Senior Medications: Safe Choices, Common Risks, and What to Watch For

When you're over 65, senior medications, drugs prescribed or taken by older adults to manage chronic conditions. Also known as geriatric medications, they're often necessary—but they're also the leading cause of preventable hospital visits in this age group. It’s not that the drugs themselves are dangerous. It’s that older bodies process them differently. Kidneys slow down. Liver function drops. Muscle mass shrinks. That means a dose that was fine at 45 can become toxic at 75. And when you’re taking five, six, or even ten pills a day—a common situation called polypharmacy, the use of multiple medications by a single patient, often leading to harmful interactions—the chances of something going wrong climb fast.

Many of these meds are prescribed for conditions that don’t even need drugs anymore. Think of the 80-year-old still on a proton pump inhibitor for occasional heartburn, or someone taking a tricyclic antidepressant for nerve pain that hasn’t been reviewed in years. These aren’t just outdated—they’re risky. deprescribing, the careful, planned process of reducing or stopping unnecessary medications isn’t about cutting corners. It’s about reclaiming safety, energy, and clarity. Studies show that when doctors and patients work together to cut back on drugs that don’t add real value, falls drop, confusion clears, and hospital stays shrink. And it’s not just about stopping pills. It’s about spotting hidden dangers. Like how a common decongestant in a cold medicine can spike blood pressure in someone on hypertension meds. Or how mixing acetaminophen with other painkillers can quietly damage the liver. These aren’t rare cases. They happen every day.

You don’t need to be a doctor to ask the right questions. Is this pill still helping? Could it be causing my dizziness or memory lapses? Is there a safer, simpler option? The posts below cover exactly these concerns—real stories, real risks, and real fixes. From metformin and PPIs to antidepressants and nasal sprays, you’ll find clear, no-fluff guidance on what to keep, what to question, and how to talk to your provider about making your medication list safer. This isn’t about fear. It’s about control.