Managing Diabetes: Navigating the Difficult Treatment Regimes - Research Paper

Introduction

Diabetes is one of the common lifestyle diseases that plague a large proportion of the contemporary population. The disease therefore presents a challenge to most medical practitioners and patients who are often hesitant to adhere to the various treatment regimes. The treatment regiments for the disease are especially difficult to adhere to and their increased sensitivity to a myriad of factors makes it tedious for patients with the condition to achieve the ultimate pharmacological effects that they need to alleviate the condition. The essay will explore the influence of behavior factors of the patients with diabetes and how they affect the adherence of diabetes drugs.

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Effects of Behaviour on the Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Processes

Patients with type 2 diabetes often have a myrid of issues with drug compliance especially when it comes to their behavioural practices which may lead to adverse reactions on the body. Individuals with the disease especially need to practice a healthy lifestyle across their life at all times. Practicing a healthy lifestyle has the potential to reduce the adverse effects of the drugs that the patient in the case study uses (ACC/ACHA, 2018). In most patients with the various conditions that arise from having type 2 diabetes, the lifestyle choices have a significant effect on the drug therapy that the medical professionals place the patients on. Statin therapy is one of the main drug groups in use for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. The drug often works by reducing the risk of contracting the condition or worsening the symptoms in the patients who already have the ailments. Thus, the lifestyle of a patient has a direct effect on the dosage and pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics processes of the drug. The worse the lifestyle choices of the patient, the more the dosage that the patient will require higher doses of the drug to reduce the risk of having cormobidities (Grundy & Stone, 2019). In this regard therefore, drug therapy with regards to pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetic processes of the drugs that the patient uses for all their conditions has a direct relation with the behavior or lifestyle choices that the patient practices. The better the lifestyle choices, the lower the dosages and the lower the adverse effects and interactions of the drugs.

How Changes in the Processes Impact Patient's Recommended Drug Therapy

Non-compliance to the various drugs that the patient is on for the conditions that they are suffering has a direct impact on the recommended drug therapy. As captured in the preceding paragraph, some behavioural choices influence the effectiveness of the drugs that the patient is on for the various conditions like hypertension and type 2 diabetes. If the patient is not adherent to the recommended lifestyle, they run the risk of having to use high dosages of the drugs and this will lead to adverse effects on their bodies (Arnett, Khera & Blumenthal, 2019). For one, the drug dosages will be high and this will mean that the liver and the kidneys will work more to excrete the extra drugs in the body. Secondly, the patient will increasing be on higher drug dosages as the lifestyle choice will force the medical practitioner to use more advanced drugs with the hope that the conditions will be manageable. For instance, a patient that is on Simvastatin 80mg daily may need to increase the dosage to 100mg daily if they do not practice the recommended lifestyle behaviours to ensure that the drug is sufficient for their conditions. Thus, the behavior of the patient has a direct influence on the patient's recommended drug therapy. The changes captured in the preceding paragraph, like non-compliance, drug resistance and others therefore lead to increased drug dosages for the patient. These processes can also make the patient to have to switch to more effective drugs which often cost more and have more adverse effects on the body and their conditions.

How to Improve the Patient's Drug Therapy

From the aforementioned issues in the preceding paragraphs, it is clear that the behavior of the patient has a direct impact on the drug therapy. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that the lifestyle choices of the patient are in line with the recommended behavior which will ensure compliance with the drugs and eventual resolution of the condition. The patient needs to practice the recommended behavioural adjustments like working out regularly, eating a healthy and balanced diet and getting enough sleep (Cifu & Davis, 2017). The reason for this is that the behavior of the patient has a direct influence on their drug interaction in the body and the better the body is, the more effective the drugs will be. Therefore, behavioural modifications are important to ensure the patient's compliance with the recommended drug therapies. Additionally, it is important that the patient maintains a healthy and balanced lifestyle as it will prolong their general wellness and life.

Conclusion

Drug compliance in patients with lifestyle and long term conditions is of paramount importance. For patients with diabetes, drug compliance is essential to ensure that their bodies function at an optimal level. Thus, for the patient in the case study, ensuring that they maintain a healthy lifestyle by practicing the recommended behavior is essential.

References

ACC/ACHA. (2018). Guideline on the Management of Blood Cholesterol. http://www.onlinejacc.org/content/accj/73/24/e285.full.pdf?_ga=2.211926493.853299748.1583090983-768093126.1583090983

Arnett, D. K., Khera, A., & Blumenthal, R. S. (2019). 2019 ACC/AHA Guideline on the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease: Part 1, Lifestyle and Behavioral Factors. JAMA Cardiology, 4(10), 1043. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamacardio.2019.2604

Cifu, A. S., & Davis, A. M. (2017). Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults. JAMA, 318(21), 2132. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2017.18706

Grundy, S. M., & Stone, N. J. (2019). 2018 American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology Multisociety Guideline on the Management of Blood Cholesterol. JAMA Cardiology, 4(5), 488. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamacardio.2019.0777