly and physicians are in short supply where they live, but ultimately it is the only long-term solution to the problem you describe.

Short of doing that, if your customers are adept at using a computer, they can search out websites that allow them to compare the medications they take to see if there are harmful interactions between them. Even their local pharmacy should have a program on its own computer that would reveal such potentially harmful interactions. They should therefore ask for help from their pharmacist. Unfortunately, though, the simple fact of being over-medicated won't show up from such a search. And adding a herb or supplement to their medication regimen might only compound the problem.

In answer to your question about my book, it was published by Springer last year, but the theme that inspired the book is still one of my concerns.

With appreciation for your inquiry,

Steve Bertman

Eileen,

Another thought occurred to me: some of your customers' complaints could be due to side effects (e.g., dizziness, muscle cramps, tiredness) from the medicines they are taking. This issue too can be explored on the Internet (by searching the name of a particular medicine, followed by "side effects") or by asking for a "possible side effects" print-out from their pharmacist for each medication they are taking.

There are two problems with such an approach, however. Almost every medicine has some potential side effects, though many people do not experience them. Hence reading such a list can become a cause for needless worry. Secondly, the side-effects a medicine may cause must be weighed against the good the medicine does. Hence the mere existence of a side-effect should not be sufficient reason to discontinue the medication.

Once again, the best advice to for them to talk over their concerns with a physician willing to listen. And if he or she is unwilling to listen, it's time to look for another physician!