On the pills...

Once in every 3 months, my aunt need to go to the clinic for medical check up. At 75 years old, she needs to be constantly monitored for high blood pressure, diabetes and just recently, gout. Alhamdulillah, so far there's no heart attack. Every time, we leave the clinic with a bunch of pills, enough until the next visit. Previously, I wasn't too concerned about the meds that she took, but just recently, I think I am going to have a li'l peek on them. So, introducing.......my aunt's pills....

Ranbaxy Vamlo 10 (Amlodipine basilate)

Amlodipine basilate is used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension) and heart disease (coronary artery disease). It is what you call calcium channel blocker drug, in which it helps to slow down the rate of calcium movement into the heart and the blood vessel walls. This will allow better blood flow and causes lower blood pressure. And so, the heart can pump blood easier, while not affecting the heart rate. Resource

Perinace Perindopril Erbumine 4mg

Perindopril is part of a class of drugs called ACE inhibitors (angiotensin-converting enzyme). This enzyme normally makes the blood vessels become constricted. And so, this drug helps to prevent it from happen, relaxing the blood vessels, hence lowers the blood pressure. Resource

Metformin hydrochloride 500mg

Metformin HCl is for treating diabetes. It reduces the amount of sugar made by the liver, limits the amount of sugar absorbed into the body from the diet, and makes insulin receptors more sensitive (helping the body respond better to its own insulin). All this can cause a decrease in blood sugar levels. Resource

Allopurinol 300mg

Allopurinol is used for preventing high uric acid levels, which is the cause of gout. Uric acid is a substance that results from the breakdown of purines, which are part of the human tissues and are found in many foods. In a healthy human body, uric acid is dissolved in the blood and passed through the kidneys into the urine, and then flush out from the body. It becomes a problem if the kidneys are not functioning well and if one eats food with high uric acid content, then the uric acid level will be increased. The effect is this acid will form crystals in joints and other parts of the body which can lead to inflammation (read: pain, gout), and also produce kidney stones. Gout is not curable, but the intake of allopurinol with other medications and a diet will control the main culprit. Resource

Atenolol 100mg

Atenolol is prescribed to treat high blood pressure and angina (chest pain, heart disease) symptoms and helps to survive a heart attack. These 100mg tablets are the maximum strength prescribed. It is from a class of drugs called beta blocker. It works in a way that it relieves the burden on the heart, and so reduces the heart's need for oxygen-and-nutrient-rich blood to function properly. Resource 

So, there you have it. 5 drugs, 3 for high blood pressure, 1 for diabetes and 1 for gout. A complete mix of recipe. Please click on the 'Resource' link to find out more about the drugs, the side effects, the dosage and others or you can search anywhere you want. These are just the simplest and most comprehensive explanation that I can get. So far, my aunt is doing fine, but every time we take the blood pressure reading, it is always quite high. Maybe that's why she has a lot of hypertension drugs. Anyway, hopefully she will always be fine, keep reminding her not to miss her pills and take care of her diet.