When I am working with a lot of the older adults and individuals with disabilities in improving their health, one of the things I often notice is the amount of medication they are on. Whether it is insulin for diabetes, or potentially blood pressure medication, there is usually an abundance of medication that is helping keep them afloat. Part of what I try to do is get the individuals that I work with is to be as independent in their health journey as possible. Part of this, would be helping them improve their health enough to potentially lower and not need medication ever again. The good thing, is that this is very possible. Let’s take a look at a few of the things that you could do to help get off your medication for good!

How to Get off Prescription Medication

Physical Activity

The first thing that will greatly reduce your need for medication is physical activity. As mentioned in the video, physical activity increases blood flow and delivery of essential nutrients to the body. In addition to this, improving the conditioning of the heart, and mass of the muscles has numerous health benefits. All of these things will greatly assist you in decreasing medication need. If you need a low-impact exercise program to follow, we have a couple great options we designed specifically for beginners and seniors below.

Diet

Diet is incredibly important in reducing the need for medication. If you are eating properly, your body will be getting plenty of nutrients for not only day to day energy, but repairing of the body and fighting off disease. The food we eat can be used as a form of proactive medication, as once inflammation and issues arise in your body, you actually have the nutrients to deal with these issues instead of leading to heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure down the road.

Sleep

If you are not getting enough quality sleep every night, you are greatly decreasing your overall health, and potentially increasing the need for your medications. Sleep is vital as it provides the necessary time to decompress and recover from all the stresses throughout the day. If you do not fully recover from the stress, it will build up over time. How does this look? Well, your body will simply stop functioning as well. Your heart will not function properly, organs won’t work as well, and poor health will ensue. Increasing sleep allows your body the time it needs to fully rebuild stress from the day.

Stress

Stress is something that often gets overlooked. We know we don’t want too much stress, otherwise our body will start to deteriorate. As mentioned in the video, even if the stress is good, it still adds stimulus to the body that you would need to recover from. If your day is filled to the brim with tasks that cause you angst, de-stressing techniques like meditation and journaling will help greatly. Long-term stress that your body can’t handle will greatly increase inflammation in the body, leading to many chronic diseases down the road. If you want to ditch your prescription pills, start handling your stress better.

Changing your health patterns isn’t easy, but is necessary if you truly want to limit your medication use. Take these recommendations with caution and before fully discontinuing medication, talk to your doctor. Good luck on your health journey!

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