1. I was most surprised me the most about Cruikshank’s discussion of the overmedicalization of aging was how normal parts of getting older can feel like were getting treated like medical problems. Older adults can have more health concerns as they age, but i was not surprised how much society wants to focus on fixing or preventing every change rather than just accepting that some of the changes are just normal part of aging. It made me think about how older adults may get over pressured or undergo a treatment simply because of the aging is viewed as something that needs to be fixed or worked on. I think this can take away from seeing the whole person and focusing on their quality of life.
2. I thought their conversation between each other shows how much power physicians can have between the patients and families. I felt like Irina was trying to make the best decision she could with the dependencies of the physician knowledge and recommendation. I often think this creates an imbalance between patients and families because they have the trust in the doctors without even considering the medication and treatment and asking these questions of what may happen, side effects but solely just trusting the doctor. I feel like they should just make sure the patient is comfortable with the decision and the family should be on the same page if need be.
3. I think when the saying of “Alzheimer’s Disease stands for aging in American” it has become more closely associated with what Americans expect aging to look like. When people think about getting older they think about the memory loss, confusion, dependence, and that eventually leads to Dementia. I think that is why losing the cognitive abilities is not the same as dementia but just aging in general and people need to stop putting them in the same category because they are different. Aronson approach is different while focusing more on the individual experience of dementia and not just from a diagnosis. It shows that her approach still shows the person has emotions, experiences, and a sense of identity. I think we truly have moved more in her approach lately with all the person-centered care and treating the people with dementia with dignity. Overall, both authors made me think about how important it is to separate aging from the disease and not to just see the person as a medical condition or a diagnosis.
4. What i have learned from my article was how older adults can end up taking a lot of different medications and how that can cause more problems. I knew that taking multiple medications can be dangerous, but i did not realize how common it was for medications to build up over time. Sometimes a medication can get prescribed for one problem, but then another medication is added to deal with a side effect from the first one. I thought that was interesting because it shows how easily someone can end up taking medication that they may not even need anymore. This connects with what we learned from Cruikshank, talked about how again can become over medicalized. Sometimes normal parts of getting old are treated like problems we need to fix with medical interventions or medication. Article showed similar issue because instead of asking what medication can be added, doctors should be also asking can any medication be stopped. Aronson connects with how the doctors have power when it comes to making treatment and medication plans but you also have to make their families and the patient feel comfortable as well in these decisions. One thing i still wonder is how often an adult medication reviewed by their PCP or their pharmacists if they do not need that medication anymore or just because they haven’t been asked if they still needed. Overall the article makes me realize that taking care of someone health is not about the medication but look at the whole picture and making sure they are all needed and not causing more harm.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/polypharmacy-americas-drug-problem