Polypharmacy is the use of multiple medications at the same time and most people, especially as we age, are involved in polypharmacy. I am. I take fish oils and amino acids and multivitamins and turmeric and enzymes. And, and, and…polypharmacy, which is just as common in natural medicine as it is in pharmaceutical medicine. There is nothing inherently wrong with polypharmacy as long as the medicines being used provide a benefit, do not cause side effects that outweigh the benefit and are not interacting adversely with one another.
The scientific evidence suggests that between 20% and 60% of us are taking more medicines than are necessary, or healthy, and at doses that are too high. In a pharmacy course I took that was taught by two UBC pharmacy professors, I was taught that most drugs can be used at 1/8th to 1/4 of the typical starting dose and still provide the same benefit while dramatically lowering the risk of side effects. Doctors of all stripes want to help their patients and when a patient is suffering, or at increased risk for suffering, the urge to help often leads to the over-prescription of medications at doses that are too high.
Due to the growing problem of polypharmacy the practice of deprescribing has become both necessary and more common. Deprescribing is the process of gradually, under supervision, dropping unnecessary medications. This process will only work if the patient and doctor work closely together to optimize treatment without causing adverse effects. If you are concerned you may be taking too many drugs at doses that are too high, talk to your doctor or see a naturopathic doctor with prescriptive authority to find out if you can trim your treatment plan to improve your health.