Why Do Healthy Seniors SUDDENLY Decline?

Added: 2026-05-21

[00:00:00]We are going to talk about our top reason why somebody over the age of 65 might suddenly get worse and go from being a very functional healthy person to having a steep decline and being a shadow of their former selves. In our experience as doctors, what could cause this? It is probably your worst nightmare and of course, everybody has to do everything possible to stop that from happening. Dr. Ben, you want to go first? Well, this is a subtle one and people don't always recognize it, but it's side effects of a new medication. So, what will happen is someone will be started on a new medication by their doctor. It's supposed to help them. Maybe it was for blood pressure, maybe it was for cholesterol, maybe it was for another reason and they start developing some kind of decline. They get confused, they start falling, they have problems going to the bathroom, something changes. They become weaker, just different and nobody identifies that this was from the new medication. And the worst thing that happens is they call the doctor and say, "Hey, I don't feel good. Something's wrong." And they get put on more medications to deal with those new symptoms. This is that awful cycle that you see patients get into sometimes and they start stacking their medications and it puts them on this trajectory where they really start feeling terrible and then that decline worsens without anybody reevaluating, was that the right medication? Were those symptoms that occurred very soon after the new medication due to that medication? And so, that is one huge problem I see and that's new medications and the side effects from them causing a sudden and sometimes very devastating decline.

[00:01:42]Yeah, I've seen this happen many times and it's so very sad and we're not saying that medicines are never required. We're not anti-medicine. We prescribe medicines all the time. The issue is that we have to be careful and the pendulum has swung to a ridiculous clown world place where the medical pressure is just too happy with pharmaceuticals and especially above the age of 65. A lot of these pharmaceuticals can affect you anybody much more and then people get symptoms and then go figure another medicine is prescribed for the symptom and it can be like a vicious circle downwards and I've seen very functional people 65, 70, even 75 years old who start on a medication.

[00:02:19]It could be a high-dose statin medication and then they have muscle aches and weakness. Could be a blood pressure pill which is a bit too aggressive and they have a blood pressure that drops and they get dizzy.

[00:02:30]It could even be a medicine like gabapentin. Yeah, goodness, I could talk for a long time about that to numb some nerve-related pain and then people get drowsy and they're a shadow of their their former selves. And to me, it's one of the the saddest things because medications may be needed, but medication shouldn't be started and then make that person a shadow of their former selves, especially above the age of 65 when people are more sensitive to medicines. I don't know how we get out of it. It's happening more and more. I see it all the time and that's why you have to be very, very careful before your doctor prescribes a pill. How could this affect me? What's the worst-case scenario? And also, listen to your body.

[00:03:13]If you start taking a pill and very soon afterwards, you're not feeling good, you're feeling weak, you're having muscle aches, any sort of GI disturbance, anything else, seek some help because that's not what medicines should be doing. That's correct and there's very often no reevaluation. So, if you're going to get started on a new medication, you should be seen again.

[00:03:33]That doctor, if they started something, should want to see you again. Is it going well? Are you okay? Did you have any side effects? Did anything in your body change? If you're not being asked those questions and nobody offered you an appointment to make sure you're okay after starting this new medication, that's a mistake. It is, yeah. And what about this current trend that we have about medicines kind of being by default forever medicines? I mean, to me, I went to medical school, you're a doctor, the idea is people get sick, you prescribe a pill, it should be for the shortest amount of time, but now by default, a lot of medicines are forever. With few exceptions, your meds should have an expiration date. So, there should be a time when you can theoretically come off them. If you're able to achieve some goals and your doctor should work with you on those, can we lose this much weight? Can we get you exercising? Can we get your diet to change? And they're holding your feet to the fire and you're holding your feet to the fire. There should be a time when you come off them, when you should be reevaluated and you no longer need them. No one's doing that and it's like a life sentence every time somebody gets prescribed a medication these days. They're put on a med, nobody's talking to you about how long it's going to be. The understanding is just you'll be on it for life and that is totally unacceptable. I completely agree.

[00:04:47]Unacceptable is a good word.

[00:04:50]I will go next then. What I see, it's not an uncommon scenario, is a fall resulting in somebody never being the same person again, especially over 65 and I can't overstate this enough. I know Dr. Ben won't be able to overstate this enough. Do everything possible to minimize your risk of falling. Everybody falls. I mean, I have falls every now and again. Had one the other day in the gym as I was getting up to enthusiastically tripped over.

[00:05:16]Fortunately, I gathered myself again, but people can fall when they're in a hurry. People can also fall due to not foreseeing things like getting up at night, not switching on the light. There might be a loose rug, there might be something on the floor, there might be a pet, slippery floor, but an not uncommon scenario and feel free to comment but there's and also the one we mentioned before, medications. If these have happened to you, feel free to share your stories as long as you're comfortable doing so, but I've seen somebody who's really healthy, 65 to 70 years old, get up, have a fall at night, trip over the stairs or something and they come in with a fracture. Then they will go through a hospitalization, they'll get a complication, maybe a lung infection or maybe anemia, they'll need a blood transfusion. They'll go to a rehab center, pick up another complication and before you know it, that person is never independent again.

[00:06:10]Is this everybody? No. Thankfully, most falls are not serious, they're minor and you may not even need to come to hospital, but it happens far too often and that's why it's just so important to understand taking basic precautions.

[00:06:24]When you get up at night, wait at least 10 to 20 seconds before you stand up out of bed. Don't rush out out of bed. Don't drink water too close to bedtime so you need to to pee at night and be careful.

[00:06:38]Make sure there's nothing loose on the floor, no pets that you could trip over because falls can be absolutely awful and it's terrible. People come into hospital, we see this and they'll just be sort of they'll be scratching their heads thinking, "How could I be so silly and fall and and now I'm I need this surgery and things might be different."

[00:06:56]So, be careful. We don't want this to happen to you. No, we do not. And these falls, depending on the outcome, if you get a fracture, a hip fracture, an arm fracture, they can be very, very traumatic. And sadly, if you get a hip fracture, your your odds of dying from it can can increase because of the complications and everything. So, avoiding this outcome is absolutely [clears throat] vital. You can hit your head and have a bleed. I mean, really terrible things.

[00:07:22]The good news is there is a lot you can do. All the things you just mentioned, the other thing that people don't think about a lot, your vision decreases and changes over time. You may not even notice it. Your vision has gotten so much worse and we need that vision for those fine details on the floor and things like that when we're walking. If it's getting worse and you haven't noticed, your odds of tripping and having a fall are increased. The other thing is balance and core strength.

[00:07:48]That's what's going to protect you in a lot of ways from a fall. So, if you're not working on balance and there are exercises you can do and you're not working on your core strength and your leg strength, you you really should be because you're increasing your chances of having a devastating fall if you're not doing these things. Yeah, thank you for mentioning that, Dr. Ben, the importance of keeping strong, doing some core exercises. You can do planks if you're brave enough, sit-ups. There are lots of core exercises. You can go go to the search bar above after you watch this video and search for good core exercises over the age of 65 and you will find find a lot out there and just to reduce the risk because life can be very unpredictable. You never know what's around the corner. I'm sure you have stories to share. You can do everything right and things can still go wrong. But why would you want to throw into the mix something that doesn't need to happen?

[00:08:38]So, whether it's medications or whether it's falling, it's all about being sensible, taking charge of your health.

[00:08:46]That's what these shows are all about.

[00:08:48]Dr. Ben, you have any last words for our amazing audience here? That is absolutely correct. Now, the good news is I think you probably are taking charge of your health cuz you're watching this. That means you actively sought out ways to gain knowledge about how to take care of yourself. Keep doing that. Keep working on ways to do this yourself. In the end, there are very few things that will help you in life that don't require you to aggressively learn and do it yourself. So, this is also health, one of those things. You have to do it yourself. You have to educate yourself and you have to work hard. Yes, that's right. No one will do this for you. You might think, "Well, there is some good information out there." But there is there's lots of suboptimal information as well and nothing is more important than keeping your guard up, understanding where all of the right information is coming from, what's really benefiting you and understand that not necessarily everything you hear that may be from, let's say even authorities, is necessarily the best path towards real health and well-being. And ultimately as well, please spread the word. We know that a lot of the country, sadly, is moving in the wrong direction.

[00:10:03]Maybe your children, grandchildren may be heading in their direction for metabolic health. We hope not, but the most any of us can be is a shining example to others around us that we will prioritize our health and well-being. We won't let any medications enter our body without asking the right questions. And we'll be careful every single day and falling is well enough there. So, we hope that you benefited from this show.

[00:10:27]Keep going on your health journey. Do check in the links down below. If you're in the UK, Europe, check out our partnership with Holland & Barrett, one of the UK and Europe's leading health and well-being brands, ohhiwellness.co.

[00:10:41]And of course, if you're in the United States, ohhiwellness.com. We're very proud of our natural health and well-being store based on ingredients and formulations that we personally advocate for and have consumed ourselves. doctors who believe natural health at every opportunity. Medicines as a last resort only. Thanks everyone again, and we will speak again in the next video.