Are You Taking More Medications Than You Need?
When more medications means more risk than benefit
Polypharmacy — typically defined as regularly taking five or more medications — becomes increasingly common with age, as chronic conditions accumulate and each is treated individually. The risk profile changes meaningfully once several medications are combined.
Why More Medications Isn't Simply More Benefit
A comprehensive review of polypharmacy in older adults found that the risk of adverse drug reactions, drug interactions, and reduced adherence (the practical difficulty of correctly taking many medications on different schedules) all rise as the number of concurrent medications increases — describing a genuine, well-documented pattern where the cumulative risk of the medication regimen itself becomes a clinical concern distinct from any single drug's individual risk[5]. The review also notes that a meaningful share of polypharmacy involves medications that are no longer necessary or appropriate, having been added for a condition that's since resolved or superseded by a better option.
What Genuinely Helps
A periodic medication review — ideally with a doctor or pharmacist, checking whether each medication is still necessary and whether the combination still makes sense — is the standard, evidence-supported response to accumulating polypharmacy.
Bringing a complete, current list of everything being taken (including OTC products and supplements) to every doctor's appointment closes a common gap, since different prescribers may not otherwise have visibility into each other's prescriptions.
If you're getting more side effects than benefit from a medication, or can't remember why you're taking it, that's a personal signal worth raising at your next review — not something to just live with.
This is not a reason to stop a prescribed medication independently — the point is a structured review with a clinician, not unilateral discontinuation, which carries its own risks for many chronic conditions.
Section takeaway
Polypharmacy carries a genuine, well-documented cumulative risk beyond any individual medication's profile — a periodic, clinician-guided review of the full medication list is the evidence-supported response, particularly for anyone on five or more regular medications.