Are You Taking These Medicines Too Long?

What will be your 2019 New Year’s resolution? Losing weight? Finally deciding to get off the couch and get more exercise? Hopefully to convince yourself smoking means 20 years less life? These are all healthy ways to start the year. But I’d like to add another New Year’s Resolution. Many North Americans are taking medicines for the long run when they’re only intended for the short run. This can have a huge impact on well-being. The January Reports on Health claims that one-third of Americans over the age of 55 take too many medications. Michael Steinman, an expert on aging and Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, says, “Some medicine are more effective and safest when you use them for a specific and limited period of time.” So what are some of the major drugs being taken too long, and what can happen when they are?