Glenn: Adjusting to multiple medicines – Adapting day-to-day life
Listen to patients and health professionals speak about their experience with taking multiple medicines.
Glenn
Male
Age at interview: 50
Number of medicines: 6
Cultural background: Anglo-Australian
Glenn had reduced his salt intake because of his family history of heart conditions. He was then prescribed lithium and had to reintroduce salt into his diet, which he found challenging.
Jacqueline:
You were telling me how you had to maintain your salt intake once lithium was a part of your life. How did that go?
Glenn:
Difficult initially, because it was something that I wasn't used to. I had cut back salt because of the high cholesterol and the possibilities of future heart disease, almost to the point of nil. I would have a little bit of salt to make sure that I had some in my body. But when I was informed that I had to actually maintain a level of salt or sodium intake, it was difficult to do that. It was remembering things, like put salt on … a little bit of salt on your food, or have something that was a little bit salty in a drink, be it a sports drink or something like that. Once I got used to it that was fine. I’ve fallen back into the habit now of having salt. But I'm ever mindful that I've got to keep it constant … the levels constant.
The Living with multiple medicines project was developed in collaboration with Healthtalk Australia.