Foreign Ation Do you know that only 20 percent of People with diabetes have all three Common conditions under control blood Pressure cholesterol and diabetes and People have been pulling their hair out Especially Bill why and it turns out That now that health care plans can Follow prescription refills they know That a big problem is a falls under the Category of adherence with medications It turns out that many people are not Refilling their prescriptions for these Very important metabolic problems and That is probably one of the major Reasons we're not seeing better numbers Trying to control those conditions No you know one of the things you're Highlighting I want to make sure people Understand if you have type 2 diabetes And you think about all the stuff you've Heard about you've been told about maybe You've been in a diabetes education Program about positive Healthy Steps you Should take to be able to manage your Diabetes successfully and live a long And healthy life It turns out that all of those things You heard are not equally important and One of the biggest steps you can take That's going to give you the biggest Bang for your buck and the reason we're Talking about this is actually are you
On the right medication or medications And are you taking them and we I don't Think we give enough effort and focus to That the problem of course is as Steve Mentioned as we know lots of people are Not doing great with that often they Discontinue taking their meds which is Why we're seeing such dismal results Across the United States in terms of how People are doing and we want to make Sure it's understandable because we got A bunch here for example most people Myself included and probably you aren't Thrilled about taking medications Prescription medication I take this much Vitamins every day you should see the Color of my urine oh my God oh my God That's a very good point but you're Right it's prescribed medications There's some funky feelings people have About that there's this concern the more Medication to take that must mean I'm Sicker there's worried about side Effects and oftentimes you don't notice For good reasons all the positive Benefits to taking diabetes medications That's because you're dealing with an Invisible disease because the the things We're trying to create to control Um like making sure you don't run into Scary complications are way down the Line you don't see them immediately Those effects and so here we are Suggesting to people that take some
Prescribed medication and trust me it's Going to be good for you down the road And yet people are so iffy and worried About it and so I have so many people Discontinue and that's one of the Tragedies we see in terms of the Treatment with diabetes nowadays yeah You know you're right you talked about The invisible nature of diabetes and you Know you really don't feel bad when your Blood pressure is high you don't feel Bad when your cholesterol is out of Whack but these are the things that Cause problems down the road so I mean If you're on a budget and you see scary Commercials with lawyers on television And you don't feel anything different if You don't take your medications you Don't take them and I can tell you what Happens you know in the clinic you come In and you say Mrs Schwartz are you you Know your your numbers are not really Doing well are you taking your Medication and they say yes doctor Because they're afraid you know to to Show that they may not be taking the Medication and what do most caregivers Do they increase their dose and they Increase the dose of the medication They're not taking so it's a serious Problem and I think no one likes to take A bunch of medications they always say To me Dr Edelman do I really have to Take these medications but it takes time
And I've said that to my own doctor I Mean again it's this belief that if I Can get take fewer medications that Means I'm healthier right and you know What to some degree that's kind of true It's true if your numbers are good right If you're still keeping your blood Pressure in your lipids and your blood Sugar under control and that's the catch So you know bottom line is what we Recommend to the people I meet people Living every day with diabetes is we say You know make a point of bringing this Up with your doctor and bringing up not Just what you're doing or not doing but Saying look I need to be clear about Here's this one medication I'm taking What are the benefits why am I but why Are you Doctor recommending that I take This what are the pros and also what are The negatives what are the cons what are The worries about taking this medication Immediately whether it's side effect or Long-term and you doc you've recommended This to me why do you think the pros Outweigh the cons I think that's a Respectful thing to be able to share With their patients and it's an Important thing for patients to bring up With their doctors because if you know That Things are going to change yeah and I Think that's that's a good good way to End our Edelman report because I was
Going to suggest what should you do and I I really believe that if you feel Confident that your physician has Prescribed the right medication for you Just by asking questions then I think You will feel more confident taking it And those adherence rates will improve And so I think that's uh that's a good Message Bill thank you oh yeah one more Thing if I can about this sure you know And all the research we've done one of The things that really has stood out is One of the biggest contributors to why People do continue to take their Medications over time is the degree to Which they report that they trust their Physicians that's it and that's why not Only do we want to recommend to people To be talking to your doctor to make Sure you understand the pros and the Cons and why you should bother taking Any of these bills but you want to make Sure you're seeing a doctor who you Think is competent you think is on your Side someone you can really trust Someone that makes all the difference Absolutely bill I trust you why thank You