“Medication doesn't work for patients who don't take it.” This famous phrase is attributed to the former Surgeon General of the United States during President Ronald Reagan's administration, Dr. Charles Everett Koop. And it summarizes a sad reality that affects almost all kidney stone patients, who form kidney stones again and again because they don't take their medication.
Do you want to know how to truly prevent kidney stones? Start by taking your medication! Keep reading to learn some tricks that can help you.
Treatment adherence is a global problem
According to a report by the World Health Organization, only 30-50% of chronic patients take their medication. This adherence rate is even lower in developing countries. Other studies estimate that the costs of low medication adherence amount to more than 100 billion euros per year! (Yes, you read that right, a "fortune").
But why don't patients take their medications? There are many reasons (or perhaps excuses); some say they can't afford the medications, others can't tolerate the side effects, and others confess that they simply forget.
Adherence in kidney stones
And in the case of kidney stone patients? Is it different? No, it's not. Despite the fact that renal colic caused by a kidney stone is one of the most intense pains that exist in medicine, the reality is that kidney stone patients are among the least adherent to treatments.
In fact, according to a study published in 2016 (Dauw, et al., 2016) on a population of 7,980 kidney stone patients, only 30.2% of them took their medication during the 6 months following the start of treatment.
In another study published in 2019 (Golomb, et al., 2019), 356 kidney stone patients were asked about their reasons for stopping the medication prescribed by the urologist, and this is what they answered: 22% said it was because they had to take too many pills, 16% because their family doctor had taken them off it, 11% confessed that the reason was that they had forgotten, 10% due to supposed side effects, 5% because they didn't believe the medication would do anything for them, and a surprising 36% of patients (23% + 8% + 5%) decided to abandon the medication for no reason at all or giving other types of excuses that are not worth mentioning.
The bad news is that, by not taking their medication, 15% of kidney stone patients form another stone in less than 1 year, 50% in less than 5 years, and 80% in less than 10 years. Therefore, not taking medication (whatever the excuse) is "shooting yourself in the foot," and a painful one at that.
Some promising advances
The good news is that at Devicare, we are working hard to remedy this huge problem of low adherence in kidney stones.
In an interesting study published in 2022 (López, Mainez, Mora-Christian, & Gil, 2022), several Spanish researchers showed that with the use of myLit-Control® App, patients increased their adherence to an impressive 87.6%!! And they achieved this thanks to the use of technology and automatic notifications on their mobile phones.
The researchers hope that, with this substantial increase in adherence, patients can avoid future kidney stones or delay them further in time. This is certainly excellent news.
Recommendations for not forgetting your medication
Unfortunately, there is no miracle solution to help you take your medication. The important thing is that you have the will to prevent a new renal colic and do everything you can to avoid it, but we hope the following 9 super tips will help you a little:
1. Hang a chart on the wall with the names of the medications, the dosage, and the time of day you need to take them.
2. Buy a pill organizer that indicates the days of the week and times of the day. These organizers are sold in pharmacies. Ask your pharmacist.
3. Set an alarm to remind you to take your medication at a specific time.
4. Inform your family members so they can help you remember.
5. Take your medications at the same time to establish a daily habit, just like you do when you brush your teeth. In fact, a good trick is to put your medication in the bathroom to associate the habit of brushing your teeth with taking your medications.
6. Remember to take your medications with you when you leave home.
7. Take enough medication with you when you go on vacation. And if you travel by plane, try to put them in your carry-on luggage so you don't lose them.
8. Always buy your medications before you run out of the box you are currently taking.
9. And if all of the above seems too complicated, then download myLit-Control® App on your mobile phone. IT'S FREE!
References
Dauw, C. A., Yi, Y., Bierlein, M. J., Yan, P., Alruwaily, A. F., Ghani, K. R., . . . Hollingsworth, J. M. (2016). Factors Associated With Preventive Pharmacological Therapy Adherence Among Patients With Kidney Stones. Urology.
Golomb, D., Nevo, A., Goldberg, H., Ehrlich, Y., Margel, D., & Lifshitz, D. (2019). Long-Term Adherence to Medications in Secondary Prevention of Urinary Tract Stones. Journal of Endourology.
López, J. M., Mainez, J. A., Mora-Christian, J., & Gil, J. (2022). Usefulness and acceptability of a smart pH meter and mobile medical app as a monitoring tool in patients with urolithiasis: short-term prospective study. Archivos Españoles de Urología.
