Missing a dose or two of diabetes or hypertension medication may not seem like a big deal to many people. There are some who even skip it deliberately for several days because it causes no obvious problems -- when they have no symptom/ trouble without the pills, or start taking alternative medicine. General physicians are all too familiar with such cases.
Internal Medicine specialist Hemanth Kalakuntla said he has come across some patients with those non-communicable diseases (NCDs), who skip the medicines and try to trick doctors during consultations. “People with diabetes have to get their fasting and post-lunch blood glucose levels checked through tests before consulting a doctor. Some, who stop taking medicines, skip lunch and undergo post-lunch test so that their blood glucose levels does not reflect as being abnormally high. But we have our own ways to detect their situation,” he added.
Not sticking to medications for diabetes and hypertension, he said, could cause damage to eyes, kidneys, and worse, lead to brain stroke or heart attack.
