What surprised me most about Cruikshank’s discussion was how easy it was for aging adults to get treated for such medical problems that are normal. I understand that older adults may have more health problems as they age, however society tends to stereotype and put a stigma out too automatically connect being old with being sick or needing medical treatment. This way of thinking can affect how older adults are treated and how they view themselves. I also now think deeply of how it is important to know the difference between normal aging from actual sickness instead of assuming that every minor ache could be something ill or fixed. There are many home remedies, workouts, and stretches that could help the patient rather than automatically prescribing pills.

The conversation between Irina and Aronson was interesting because it showed how much power physicians can have when it comes to decisions about a patient’s care. It seems like there was a conversation to have understanding and having to trust the medical professionals around him. I realized sometimes patients and their families feel like they have to accept what a doctor says because they have more knowledge on the situation or nowhere else to go. However, I think families and patients should feel comfortable asking questions and being involved in the decisions that could alter their life when dealing with medications.

I think Cruikshank means that Alzheimer’s has become one of the main conditions people associate with growing old. When people think about aging, they may automatically think about memory loss, confusion, and eventually needing other people to take care of them. This can create the idea that dementia is just something that happens to everyone when they get older, even though aging and dementia are not the same thing. Aronson takes a more personal approach in her discussion of confusion instead of looking at dementia as a disease or medical problem, she focuses more on the individual person and what they are experiencing. Her approach makes it easier to see that a person with dementia is still a person with their own history, relationships, emotions, and identity. I think we have made some progress toward Aronson’s approach because there is more awareness that dementia is a medical condition and not simply a normal part of aging. However, I also think the belief that dementia represents aging is still present. Older people can still be stereotyped as confused, forgetful, or dependent simply because of their age. There is still a need to recognize the difference between aging normally and living with dementia. Cruikshank focuses on how aging can become overly medicalized, while Aronson shows how medication decisions can affect the relationship between older patients, their families, and physicians.

Thompson and McDonald add a more current medical perspective by discussing polypharmacy and deprescribing. The article breaks down that polypharmacy is older adults taking multiple medications while deprescribing focuses on carefully reconsidering or reducing medications when appropriate. This is important because individual medical care helps keeps everyone safe and challenges doctor to help their patients outside of just prescribing actually evaluate and assess. Together, these sources show why older adults’ medications should be regularly reviewed instead of assuming that taking more medications is always better.

References:

Aronson, L. (2019). Elderhood: Redefining aging, transforming medicine, reimagining life. Bloomsbury Publishing.

Cruikshank, M. (2013). Learning to be old: Gender, culture, and aging (3rd ed.). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.