Doctor's Orders

Who ever said you have to take a pill that a Dr. ordered? No one, not even the Dr. These days Dr.s prescribe pills as a way to keep themselves out of  law suits. If they don't prescribe a pill and you die, they get sued. If they do prescribe a pill and you don't take it and die then they're off the hook. At 95 who wants to live anymore? No one. So why take the pills that you are prescribed? Why not just not take them. What's the worst that could happen? You could die, end of story.Whenever old people complain about living too long I always wonder why they continue taking their pills. Generally I think it's out of habit. They grew up following Dr.'s orders so that is what they know how to do. If they really stopped to think about it, they would stop taking them. This 95 year old woman that I take care of complains all the time about taking her pills. One day I told her that she didn't have to take them if she didn't want to. She said she had to take them. I said "why?" She said "because". After she thought about it she commented that I was right and that she really didn't have to take them. I don't even know what she takes. Then she added "but I have to take my blood pressure medicine." I asked "why" and she said "because I have to, I've always taken it, I have to." Okay then what about the rest. "oh" she said "I might as well take those too." I would get into soooo much trouble if she stopped taking them and blamed it on me. Although who knows, maybe her family would thank me. She now has malignant moles all over her face. Not sure what the Dr. is going to do about that.I took care of a man in a wheel chair. He played tennis til he was 97. Blew out his knee and the Dr. wouldn't operate because he was too old and might not survive the surgery. He lived to be 104, in a wheelchair and miserable. His son was watching his inheritance disappear and was miserable. What would have been the better solution? Do the operation. If the man died then the Dr. could say he did all he could. If he lived then he would have a new knee that he could try learning how to walk on. He was an athlete, he would have enjoyed the challenge.... sitting around in a wheelchair for 7 years was not an option. My brother took my mother off of all of her pills about 5 years ago. She's still alive today, in a nursing home but still alive.Follow up:The Dr. is going to cut malignant moles off. I guess it's an out patient procedure that can be done right in the office. We'll see.